(DF) WHERE HAS DAVE BEEN HIDING?????

For those of you who have been wondering where I've been hiding, what I've been doing, or worse yet, haven't thought of me at all, I am still here.  Yes, I have been lax in posting, but I am still here behind the scenes while Anna is working hard to hold the site together.  THANKS HONEY!

While I have not been posting, there have been a few things going on.  OK! quite a few things going on.  In short, I have been busier than a cat covering sh__, meeting myself coming back and so on.

During my apparent absence, I have continued to work at the previously mentioned large, corporate department store in order to keep paying the bills.  At this point, I no longer work in the garden center.  I transferred to the claims department at the first of the year.  Lots of new stuff to learn, better pay and a better schedule.  My days off are no longer on weekends when Anna is tied up with her business, so we can actually spend time together getting things done.  The only real drawback (other than having to be there at all) is the blatant, shameful (and yes, I will say it), SINFUL waste of this world class corporation.  It is appallingly clear to me in this department and frankly, it sickens me to the depths of my soul.  Sorry about the soap box ------ ok, sorry is much too strong of a word.

I am not sure that I mentioned that I am a massage therapist.  My practice fell off sharply a few years ago through circumstances (and people) beyond my control, and for some time now I have only had a few clients who only schedule a couple of times a year.  Recently, business has begun to pick up quite unexpectedly, giving a glimmer of hope that it may actually pay the bills at some point in the future.  Though rebuilding a practice takes some time away from the farm, it is helping fund some projects and could eventually allow for far more time at home instead of feeding the corporation.

The forge here at Dave's Farm has also been up and running recently.  Believe me, it feels good t be pounding hot metal again.  As an added bonus, a young co-worker is anxious to come out and learn the basics.  Always good to see young people wanting to learn old ways.

Yes, of course, and absolutely, I am still working toward self-sufficiency.  The first order of solar cells arrived a couple of days ago.  Now we will see if I am smart enough to put together panels that will really work.  This will be my first attempt, so maybe we will all be able to learn something from my fumbling.  I will try to post pictures of this process.

If by now, you are asking when I find time to see Anna, I must confess that I don't know how I find that time, but thank goodness I do.  We don't get to spend near enough time together, but what time we have together is quality and very precious.

When you add to all of this, the efforts to prepare the garden for planting, preparation of high quality compost, clearing fence rows for goat fencing, and many other projects, it isn't hard to see some reasons for my lack of posts.  While I can't promise that I will have a great deal of time to write, I do apologize for being so lax in posting.

Meanwhile, thank you for supporting our site with you views and comments.

(DF) HAMMER REPAIR IN THE BLACKSMITH SHOP

Throughout the past week, a week frantically filled with ranch work, car repair, warm weather prep for a strong cold front and numerous other frantic activities, thoughts of working at my recently set up blacksmith shop remained simmering on the back burner. There was also a nagging in my mind in terms of the rough texture of the small item I produced while testing my new forge parts. The problem was not with my technique, but with my tools.

It has been a few years since I have done any smithing, and in that time, my hammers have continued to be used for other things. Some of my hammers are wonderful antiques I have picked up at flea markets or that have been passed down through my family, while others are somewhat newer. They all have one thing in common, ABUSE. The amount of damage to a hammer face is not all that noticeable when hammering stubborn parts into place, straightening shafts or striking a chisel, but every stroke on properly heated steel will show every imperfection. With these things in mind, I decided to set aside a portion of the weekend to address these issues.

Needles to say, there were a lot of imperfections, making the work at hand also imperfect. The answer to this consideration is simple, fix or replace the hammers. If you will notice at this point, I said SIMPLE, not EASY.

Replacing sounds like the easiest of the choices, at least on the surface, but there are two major drawbacks. One of the big drawbacks is price. Of course, the value of good tools cannot be overstated, but when you consider the variety of hammers used in the blacksmith shop, the combined price would be quite high. Another drawback is quality and availability. Most hammers made these days are not used in the blacksmith shop, so the quality of material and workmanship is geared for other purposes. The finish on the face of many new hammers is another issue. In short, if you can see grind marks on the hammer face, you can also see them on your work, so you have to work on them before use. Add to these considerations the fact that many of the more specialized hammers are no longer produced and those passed down through the family are not replaceable. The option of replacing suddenly becomes not so easy after all. Besides, repairing the old ones gives a much better appreciation of what you have.

With the decision made to repair instead of replacing, I was truly appreciative of a good bench grinder. Yes, I know that is a departure from the handcrafting way but with serious time constraints, it came in pretty handy. The bench grinder, used carefully so not to overheat the metal, was quite effective for re-shaping the faces and getting past the chips and dings, but the grinder marks were another issue. One by one, the hammers were placed in the vice and gently attacked with a good flat file to remove the marks left by the grinder. When the filing was done, you may have already guessed it, there were plenty of file marks left behind. This had to be remedied with the use of very fine emery cloth and lots of elbow grease.

By the end of the weekend, all of the hammers I currently have in my shop for working metal, now have brand new shiny faces that I can see my own face in, and no dings or grinder marks. It was a lot of work, but though it took most of the weekend (leaving barely enough time to plant a few potatoes), the time spent was certainly no more than would have been spent making money to buy new ones. The satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that bringing these old tools back to life gives, simply cannot be measured.

Needless to say, there won't be a great deal of tolerance for people using my hammers incorrectly and the handles of those used for shaping metal and those used for chisels and such will be color coded for easy identification. A sign is in the works which will read, "Ding my tools, I'll ding your head". Of course I won't likely ding heads, but I may well hand the culprit a file and some emery cloth and make them fix the dings.

