Chapter 33

And in the end ... the federal judge in Denver declared justifiable homicide. Just that ... no riders or dependent clauses attached ... no extenuating circumstances.

Justifiable, he’d said.

Freaky.

<You got that right.>

I didn’t even have to go to Denver.

One thing the judge did say in the privacy of chambers. “Who let that idiot go to Quantico?”

Nobody had an answer ... other than every occupation is a cross section ... a slice ... of America. Sometimes weeds get in.

“That girl is a good one. Is anyone actively recruiting her?”

“No.”

“Well, somebody should. With proper training, she’d be an asset.”

Someone bent to an ear and said something.

“That much?”

A nod.

A sigh.

Case closed.

No flintlock class this year. I spent a deal of time learning foundry work. It’s nearly impossible to find a small hearth. One small enough to fit in the shop but big enough to work. I had to make my own.

A fifty five gallon drum made a long lasting backyard foundry. I used a 10 dollar drum for an outer wall, a plastic 7 gallon bucket as a form for the inner chamber and a mix of cheap unscented Kitty Litter (bentonite), vermiculite and silica thoroughly mixed with water to form a concrete like paste to fill gap between outer wall and inner chamber mould. A six to ten inch deep layer of the litter mix on the bottom insulated the bottom from burn through, The seven gallon drywall plaster was tapered to release easily from the paste after the litter had dried.

A metal hole saw cut a hole through the side of the drum just above the bottom insulation and a sharpened two and a half inch pipe cut an offset hole through the side insulation. I used a concrete vibrator to insure there were no air pockets in the litter mix. The foundry ... as that was what it was ... air dried in the sun and then a small wood fire under the bottom ... heck ... missed a part. The drum was supported off the ground by solid concrete blocks as a base. The four blocks were arranged so as to leave an opening to feed the drying fire. A propane torch such as the one used to heat branding irons was inserted in the pipe in the side ... forced air ... such as an Air Chaser with a hole in the base to allow the pipe for the propane torch insured adequate combustion and helped raise the heat.

The crucible was a steel pipe with the base welded shut. Bolts through the side replaced cast pintles and a set of J hooks allowed the crucible to be lifted.

I visited ... before I forget...

Thank you for an airplane.

<You’re welcome. Wanna jet?>

Not yet.

I visited a couple who had reinvented lost wax casting on a semi industrial scale. Jewelers used wax casting for small stuff but this couple made moulds of small parts, poured molten wax in the moulds, and sprued the parts to wax trees. They dipped the parts in ceramic slip ... several times and then fired the sprue trees in a kiln. At a foundry molten steel was poured in the ceramic. The filled ceramic trees were tumbled to remove the ceramic ... the parts inspected and assembled into kits for blackpowder gun enthusiasts to assemble. The resultant lock was used in conjunction with other parts to assemble period firearms.

Why couldn’t I do that on a grand scale and make motorcycle or aircraft engine cylinders of cast aluminum with steel liners?

A standard die casting machine is a matter of tons ... some as much as thousands of tons ... and dangerous. People have lost hands in the press.

So I played. I discovered that the quality of the mould determined the quality of the finished part. I wasn’t there yet ... but I was learning. I spent a couple of hours a day peeling balsam fir tipi poles in the snowy outdoors. Then band practice in the Avocado ... and hunting.