Creating something new, day 20

Copper & Windpower

Kari definitely have more benefits than expected, as she seems to be good at negotiating too. I asked her about arranging a contract for copper, and she offered to arrange it for us, so I calculated the amount and need for different parts such as pipes, water tanks, radiators, roof etc, and she solved it. Apparently, it seems as Falu copper mine is owned by relatives to the Royal family, even though they call it something else Kari that said, but I didn't bother to remember. Profits from that mine is part of the reason for that lineages influence, and it seems as the Royal family with relatives pretty much has 100% control of copper trade in the north. There is a small copper guild, for those who work with copper, and the man who controls that guild is – no suprise – a relative to the King, and he is responsible for the copper trade on this side of the kingdom. He will have his craftsmen make all the tiles for the roof with copper nails, pipes, radiators and containers, etc.

All this copper use is a new idea here, as its mostly used as the base for the brass and bronze crafts and trade, with a smaller part for jewels for common people, and cookware and in kitchens for the rich. They don't seem to know about the health and desinfection properties of copper. Falu copper mine is a big reason for that there is competent craftsman for that here in Borgarsandr. Copper is the biggest and heavies component of brass and bronze, and Zink and Tin is imported from West and South for that, and Copper is exported. My ideas for copper is new and I guess it's a future market for the really rich, maybe even copper roofs. "Look how impressive the Academy's roof is, do you want the same?" is pretty good PR. That I use copper will be seen as me boasting about my riches, but I will try to explain the benefits for others. The Copper Guild will probably also adopt my solution for water and heating for their own projects for other people. I can live with that, because like much else, my goal here is to make life better. Getting the idea is difficult, copying the idea is easier, but I suspect they will have problems with leakage and steam pressure without soldering knowledge, as both the solder and flux solution is something that I can keep secret for a while. In the end, as long as I don't control the copper trade or craft, they control the supply and I can just as well let the copper guild do the installations and roofing work. Hopefully the Royal family and the nobility will appreciate it, and appreciate me for introducing it. Who doesn't like the good life?

My sketches on radiators were unexpected for them, but according to Kari they seem confident that they can make them, along with quite long pipes of copper, so I let them try. Let's see if their craftsmanship lives up to their confidence, especially when there is pressure and steam in the system. It might work, as they seem to create two U edges that fold into each other and hammered, so should at least take enough pressure without rupture. Copper is easy to process and shape, it just sucks to get cut on as the wound take so long to heal. With all thats ordered it will take a bit of time until delivery, but 3 weeks isn't bad for the first roof plates, but the plates are of course simpler and less of a problem than radiators and all the pipes. There will just be a lof of them. Literally a few thousands, so their daily output will be a lot. The Copper Guild will send some skilled craftsmen to assemble the tiles on the roof, so they learn that craft.

Havn't told my company about the steam heating of the mansion, but it remains to be seen if it works well enough so I really don't want to get their hopes up in vain. I will also use the mansion to get basic specifications for future installations, and make manometers and safety valves etc, and that is knowledge and parts I can sell to the Copper Guild.

It wasn't very hard to find a craftsman who can make matching silver knives for the cutlery set and in sterling silver. My sambos didn't really understand why we needed it, but I could explain that they are for eating on porcelain plates because ordinary utility knives will be dulled, and these new knifes are adapted for that. The silver knives will have a serrated edge and look more like meaner meat knives than butter knives. Then again, the knifes will match the forks in decoration and in look, as the forks look damn nasty with two long teeth, and in the future I will order more modern looking forks.

The leather work is really well done, and seems to fit nicely to the monoculars, even if all the monoculars arn't finished yet. My Boomstick shoulder strap is extra beautiful and very functional. I didn't expect him to use a gold buckle with a pair of blue stones, but he seems to have seen my ring and wanted to impress. Not really my taste, but I didn't specify the decoration, so it is as it is. Given how bling focused many here are, maybe I should have someone do a few engravings or something on my Boomstick. Gold plating the entire steel surface just feels wrong, and it will just be worn, even if it could have looked nice. People might be tempted to steal it if they thought it was pure gold. Its actually worth more than gold as is, in just the steel.