Though my antique anvil, passed down from my great grandfather, has a few imperfections that can't be addressed at this time, it isn't too bad. At first hint of an opportunity, I will have the neighbors wondering where all the noise and coal smoke is coming from. And I will smile while I am doing it.

(DF) "FORGING" AHEAD

With the holidays over and the new year just started, there are all the plans of things to be done. Unfortunately, there is the small and rather annoying matter of bills to pay. Nothing gets in the way of productive plans quite like having to spend time working simply to pay bills that will be due again a month from now anyway. Sometimes the best we can do is try to forge ahead through the work week, in hopes of accomplishing some of the important stuff on the weekend.

This past weekend was one of those times. After working at the ranch all week, doing everything from feeding and working cattle to hauling equipment, Saturday morning finally arrived. Of course, there was a long list of things to be done in the nature of playing catch up. Very frustrating but necessary.

For some time now, I have been gradually working on getting my blacksmith shop up and running. It has been a slow process with lots of set backs, squeezed in between the higher priority items. Frustration takes a major toll, and I have been trying hard to remain philosophical about the whole thing. At this point, you may have realized that I truly believe patience is a virtue, JUST NOT ONE OF MINE! The most recent set back, after finally getting most of the equipment in the shop last week, was the realization that the tuyere grating (the thing with holes for the air to flow through) on the forge was pretty much burned out, and not a part you can just go down to the local hardware and pick up. This meant I would have to make one, and as luck would have it, the axle cap which was in my metal pile, salvaged from an old truck, looked like just the material for the project.

So, the weekend rolled around, with its pile of laundry, wood cutting, errands and hundreds of other things which were far behind by now, all needing done immediately. Somehow, I managed to do most of them and still find time to make the part for the forge and even fire up for a little practice. Not much practice, just enough to knock some of the rust off the tools and my skills. I'm not sure how I managed to get so much of the work done, but it sure felt good to finally be back at the forge again.

Today, I went back to work at the ranch, to make more money for bills AND for some much needed rest after the weekend.

(DF) MANY LEVELS OF SELF-SUFFICIENCY ------part 5

No matter what type of energy you choose, no matter how much or how little energy you use, tools are most helpful items. If you have chosen to continue using lots of expensive energy, it is possible to purchase quite a variety of power tools and modern farm equipment. On the other hand, if you have chosen to use more tools powered by people and animals, it is possible to make many of your own tools.

LEVEL VII: Level seven is about making tools and other items that are truly needed and usually purchased. Even for the individual with extreme skill, energy and resources, there are things that can't be readily produced, but it is possible for most items to be made at home.

With a few blacksmith tools, some coal (or charcoal if coal is unavailable), steel and a measure of skill, most metal tools can be produced and repaired on the farm. With metal tools in hand, wooden handles and other much needed items of wood can be produced. The types and variety of tools you can make are endless, including garden tools, wood working tools, cutlery and even horse drawn farm equipment.

Obviously, metal can not be produced on the average farm or by the average individual, nor can coal, thus making metal tools is not truly self-sufficient. There is, however, something very satisfying about working with tools you made with your own hands.

While on the subject of things produced with one's own hands, it bears mentioning that if you raise livestock for meat, there are also skins available for making leather and furs. The main requirements are raw materials and the necessary skills. Depending on the type of tanning and the desired end result, you may or may not need to obtain some products from others. Proper tanning is a smelly process and a lot of hard work, but the end result can be more than worth it.

With some types of animals (sheep, angora goats, alpacas and angora rabbits to name a few) you have the raw materials for making clothing. Yarn for knitting, crocheting, or weaving can be easily made from the hair of such creatures. The process is simple. The tools for making yarn can be an elaborate spinning wheel, a simple drop spindle or anything between. This can be a truly self-sufficient process from start to finish. Even knitting needles and crochet hooks can be easily made by hand.


LEVEL VIII: In level eight, we reach a point of individual self-sufficiency. This level is not for the faint of heart or feeble of body. It is basically known as stone age, and for good reason. To be truly self-sufficient requires being able to find or make everything necessary for life. For water, one only needs to find a clean spring or stream (not easy but possible) and for food, there are wild plants. Shelter, warmth and clothing are another matter. Tools and weapons for hunting and defense, as well as for producing construction material will be needed, however, and the raw materials are plentiful in many areas.

Stone tools are the most ancient known on this planet, and are simple to make. A few properly placed impacts on even a low quality piece of flint or chert can produce a cutting edge sharper than any steel. with such a crude cutting tool, wood can be cut for fire, shelter or other tools (axe handles and spear shafts come to mind). Other plant material can be cut and stripped for cordage. Animals can be skinned for meat, clothing and rawhide for use as cordage and bow strings. Better quality flint or obsidian can be processed into very fine arrow heads and knives. In short, with knowledge and physical ability, one can quickly make the tools and weapons for hunting, planting crops, providing fuel and shelter, clothing and other necessities, using sticks and stones for material. There needs to be enough land to provide wildlife and the right general type of stone is needed, but beyond that, the limits of survival and comfort soon become only those imposed by ourselves and not by resources.

I am not saying anyone should go back to the stone age but to learn and practice these skills a bit can lend a new awareness and appreciation of what is really necessary. As an added bonus, in the unfortunate event that you are stranded in a vast wilderness, you will be prepared to provide for your needs and the needs of others.

Thank you for letting me share the levels of self-sufficiency as I see them. In the next and final installment, I will attempt to pull these five sections together with some, hopefully, valid points. I hope you will join me for part six.