Littleneckhalfshell

Back to the topic at hand, Lace. How many kinds of lace are there? I am have heard of lace trim, and lace curtains, and lace table cloths. apparently other personal item can also be made of lace, (cravats). This whole subject is so far beyond what a simple seaman can ponder. is it all interchangeable ? in other words can a lace curtain or table cloth be cut up to provide other smaller lace items? I know I have some lace table cloths of my grandmother's around somewhere, (not in the best of condition). Can they be used for other than their original purpose?

This article has a picture of the ship. http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100219/brazil_ship_100219/20100219/?hub=OttawaHome

Great information. A question, Is the gargoussier a Cartridge 'bag' or a Cartridge 'box' ? I have seen the pictures of the Whydah Cartridge box and other's on the pub, I usually think of them as a 'military' kind of item. I have also seen pictures of people on the pub with what looks more like a 'bag' similar to the hunting pouch of the long hunters, akin to a modern ladies purse in a manner of speaking. Which would be the 'gargoussier' ? The suggestion that people say these do not appear until the 1750's makes me think the answer is that the gargoussier is more like the long hunters pouch. Yes? Second question, it says the "cartridges are secured in the cartridge-bag so that they can neither be broken or bent". I have seen how this is done in a cartridge box, with the little dividers, each cartridge in its own little hole, but how would it be done in a bag? Good discussion.

For his offense of consorting with dealers in black magic, I think he can make amends by an offering of shrubbery

Since the topic is 'religion' I offer the following, apparently from the 1680 census. http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/pirates/portroyal.html ""It is also said that religion was nonexistent in Port Royal but in fact the census data shows otherwise. When it came to religion the town was indeed a "wide-open" town. Just about every major religion was present in Port Royal, including, Catholicism, Judaism, Quakers, Anglicans, and Atheist. Most of the groups had fled England (except for Anglicans) during one the repressions of their religious beliefs and settled in Port Royal just as had happened in England's other American Colonies. Because most of the French Buccaneers were Catholic, the English governors were extremely tolerant of non-Anglicans. It wasn't until the usefulness of the buccaneers had passed, that wide scale persecution of non-Anglicans started taking place. Most likely, the early criticisms of the lack of religion within the town of Port Royal came from supporters of the Anglican Church.""

Mystic IS having a pirate event Pirate Days April 13-14, 2010 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=1D6D5E84-65B8-D398-7E18A2B4D8CF22B7

So where is 'global warming' when you need it? Zero this morning here in the northern Catskills NY

my understanding has always been that you have yarns, which make up ropes, which make up cables, so I would think that an anchor cable would be a 'rope' made of twisted ropes. I know this is from Wikipedia, which is not always a great source, but at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope they state the following which seems to explain it well. ""Twisted ropes are built up in three steps. First, fibers are gathered and spun to form yarns. A number of these yarns are then twisted together to form strands. The strands are then twisted together to form the rope. The twist of the yarn is opposite to that of the strand, and that in turn is opposite to that of the rope. It is this counter-twist, introduced with each successive operation, which holds the final rope together as a stable, unified object. Traditionally, a three strand laid rope is called a plain- or hawser-laid, a four strand rope is called shroud-laid, and a larger rope formed by counter-twisting three or more multi-strand ropes together is called cable-laid.[3]"" Note the last part, ""and a larger rope formed by counter-twisting three or more multi-strand ropes together is called cable-laid."" There is actually a picture of this kind of cable: ""A piece of preserved rope found on board the 16th century carrack Mary Rose"" which is actually what I would call a "Cable" you can see that the three twisted units making up the greater piece are ropes, not twisted yarns.

Yes, nice. Now how about some info on how you did it? Did you start with an existing gun and use it's lock & barrel just making the stock from scratch? or did you buy or make the parts yourself? If bought, where did you get them? Also, where did you get the idea/pattern for the shape of the stock? I was thinking of taking something like the PA Pellet flintlock from Traditions and making a stock for it to try to have a GAOP carbine, but was not sure if something like that would work or not. again, nice work.

Yes, I was confused, I thought you were talking about adding the powdered graphite to the plaster that makes up the mold, not applying it to the surface of the mold prior to casting. we always just used a candle. Does the powdered graphite evenly stick to the mold surface? I never thought of powdered graphite for casting, always just thought of it as a dry lubricant for locks.

someone back in the thread I think said something about making it look like brass or copper. I remember seeing some stained glass information of solutions that can be applied to the zinc or solder frames the stained glass is held together by to change them to a copper look. Not sure how long it would hold up on buttons, but it might be worth a look see. One such product is called Novacan Super Bright Copper Patina, for solder (8 oz was quoted at $3.95) There is another for Zinc (I usually cast in pot metal which is mostly zinc) Novacan Zinc Plate Copper Patina, reacts with zinc ( 8 oz was quoted at $4.95 anyway, thought it might be worth an experiment, the cost is not prohibitive.