The wheelwright is proud and pleased when we get there, and when he shows his work, I understand. He has made four wheels, two of each kind, and they are fine works he proudly shows. Puts the wheels on an axelstand and they seem very straight and the hubs are very nicely centered on every wheel. His pride is justified. I order four more wheels, two of each kind, so I will have two sets of four wheels. Once he has done that, we can start looking at making carriges for these wheels. I takes some measurements and notes both on the wheels and on a couple of other wagons he has.

Next we visit Bladesmith Olafr. He and I just stands there and admired the craft for a long time, as we're both well aware of the value and how special it is to have everything gathered in one place. I have two more beautiful fine swords, which I realized I don't really know what to do with, and 6 knives and precious metal tools, which I know what to do with. I've been thinking about giving a knife to each of my guards, and maybe one to Asta and still get one over. But thats in the future, as Christmas presents, midwinter feast gift or something. I must hold back my generosity. Now that the wheels make a real nice carriage a possibility, I want leaf springs, and Olafr is ready to make them. He says it shouldn't be a huge job, and thinks they have funny shape and function, so he is willing to try to make one, and if it works, make four more. As long as I supply him with steel for it. He is somewhat shocked that I want to use steel for such things, given how many knives or swords it could have been, and I believe the absurdity of it amuses him, but I will try brass springs first.

Pick up all the parts from craftsman Digraldi, and place a really large order on all the parts for the ship's crane, as well as placards for sundials that explain usage, and terrace brackets etc. The crane will be quite expensive, but its relative and I don't care. Digraldi will try to make two leaf springs in brass, according to the same dimensions and specifications as I showed Olafr. It will be fun to see how the leafsprings turn out. Seems like Digraldi have hired another person to more easily fulfill my orders and what other people order.

The slate boards that are finished are so nice. Such a nice writing surface. It almost hurt that I can't take them all with me, but most are still with the carpenter to get them mounted in wooden frames. I can at least give my sambos a slate board each, and have a couple for myself.

All the carpenters I give furniture orders to gladly accept them. They will all have several weeks of work and I told them that I will pick it up in about four weeks, maybe a couple of weeks later. I want it to be carefully and nicely done. Those who do a really good job will surely be hired for everything that the Academy will need as well. Followed by my Skiringsalr house. And certainly others after that.

I have one of the carpenters make fine boxes with padded fabric on the inside for all sextants, and I order a wooden plate to mount the two extra swords to in A shape. I will modify the lock myself so that the swords will be harder to remove.

Alith and Gunhild's faces were so amusing when I showed them all three swords side by side, especially when they asked what I'm going to do with the other two, and I replied that I don't know. I got them made because I could, and today realized I didn't really think about that, so for now I will probably lay them under my bed or stand them in the corner. I probably shouldn't have said it that way, and I probably shouldn't jokingly have told Alith that she can't have sex with them, since her face made it clear she never thought about it, but her eyes and crooked smile afterwards made me worried.

Bodil has been working on my Boomsticks flashlight grip for a while now, and finished it while we were traveling. Its slightly thicker shape has given her some surface to work on and it has been put to good use. She's really quite good. No one will doubt that the cane is exclusive with such work in beautiful wood, and it is nicely oiled with something that gives it a more durable and pretty surface. Same surface as I've seen on some finer furniture, and with which our mansions furniture is ordered. She gives me some oil and helps me do the same finishing treatment on the Boomsticks remaining wooden parts so they match. I suspect that Bodil at least partly understands that Boomstick is some form of sejdweapon and how it roughly works, but kept quiet about it, and I don't ask to confirm or give her more info. Just as Alith, she thinks it's good that I always have it with me, and she thinks that Boomstick should be more beautiful and stands firm on the side that thinks it should be engraved with its name. I just don't want to disassemble it so some craftsman can do that work. Its a comfort to have it with me.

Bodil admits that all the guards have tried to carry Gunhild's sword on their back, in the same way I carry my sword - and it's different, but in some situations better. Like walking for a long time, crawling or climbing. As long as the sword isn't too long and you don't carry other things on your back, it actually works well to carry a sword that way, and quickly pull it. At least for her, while shorter Alith has problems. Alith also dislikes having the sword belt squishing her breast, while Bodil has minor problems with that too, which is easy to understand. However, none of them have swords, and an axe is a whole other style to draw. Another small bonus is that it seems to work well to pull the sword if you sit with others on a bench, and it becomes more difficult for another person to draw your sword. Everyone's hands are usually at waist height, not shoulder height, and it's an untrained movement. She also thinks it looks cool. She has really embraced that word since I explained its meaning, just like Iselin.

