Thread: What to do for Spriiiiing Br3ak!

What kind of nightvision do you have? I've been interested in buying a scope/goggle for myself, but the pricetags were more often than not beyond my budget. The gen 1 stuff usually makes the high pitched tone you can hear once it's turned on, and I'd rather steer away from that.


Wells... spring break, hrmm.. I'm out of school at the moment, but recent plans include making something else with the forge I recently completed. I'd really like to try turning out some good knives, and to give clay tempering a try. I'd also like to build a miniature torpedo out of pvc pipe and a clever arangement of electrical components to keep it stable (my room is loaded with pvc from past projects). Meditating more is also on that list as well.

#1 seems very important. Please finish it. :]

I'm going to read some books, and study for some tests. I want to try a five mile run, instead of the usual three, by the lake. I haven't ran outdoors in a while. I might make a few papercrafts, might just doodle instead. Should've brought more books.

Originally Posted by Invader

What kind of nightvision do you have? I've been interested in buying a scope/goggle for myself, but the pricetags were more often than not beyond my budget. The gen 1 stuff usually makes the high pitched tone you can hear once it's turned on, and I'd rather steer away from that.

Generation 1 that I bought off Ebay. If you're going to buy NVGs, Ebay is the way to go.

The high pitched tone isn't a problem for outdoor stuff.

What exactly do you look to use them for?

Originally Posted by Invader

Wells... spring break, hrmm.. I'm out of school at the moment, but recent plans include making something else with the forge I recently completed. I'd really like to try turning out some good knives, and to give clay tempering a try. I'd also like to build a miniature torpedo out of pvc pipe and a clever arangement of electrical components to keep it stable (my room is loaded with pvc from past projects). Meditating more is also on that list as well.

Mmmm that's something I'd like to do. I love making stuff, but just don't have the correct supplies.

Originally Posted by Abra

#1 seems very important. Please finish it. :]

I might actually wait until Monday to take the photo. I'd really like to nab my mother's fancy camera for it. I'm going to have to take a lot of photos to get the best picture seeing as I have little experience in photography.

Originally Posted by Abra

I'm going to read some books, and study for some tests. I want to try a five mile run, instead of the usual three, by the lake. I haven't ran outdoors in a while. I might make a few papercrafts, might just doodle instead. Should've brought more books.

Where are you?

Originally Posted by Black_Eagle

I might actually wait until Monday to take the photo. I'd really like to nab my mother's fancy camera for it. I'm going to have to take a lot of photos to get the best picture seeing as I have little experience in photography.

Goodgoodgood. Will you show us? :]

Where are you?

By a big lake.

Originally Posted by Black_Eagle

Generation 1 that I bought off Ebay. If you're going to buy NVGs, Ebay is the way to go.

The high pitched tone isn't a problem for outdoor stuff.

What exactly do you look to use them for?

My buddy and I like to do makeshift recon stuff around the local park at night.. You know, practice sneaking around, being stealthy. That's basically all I want them for is outdoor stuff anyways. Guess I'll be checking ebay again.

Originally Posted by Black_Eagle

Mmmm that's something I'd like to do. I love making stuff, but just don't have the correct supplies.

I actually built the forge out of a 50 bag pound of concrete, a piece of steel pipe for the airflow and some re-bar for a heavy duty grate that the coals sit on. All in all it came out to about $15 before investing in buying the right charcoal. A regular hammer and the face of a sledgehammer works out for the anvil.

1. try to get back into lucid dreaming
2. go anywhere that's not here

Originally Posted by Invader

My buddy and I like to do makeshift recon stuff around the local park at night.. You know, practice sneaking around, being stealthy. That's basically all I want them for is outdoor stuff anyways. Guess I'll be checking ebay again.





I actually built the forge out of a 50 bag pound of concrete, a piece of steel pipe for the airflow and some re-bar for a heavy duty grate that the coals sit on. All in all it came out to about $15 before investing in buying the right charcoal. A regular hammer and the face of a sledgehammer works out for the anvil.

Invader, we should talk.

What are you using for a blower? Squirrel-cage fan, hair dryer, bellows, hand-crank fan? I still have not put together my own forge. I plan to use a steel washtub, steel pipe for the airflow and architectural clay (mixed with sand) to build up inside. I too have a sledgehammer for an anvil, and I bought a 2.5 lb blacksmith's cross peen hammer. I've got a 50lb bag of coal waiting on my front porch.

What steel do you plan to use to make your knives? Are you buying round stock, bar stock, or just using old files? Lots of questions, but I'm quite interested!

My spring break plans mostly involve working to earn money for a car, and spending more time with my dog. I might make a spud gun, too; it's been ages since I had one.

Originally Posted by Abra

Goodgoodgood. Will you show us? :]

I was actually talking about the Monday after this one.

Originally Posted by Invader

My buddy and I like to do makeshift recon stuff around the local park at night.. You know, practice sneaking around, being stealthy. That's basically all I want them for is outdoor stuff anyways. Guess I'll be checking ebay again.

Yeah, keep your eyes peeled for relatively cheap Gen 2 goggles, but take the first good deal on Gen 1 goggles you find. Competition for that stuff is fierce. Sometimes a pair of 4-5 thousand dollar Gen 3 NVGs pop up for about a fourth of the price, but it's ridiculously hard to get the final bid on those. Make sure you check the model online so you know exactly what you're getting.

Drink, drink and drink some more.

smoke weed!


honestly nothing is greater than being out at the beach at midnight with friends, listening to the waves and smoking pot

Originally Posted by Man of Steel

Invader, we should talk.

