Quartermaster James

Turns out that in the top plate of the flint vise on mine the screw hole was drilled off center. I was thinking about grinding a new one from stock, but this replacing of the cock entirely is intriguing. Cascabel, can you tell me from where you got the part to do this modification?

And here's how it got that way: RABBIT STEW 1 large, whole rabbit 1 quart water 2 tablespoons cornstarch 6 sliced carrots 6 medium potatoes, diced 1 cup whole kernel corn 1 cup green peas 1 cup wax or green beans 1 medium onion, chopped 1 cup diced celery 1 bay leaf salt and pepper to taste Boil the rabbit in the water until its meat is tender, then remove it from the pot and bone it. Put the meat into a large kettle, add two cups of the broth in which the rabbit was cooked, bring to a boil, and add a thickening sauce that you've made by stirring the cornstarch into 1/4 cup of the remaining rabbit broth. Allow the kettle's contents to boil for another minute, then reduce the heat. Add all the remaining ingredients. "Now for the piece de resistance, the topping that makes this stew stand head and shoulders above the rest!" says George Fournier. 1 cup flour 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons chilled shortening 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk (the less you use, the better the dumplings seem to hold together) Sift the dry ingredients together into a bowl, then cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the milk all at once, stir lightly just until the dough holds together, and then drop rounded tablespoonfuls of the mixture on top of the gently bubbling stew. With the heat adjusted so that the liquid just simmers, let the dumplings cook—uncovered—for ten minutes, then cover and let them cook ten minutes longer, or until the steam has fluffed them up nicely. If you need to thicken the stew, do so after removing the dumplings. And George recommends serving homemade tomato relish and cranberry sauce on the side, to give your hearty meal just the proper finishing touch.

Yo! Cornpone! Is that a pancake on your head or a Patrick Hand original? :lol:

Very nice! Great job! I am inspired! Thanks for the post Stynky!

That's good info and advice. Thanks Callenish! Can't say the cosmoline scared me any; rather I was glad to see it. I do have some work to do on the frizzen spring - she's a real rock smasher right now! BTW: I found these little things over at the dollar store, in the ladies' makeup section, that are are foam blocks covered in four different grits of abrasive. The grits run from something like a 200-400 (working from memory here) to finer than crocus cloth. They're made for polishing nails, but they are great for deburring and polishing small parts too.

Thanks Cascabel! I fired a message over to Stynky. BTW: I just saw one of these with an orange plastic plug shoved in the barrel being sold as a non-firing replica over on eBay. I don't think they made these as non-firing replicas. Interesting ploy nonetheless.

I'll second what Hawkyns said, and not just for seasonality. If it's pyrates about town (i.e. pyrates at the pub) and I'll be mostly sitting, then I wear it higher than if I were mainly on my feet.

Oh yeah! Charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter: the perfect seasoning for any occasion! No thanks! I get enough of that out at the range! I am not adding it to my beer, rhum, what-have-you! ;) ;) ;)

Thanks for the heads-up! Got mine and a couple for gifts on pre-order - three get you the free shipping too!

Well, now that it is in my hands it turns out to be one of those Japanese made Tower pistols. This one is "new" in that it is unfired. Picked it because it's the same caliber as my long arm. It's nice to have pistol and musket use the same ball! Boy howdy! Got some work to do though. Definitely need to harden the hammer (aka: frizzen, steel)and probably polish the internals and soften the frizzen spring. Hard to say for sure just yet as it's still covered in a crusting of 30 year old cosmoline. So I guess I know what my "next" project is! It looks like the front of the barrel is pinned to the stock with a one-way pin! There is a lot of wood on the stock, and rather than try to work this one down I am still toying with the idea of just carving a new leaner one myself. Hey Cascabel & Callenish! If you guys have any tips about these guns I'd love to hear them.

Yeah, but in the other incident felony charges are being pursued.

