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With the interest some people have in tapping Maple trees to make syrup/sugar from the sap, I thought I would post some links to several discussions (with pictures) of Historical maple sugar production demonstrations. Several friends did these demonstrations for the public at various Parks and...

Yes, I've already had enough SNOW! I'm getting tired of ... building snow forts (also called shoveling out the driveway - it just sounds more "fun" saying it the other way). From the County gravel road down into my yard. That "lump" on the right is a triple-box wooden wheeled farm wagon...

I had to make up some historical replicas of early grease lamps. And part of the discussion of them concerned making a simple version from a kitchen silverware serving spoon. So today I did some ... tinkering. Several people had doubts about using a kitchen serving spoon as a grease lamp...

Well, having survived my ... bout of family ... for the Holiday (at least I think I survived - they still just might have a lynch mob waiting for me come Christmas time), I finally got some more iron work done. The pic shows the 4 versions of sheet iron pipes I've been ... tinkering ...

A friend made some Birch Tar a few days ago. And when he asked me what to use it for, I quickly ran out of new ideas. I haven't really studied up on it, yet. I suspect that most answers will be somewhat similar to the uses for Pine Tar. And he's already been using Stockholm Pine Tar for lots...

OK, I decided to tinker around at the forge today. Nothing too important. So I made up a number of keyrings. (I've got a small town festival coming up that needs a few little "prizes" to hand out.) The leaf keyrings are forge up from around 1 1/2 to 2 inches off the end of a 3/8 inch...

Here's how I spent a good portion of my day. They are made from 1080 high-carbon tool/spring steel, and fully heat-treated to use as a flint striker - and spark well. I started with pieces of steel roughly 1 inch wide by 3 inches long and 1/4 inch thick - give or take a few fractions of an...

A bunch of friends that I camp with spent this past weekend up in northern Wisconsin demonstrating a 1790-1805 Northwest Company fur trade post for the public at Eagle River. I didn't make it this year, but these are some of the ... crazy .... people I often run with. Here's a link to...

I just had to get out and ... tinker ... in the shop this afternoon. (instead of heating up the forge to torture some poor innocent iron) ;) So I made a couple more of those iron-handled clasp knives based on originals recovered from la Salle's ship la Belle which sank off the Texas coast...

This came up on one of the 18th Century living history forums, so I though it might be of interest here. I made this knife earlier this year. I took one half of a sheep shear clipper, and turned it into a knife with an antler handle. There are two iron pins (nails) holding the antler...

With the current "winter" weather we are having here in Iowa, and some recent posts about camps/shelters/gear, it got me thinking about some winter treks I and some friends have taken. I looked, but I couldn't find any digital pics of me, but I here are a few of some buddies/friends from trips...

This is some of what I was "tinkering" on yesterday and today in the blacksmith shop. Actually, I usually make a pair of each style of fire steel when I work on them, so there's a second one of each of these not pictured. I heat one up as I forge on the other. It keeps me focused and...