nice work, but just a quick question, you didn't mention anything in your tutorial about 'smoking the mold'. when making lead soldiers with a metal mold or when casting bullets, we always 'smoked' the mold, (held the mold over a candle flame and blackened the mold surface). this procedure would give better metal flow to the different parts of the mold and insure a better product. I am not sure if it would extend the life of a plaster mold or not, so that is why I am askiing.

again in support of 'loose tea' http://www.international.ucla.edu/media/files/Fowler_Tea_Curriculum.pdf in part one, "China, Cradle of Tea Culture" ""Loose-leaf tea and teapots are what the first European traders encountered when they arrived in China in the sixteenth century.""

further in support of 'loose tea' http://www.strandtea.com/Paul-Rogers-Short-History-of-Tea.pdf 1597 “The first English mention of tea appears in a translation of Dutch navigator Jan Hugo van Lin-Schooten’s Travels. Van Lin-Schooten calls the beverage chaa.” Blofeld notes, “It was during the late Ming times that tea first reached Europe. Of those Europeans wealthy enough to afford it some were enthusiastic, but a rumor spread that tea weakened a person‟s vitality and was being exported to sap the energies of potential enemies of China!” 1684 “England’s East India Company gains Chinese permission to build a trading station at Canton after years of having to import Chinese silks, porcelain, and tea by way of Java.” Ships from Europe arrived in the early 16th century. The Portugese arrived in 1514AD, obtaining the trading concession in Macao. The Spanish came to the Phillipines later in the century and Dutch in the early 17th century established positions in Formosa. So by this time it‟s pretty clear that following the Sung custom, and with transport available, it was loose leaf tea that reached Europe, and consequently America. (The mention of "Blofeld" is from the book "Blofeld, John, The Chinese Art of Tea, 1985, Shambhala")

period sources are always best, but since no one has found any yet, I offer this information in support of loose tea. http://blog.mightyleaf.com/legacy-of-the-tea-brick/ Apparently even in China, Brick tea was mainly common BEFORE the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). During the Ming Dynasty loose leaf tea brewing was the preferred method of brewing tea. If even the Chinese were using loose tea post 1368, and since the use of brick tea often is a different method of brewing tea, I would think that loose tea would be the common form to be found for export. But I will keep looking for more period sources.

Just a note on 'tallow' for any of you deer hunters out there, the very hard fat found around the organs can be harvested and melted. it provides a relatively hard stable fat that is suitable for making period candles. It may droop in the heat of Key west, but should hold together, or you could cheat and mix it with some modern wax. But be forwarned, as the previously quoted article mentions, tallow for candles is an 'acquired' taste Candles made with it are definitely not the 'modern' scented product most of us are used to. If you are not into recreating the 'smells' of the period, then 'tallow' candles are not for you.

Just a note on candles, in case anyone wants to be 'historically correct' for our time period. Check out http://www.candlewic.com/candlemaking-history.asp here you will find that beeswax was not always 'cheap' and candles made from it were usually only found among the 'upper classes' also the braided wicks you are so familiar with, and that are sold today in shops with candle making supply sections, are a invention of the 19th century. ""The braided wick was also invented in the 19th century. Wicks before this time were made simply of twisted strands of cotton, which burned very poorly and needed constant maintenance. The braided wick was tightly plaited and a portion of the wick curled over and enabled it to be completely consumed."" thus the reason for 'wick trimmers' in our time period, a non braided wick does not 'curl-in' to the flame and thus does not become consumed and thus self limiting, if not trimmed, the non braided wick will increase the size of the candle flame and that is not a good thing. Anyway, just in case anyone wants to go the whole 9 yards with the candle making bit, carry on.

The link didn't work for me, but I found it at http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/11/muppets-perform-bohemian-rhapsody-video.html I just love the muppets Muppet Treasure Island and now Queen too

Ok, what is the story behind the picture at the top of the Pub forum, speaking of Mission's Dental Pelican almost finished? Who is doing it, let's hear the rest of the story.

Nice! but beware, in another topic (Iron Caster) in 'the workshop' Mission is looking to acquire a Dentist's Pelican, a tool for REMOVING teeth They being gold teeth makes it much more profitable and piratical

That may be do-able. I'll show that thread to him and see what he thinks. Mission, it says on the link that the pelican is 'wrought iron' wrought iron is not a cast item, it is a forged item. Cast iron tends to be brittle and may snap when force is exerted upon it. I think you want the rough form forged, not cast.

Pardon's to Abbott & Costello....... Are you in Pittsburgh? "no" Are you in New York? "no" Are you in Chicago? 'no" Well if you are not in Pittsburgh, not in New York and not in Chicago, then you must be someplace else And if you are someplace else, then you are not here ;-) hopefully you will get your web site up and working and you WILL be here.