What are you using for a blower? Squirrel-cage fan, hair dryer, bellows, hand-crank fan? I still have not put together my own forge. I plan to use a steel washtub, steel pipe for the airflow and architectural clay (mixed with sand) to build up inside. I too have a sledgehammer for an anvil, and I bought a 2.5 lb blacksmith's cross peen hammer. I've got a 50lb bag of coal waiting on my front porch.

What steel do you plan to use to make your knives? Are you buying round stock, bar stock, or just using old files? Lots of questions, but I'm quite interested!

My spring break plans mostly involve working to earn money for a car, and spending more time with my dog. I might make a spud gun, too; it's been ages since I had one.

I'm actually using a hair dryer that I'm running off of a 12v battery from a drill I haven't been using. The airflow is nice, but I feel I can get much more out of it if I pick up a 24v battery to replace the one I'm using. As it is I can get the stock to a nice bright orange, which is ideally what I was aiming for, but to have the option of greater heat if I needed it would always be nice. I'm going to be using bar stock the next time I hit the hardware store, but I've only been able to give this thing a test run on some rebar (which SUCKS by the way), since the forge was only a very recent accomplishment. A proud one, don't get me wrong, but I'm a newbie.

When I was first planning to build it I was originally going to use an old barbecue basin to line with clay as well, but after having looked at some of the concrete propane forges it only just then dawned on me that a coal forge shouldn't have any problem being constructed out of concrete either, and cost me a lot less in the long run. I had almost zero in terms of finances, so being cheap was a necessity. Now that I have some cash in my pocket I want to go nuts with this. I'd like to make a short video to demonstrate it running too, so I'll have to remember to bring the camera next time, heheh.

And just for the record, I still have my old spud gun. So many good times. So much trouble.



@ Black_Eagle: Will do. The power to see in the blackness will be mine. I also recall seeing a how-to on making a home made pair out of the essential electrical components, but it's been years since I've read it and would like to find it again... I'll post it back here if I manage to get my hands on it again, as I'd also like to give building a pair a shot as well. I'm not too shabby with the old soldering iron.

Originally Posted by Invader

I'm actually using a hair dryer that I'm running off of a 12v battery from a drill I haven't been using. The airflow is nice, but I feel I can get much more out of it if I pick up a 24v battery to replace the one I'm using. As it is I can get the stock to a nice bright orange, which is ideally what I was aiming for, but to have the option of greater heat if I needed it would always be nice. I'm going to be using bar stock the next time I hit the hardware store, but I've only been able to give this thing a test run on some rebar (which SUCKS by the way), since the forge was only a very recent accomplishment. A proud one, don't get me wrong, but I'm a newbie.

When I was first planning to build it I was originally going to use an old barbecue basin to line with clay as well, but after having looked at some of the concrete propane forges it only just then dawned on me that a coal forge shouldn't have any problem being constructed out of concrete either, and cost me a lot less in the long run. I had almost zero in terms of finances, so being cheap was a necessity. Now that I have some cash in my pocket I want to go nuts with this. I'd like to make a short video to demonstrate it running too, so I'll have to remember to bring the camera next time, heheh.

And just for the record, I still have my old spud gun. So many good times. So much trouble.



@ Black_Eagle: Will do. The power to see in the blackness will be mine. I also recall seeing a how-to on making a home made pair out of the essential electrical components, but it's been years since I've read it and would like to find it again... I'll post it back here if I manage to get my hands on it again, as I'd also like to give building a pair a shot as well. I'm not too shabby with the old soldering iron.

Awesome! Yeah, you really need more air-power to forge knives. That bright orange needs to go a bit further, to straw-colored (IIRC), when it comes time for the heat treat, or if you need to anneal. That rebar probably has a quite high carbon content, I imagine. Good to practice on!

Keep us updated on your progress with that, Invader. When you make something you like, post pics!

I'll be back in Japan with my family, looking forward to my Okasans cooking. Mmmmmm. Yummy.

Originally Posted by Soldier

smoke weed!


honestly nothing is greater than being out at the beach at midnight with friends, listening to the waves and smoking pot

I like this.

I'm gonna smoke a shit ton of weed, drink a shit ton of alcohol, ride my bike about 5 hours a day(when I'm not drunk) and eat a lot of steak.

Break was last week. I smoked too much weed, did none of the work I was planning to do, drank 2 40s and went skateboarding which made me really dehydrated and the next day I slept through my rehearsal(for a jazz duo), then I went to a bar with my friend from indiana where him and his girlfried racked up a 115 dollar tab.

He and his girlfriend


lol, but seriously... that sounds like a mad cool experience.


I have an opportunity to go to Georgia with my mom and sisters for the break but they're staying with my mom's brother(my uncle) and I don't like him too much... he's a missionary and he's way too preachy about everything.
He's one of those "holier-than-thou" Christians and it's mad annoying.

Originally Posted by Elis D.

He and his girlfriend


lol, but seriously... that sounds like a mad cool experience.


I have an opportunity to go to Georgia with my mom and sisters for the break but they're staying with my mom's brother(my uncle) and I don't like him too much... he's a missionary and he's way too preachy about everything.
He's one of those "holier-than-thou" Christians and it's mad annoying.

Where in Georgia? >_>

Ummm.... I'm not sure where her brother lives, but my dad's mother lives in Jackson so they'd be there for about a week.

I wanna say he lives near Smyrna but I'm pretty sure that's wrong.

Did a 5.5 mile run. Puddles everywhere. Enjoyed. Read 2/3 of the books I brought, still savoring the third.

Studied for tests, played much DDR, watched Watchmen again.

In all, a pleasant break.

Do I detect a hint of Rorscach, Abra?

And cool, Elis.

Originally Posted by Man of Steel

Do I detect a hint of Rorscach, Abra?

And cool, Elis.

Unintentional. Watchmen was watched on the first day of break, not the last.