Poppy seed! Yes! Most excellent! Far more available, and I dare suspect cheaper than onion seed too! Maybe bake (scorch) those until they turn black? Was also considering suggesting activated charcoal from the fish store. Interesting project this. Usually I'm looking to keep a stock of the real thing, not looking to fake it!

Well, the muse just dropped this upon me: what about crushing up a few charcoal briquettes?

So, some of us had it cut off at birth...

Well, that's just brilliant! Good show LNHS! I might add that if you do go this route you may want to bake the seeds a bit. Not much and not too high, just enough to render them non-viable so that they do not sprout in your gourd should they somehow pick up enough moisture.

Or something like that ... mayby I messed up on my cut and paste....... wot ever.... OK... what is fondant? Technically, fondant is a supersaturated sucrose solution that is cooled and then crystallized in a controlled manner so that instead of hard grainy block it makes a dense, smooth paste. Fondant used in baking, rolled fondant, is a little different in that it is made with confectioners sugar (which contains corn starch) as well a a few other ingredients (a "pure" fondant could be made from just sugar and water, this is the type of fondant used in candy making - that stuff around the cherry in a chocolate covered cherry: fondant. So too most of the sugary fillings that are not buttercream). Rolled fondant has a smooth doughlike consistency. It is rolled out and draped over a cake to provide a base for further decoration. To this end, it is treated as edible modeling clay (although I must confess my heart belongs to marzipan). In your hands, Patrick, it would be truly dangerous! With your creativity and ingenuity, you could take the cake world by storm! My gawd! I'm already seeing visions of Patrick Hand Airship cakes somehow suspended over fantastic edible landscapes! Is that a river of bacon? Tangerine trees and marmelade skies!

Well, I ordered that sample pack from Fondarific. I'll let you know what I think once it arrives.

But Sir Quick, I have maintained all along that depression is the only rational response to our modern world.

Yeah...did you get it at Michaels too? Was it Wilton? Yeah... You might try talking to your local cake shop if you only need enough to do a cake or two and don't want to buy a whole bucket. This is the gold standard: Massa Grischuna Neutral Rolled Fondant This may be the industry standard: Satin Ice I've heard good things too about this company: Fondarific, but haven't yet tried/tasted their product myself. It may be the new gold standatrd. Note: they do sell smaller containers, and have a sample pack...now why haven't I ordered that yet!

Yarr! But it looks good, all the more so for a first time working with the stuff! Welcome to the wonderful world of fondant: the Sculpy of the foodies!

File this under Why didn't I think of this sooner? Yes, the title pretty much says it all. But for those that want it, here's the story: Like many others, I have found certain leather soled shoes to be at times hazardous. Even my finest dress shoes have some rubber in the heel portion. Hob nails might help on some surfaces, but are treacherous on rock, concrete, tile, and the like. Hob nails also tear up softer flooring. As the leather in the heels of my Fugawees pulls away from the nails, I find these just as treacherous as hob nails. Last night I took out the hot glue gun and, using the hottest setting, laid down a dollop of glue about the size of an upholstery nail head over each of the exposed nails on my shoe's heels. I then filled in the pattern imitating the placement of hob nails. I've been walking on them all day so far, over concrete, tile, and marble (asphalt and carpet too, but these surfaces were never a problem). So far, so good. A bit of a "tacky" sound on some surfaces, which is surprising given how hard the "mock nails" are to the touch, but no slipping! Next weekend I'll try them out on the trail. Stay tuned for further updates.

Here's an update on this incident: Felony Charges And here's more info on the Fort William Henry incident: FWH BTW: I thought we had a thread on the latter, but I cannot find it. Perhaps I am confusing boards?

Well, this ain't really got nothing to do with no brass goggles or airships. Maybe things served on fancy, hoity-toity airships, but here goes: Epicute Make a pot of tea and browse a while. Cheers!

ECW Artillery And also: Daggers and Fighting Knives

This piece is certainly making the rounds! Italian Gunner's Stiletto