Flint arrowhead necklace

I quite fancied wearing a flint arrowhead around my neck. Replica arrowheads in various sizes are readily available on eBay, for the price of a half, sourced I believe from India. So I bought a few. Here's one;

It does of course need some method of mounting. I used .8mm brass wire, bent into a U shape and blackened. It was then held in place with some masking tape;

It's now ready to be whipped into place with button thread, which is heavier than standard sewing thread. Whipping is the method used to attach guides onto fishing rods.

I started by laying a U shaped length of thread onto the flint at 90 degrees to the direction that the thread will sit, holding the end in place with a sliver of tape;

Then the thread was wrapped around the flint several times (about 10) working back towards the loop;

The thread was then cut from the bobbin, and the cut end threaded through the loop and both free ends pulled tight;

This makes for a nice joint, but it can still unravel. So the cotton is then soaked in thin cyano, which holds it all together and shrinks it slightly as well. Once the glue is dry then the ends can be tidied up with a sharp scalpel (curved blade is best). The result is a nice tight wrap.

I used a 3' length of 1.5mm round leather cord (waxed cotton would work just as well) to hang it, using some more cotton whipping to make a small loop in the centre to keep the flint in place;

Cord and pendant could then be united with a jump ring;

I tied some sliding knots in the leather (one each side) to make the necklace length adjustable;

Hopefully the photo will show how the knot works!

I've put three together so far using different sized flints;

Smallest is 28mm high, largest 45mm.

These are a quick fun project to do, and they look good around my neck! (I do only wear one at a time tho'.)

Better descriptions of whipping can be found on youtube.

Paul.

Getting my Mamod/Meccano MEC1 running

This is an engine that I bought last year, which came with problems (see here). Basically the boiler was scrap, and the options were to scratchbuild a new one or sourcing a secondhand job. I did get as far as buying the material for a new boiler, but I haven't had the enthusiasm to do the work. So when I found a used boiler on eBay I put in a bid. I won, and the boiler promptly arrived. All I needed to fit it was to solder the steam pipe to the cylinder backplate, a 5 minute job. Then I could test it, first with air and then properly with steam;

As all was well I riveted the top cowl back in place (once I'd found it, it had gone missing);

And of course I steamed it again.

At some stage I'll get some Meccano and see what I can do with this rather nice little engine. I quite fancy turning it into a locomotive.

Paul.

Corrugated wheeled hut thing

Here's something quite unusual, a corrugated iron hut near to a converted water mill that we've been staying in over Easter;

A closer view of the steering arrangement;

It looks smaller than a typical shepherds hut (not that I'm an expert), and the corrugated sides look more like a repair being laid over planking as this interior shots show;

And judging by the wheels it's not designed to move any real distance, just around a yard perhaps.

Here's a photo of the mill, called Barford Old Mill, near to Barford Saint Johns in Oxfordshire;

It's not as cool as Mapledurham (I wonder how many will get the reference!) but still very nice. The undershot wheel and workings are still in situ, although sensibly enclosed and no longer capable of being used;

The mill is also surrounded by red kites, I counted 10 in the air at one time.

Paul.