Its funny that Bodil in some ways like to be a feminine Shieldmaiden, and really like to wear her new work dress, while Alith prefer pants and want to be 'one of the boys'. Alith do like wearing her dress here on the farm, but not when we're in town or on a voyage. Its like relaxed Alith vs serious Alith.

Thoughts for another time, so I install the flashlight in the Boomstick grip and change the grip on the Boomstick. It feels good that my Boomstick is really finished and everything on it isn't to kill or hurt, even if a small flashlight is a lousty compensation for its firearm function, stiletto dagger grip and tear gas.

Diarrhea forces me to spend time on the toilet and mess up my workschedule too, as it makes it uncomfortable to sit and work, so I lie lazing on a blanket in the garden with Kari, who definitely doesn't care to keep her distance after I said it is no danger to her or me.

I'm not worried that its something dangerous, as I've always had a slightly upset stomach, and it may have been traveling to the city or combat lessons that upset my stomach. Aliths a bit annoyed at Gunhild that it might have been her hit in my stomach that did it, so I guess I'll be practising with padding again. It just so damn hot and sweaty. But my lessons from the last time when Alith was ill, have evidently left their mark on my company, whom all are somewhat fussy. Which is why I stay out here while Iselin and Ciara overlook that everything inside is being cleaned. I get more worried if anyone of them seem sick. However, Kari seems quite happy to be able to cuddle, talk and kiss, but that is also a reason why I let her, so she doesn't feel completely neglected compared to Iselin or Ciara.

Think about the wind turbine that is a project moving forward. The generator will work, but I havn't put any load on it yet. I feel a bit silly that I forgot that it needs a diode that insulates and makes the generator charge batteries, but doesn't drain power back up through the generator coils, so the generator become a bad electric motor instead of a wind turbine. Should I use the generator to charge battery banks, some electrical protection and stabilization is needed, but how much depend on the batteries.

Its best if I charge something that is less critical and finicky than lipo cells, so until I hopefully manage to build working lead acid batteries, I can make a battery bank of the NiMH cells. They will have relatively poor capacity since they're 2300mAh, and poor charging current capability, but should be better than nothing, especially if I can use higher voltage. The tablet bag has a common compact 230V Europlug fastcharger I don't want to break yet, but it also has a compact 12V dual 2A USB adapter for car sockets I will use and already taken apart. Electrically, the easiest solution is to connect the NiMH battery pack after the supply diode and before the voltage stepdown regulation, and then it will work even if it is inefficient, and it should work in 2A mode too since only about 1A will be drawn from the battery pack. The batterypack will still only be a measly 27Wh, but better than nothing. I also must make a current limiter and voltage regulation of some kind to the battery pack, so I don't nuke it.

I need power resistors. Not much choice on resistive loads, so it will be carbon. One method is to take a piece of charcoal and wrap the ends in copper wire, measure and carve away the charcoal until the right resistance value is reached. Another method is to use finely ground charcoal powder packed in one of those brass sleeve for the cartridges with a center rod or tube in brass as the other pole. The diameter of the interior compared to the tube or rod and their length, makes it easier to adjust the resistance a lot. It should be a more durable and stable construction than charcoal with copper wire, and I can put cooling fins on the outside too. To protect and insulate the poles, it probably needs to be baked into clay, or use wood if its not suppose to get too hot or damp. The finished resistors will vary in resistance, so I'll have to make some and parallel and series connect a few to get the right resistive value and power tolerance.

I also need to make a battery holder for the NiMH AA cells as I don't want to try to solder on them, so the only real option will be a battery holder carved in wood with bent brass pieces as connectors. I can tin them so they're more resistant to oxidization or corrosion. Maybe Bodil can help me? I need a small wooden box that everything can be in too. I can build it my self, I just don't enjoy woodworking.

I'm careful how I answer Kari's question about edge weapons, and when Hillevi hears it, we're quickly joined by Alith and Gunhild as well, and soon everyone is gathered. So there is talk about pikes, hillebard, throwing knives and different types of swords and fighting styles. I'm hardly an expert, but I have a very attentive and inquisitive audience.