Forging ahead

Hmmmm....got this cryptic comment a couple of days ago from my friend Wm. Pugh ( Slow down and wait......mail box will whisper your name and then they will come! ) and found out what he was talking about yesterday.  He gifted me with a very generous belated birthday present for TFL.  A micro mini furnace from Canvasman34 which included some extras from the builder as well! Thank You!!

Later in the day, UPS Manny dropped off the pickling acid I ordered from http://www.riogrande.com/Home  (these are the folks I just ordered my custom Benita stamp from)    Finally got a shot of Benny and Manny together...size is all about scale.

Ronald Nelson ( The nicest guy in Texas ) came by for a visit this afternoon.  He had a run in with the meanest rooster in Texas (Carl snuck up from behind and left him a message on his arm).  They are blood brothers now.  83,98,67,0,B,0

RIP Michael Heidebrecht

Thanks to those of you who sent cards and letters to Michael.  He really got a kick out of hearing from my blog readers during his last weeks. He was a Marine who lived his life by the slogan he learned in boot camp... Semper Fidelis / Always Faithful

1 Peter 1: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Compost Bob

Had a great visit and interview today with my new best friend Bob Grafe.  He hosts a radio lawn and garden show on KWED 1580 out of Seguin, TX.  He brought me some goodies from his garden as well as a fig tree and grape vine for the greenhouse.  This is a guy who really knows how to grow stuff...I learned a lot more from him than he did from me.  Will post a link to the webcast when the episode will air.  82,96,63,0,B,0

From a different time...

Went to digging into the archives today...looking for antique sterling from my great grandmother (that I would never melt).  Haven't found it yet but came across my mom's set of Towle "King Richard" sterling flatware that was almost lost in the fire I had back in upstate NY.  In its' present condition, it has more value as future TFL ingots.  Nostalgic sucker that I am - I will preserve one place setting.  We used to eat with this only on special occasions in our seldom used dining room.  In my present state of mind that seems awfully bourgeois...but my parents were from a different time.  My meals now come from one pot with one spoon and knife in a 128 sq ft house that is kitchen, office, bedroom....and dining room.  I am quite comfortable with that.  On special occasions I might use a paper plate.  I don't dare use my grandmother's Limoges China.  78,94,65,0,B,.35    

The Perfect Storm

When I moved out here to the desert, the first thing I learned was to have respect for storms.  It would be great if we got nice/gentle rain a couple times a month, but here we tend to get all or nothing...and when I say all, I mean all hell breaks loose.  My sustainable situation is a good lesson for our modern society.  Too many people rely on society and government to protect them when all they get is control, loss of freedom. and forced reliance.  Unless you are truly prepared and have a solid foundation, everything can change (for the worse) in the blink of an eye and you are lost...helplessly waiting for aid from the control group.  Christ is our foundation...following His Word prepares you for anything.  Trusting in God through faith will save you from the perfect storm that will come.

Luke 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep , and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose , the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth , and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently , and immediately it fell ; and the ruin of that house was great.

from spoons to nuggets

Decided to melt down more of the Ebay booty today.  Doing this before a final casting helps burn off whatever residue is on the flatware.  Yet another plug for Canvasman34....I bought a torch head he suggested.  The Bernzomatic JT539T is miles beyond the standard torch heads I have used for soldering copper....and it is relatively cheap for only 26 bucks.  Been using standard torch heads for some of my experiments and it has taken over 10 minutes to melt a couple of grams of sterling.  This new torch head takes less than a minute.

Melted down 5 cute little spoons then a small load of scrap bits for a total weight of 53.5 grams.  My regards to Billy, Auntie Kate, and Laco.  76,88,53,0,C,.3

from fork to ingot

Canvasman34's pour itself mold worked like a charm.  Just got it in the mail today and had to try it out.  Took awhile with my makeshift firebrick oven and lucked out with just enough silver to fill it.  Pretty rewarding when it finally went bloooop.  Now to build an insulated box to cook in for a faster melt. The fire brick really sucked the heat out...they got up to 750° on the outside.   Paul has plenty of info in his videos to try.  Just ordered 2 sq ft of kaowool to keep the heat in.  Can't help but wonder how many bites of food were had with this fork before I turned it into the official ingot # 13001.  59,72,35,0,C,0