2023...

[Moneybox]

Ever thought of making gidgee charcoal Phil, $50 a bag in Perth. Barbe-Cue charcoal.

We don't have enough wood here. There are so few trees that I wouldn't cut one down. Even when we're pushing for gold we avoid the shrubs wherever possible. Besides that I don't want another job

 

[Moneybox]

I ended up with a job over the last couple of days.



There's a cable company here in town cutting a 900mm deep trench through good gold ground and laying an optic fibre cable.



The 2200mm diameter wooden spools of cable came from India and the centre fits over their 75mm spindle. This cone fits into the centre of the spool and holds it tight. Well it wouldn't fit the 85mm centre of the spool so they came to me to turn it down. It wouldn't fit my lathe because it runs on a ball bearing so I had to come up with a way to lock it. Then it was too hard to machine so I ended up cutting it down with a flap disk on the angle grinder while it spun on the lathe.



The next problem was that the first wooden spool was breaking up so I had to make this spider to distribute the load to the outside. It worked on one side but then the other side broke. I made a temperary fix with angle iron. Now they are off to Geraldton for more steel to make three more spiders, one for the other side and two more for the following spool. It's just as well I have heaps of time to spare

 

[Moneybox]

I've found a use for some of the horse shoes Mrs M has been collecting over the years.



Hopefully she'll flog them at the markets



and there are plenty more where they came from

 

[Golden_Smoky]

It sounds like an offer too good to pass up for somebody local. I'd give it a go but it's a 92 hr return trip and I have to be home by the end of the week.

View attachment 10540

You are where I plan to go one day before I get too old to go anywhere. Have you found any gold yet to pay back for all those machines you detect with?

 

[Moneybox]

You are where I plan to go one day before I get too old to go anywhere. Have you found any gold yet to pay back for all those machines you detect with?

All the detectors apart from the Equinox have paid for themselves, most several times over. The big loaders and dryblower still owe me a bit but their selling price is above the debt so not a problem

It must be difficult to work out when you're too old to go anywhere because a lot of people work up until that date and I'm sure work is not all that important.

 

[Moneybox]

I'm just cutting and sewing the last of the window shades on the camper. I've got my clothes, food, quad, fuel, water and detectors already packed. I just finished the TV antenna cable so I'll be out of here before Mrs M returns from work

 

[Mackka]

In my opinion the wheels start falling off at about 60 depending on what sort of career you have had and how you have treated your body. Good luck and best wishes to all that can still fulfill their dream in retirement. Age is a word, not a life sentence. Mackka

 

[Nightjar]

View attachment 10939

I've found a use for some of the horse shoes Mrs M has been collecting over the years.

View attachment 10940

Hopefully she'll flog them at the markets

View attachment 10941

and there are plenty more where they came from

Phil, You probably already know about this. Steel like your horseshoes can be preserved easily and last forever protected from rust. (Fire tools I made up in the 80's still in perfect condition. Photos on a Davesgold post)
Old engine oil in a container, half steel oil drum?
Heat item until it is glowing red then dunk it in the oil. Let it cool and repeat process several times.
Preserved forever with out need for paint.

 

[sand surfer]

i know that well mackka
my body has been well versed in manual labour all its life mate
since i turned sixty, all my new mates either have specialist in front of their name or after it
but i look at the bright side i am still on the right side of the dirt

 

[Mackka]

Amen to that SS. A church mate of mine told me the other day that when his grandkids ask him what is he doing this week, he replies " Appointments!"
I am glad that I am still walking 3-4 K's per day 6 days a week and haven't had anything serious for a couple of years, touch wood. Keep the mind active and look after ya kidneys (that's what Mum used to say.) Stay on the right side mate. Cheers Mackka

 

[Moneybox]

Phil, You probably already know about this. Steel like your horseshoes can be preserved easily and last forever protected from rust. (Fire tools I made up in the 80's still in perfect condition. Photos on a Davesgold post)
Old engine oil in a container, half steel oil drum?
Heat item until it is glowing red then dunk it in the oil. Let it cool and repeat process several times.
Preserved forever with out need for paint.

Similar to the way we treat the camp oven but these things sell for well below the cost of making them so I'm not too keen on putting in the extra work. I just want to give her something to sell.

 

[Nightjar]

Similar to the way we treat the camp oven but these things sell for well below the cost of making them so I'm not too keen on putting in the extra work. I just want to give her something to sell.

"Old engine oil in a container, half steel oil drum?" .........................................."Similar to the way we treat the camp oven" Your kangaroo stew would have great flavour MB.

 

[Moneybox]

I managed to get away at 11:00am on Thursday. I was meant to be out there for a few days to try out the new camper. Friends dropped in earlier in the week and said they'd text me their location when they found a camping spot on the gold. I didn't get a message but I think they'd be out of range in the area they planned to go.

I shot off to where I thought they might be but they were not there. I spent four hours swinging the GPX6000 without success before making the decision to move before dark. I didn't want to go my first day without gold

It didn't all go to plan because due to a major water leak my tank was dry by the time I returned with my first nugget just on sunset. I took a quad ride up the ridge and informed Mrs M that I'd be home on Friday to sort out a bad hose fitting and fill the water tank.



By 12:30pm I was down to my last 600ml of water but I'd had a good morning prospecting so I was home pretty happy in time for a late lunch.

When Mrs M arrived home at 4:15pm and saw my gold she decided she wanted to go too. That meant that Friday evening I was swapping everything from the little camper into the bus and my quad back into the twin quad trailer. Unfortunately, that trailer wasn't ready to go because I'd pinched the wheels with the new tyres to go behind the new camper.



I should have taken more care getting ready.......

 

[Moneybox]

We had a really good weekend. We arrived on Saturday morning and even though the gold didn't flow as well as it did on Friday we still got a few each. I'll post more on that shortly. It was the trip home that was a bit too eventful.



I felt something let go and thought we had a flat but it took me a while to process it so I didn't stop as quickly as I should have.



I just unhooked the trailer and shot home for the crane truck, the tools, the welder, another wheel and some wheel nuts. The wheel studs were not damaged so it was an easy fix.



Here was me thinking I had a flat tyre when it was only the axle going flat The tyre is most likely quite alright... if I could find it. I previously took the good wheels from this trailer for the other trailer and just put an old alloy wheel on here to keep it off the ground. It wasn't tight... but nor was it meant to be going anywhere, either.



It could have been really embarrassing but I repaired it quickly and I'm not going to tell anybody about it



I had it almost put together before I found out this spacer was missing. It was a case of a 100km trip to try to find it so I just made one.



It's pretty much ready to go again

 

[Davent]

Quick change of plans often end up like this, I have soooo many fishing stories like this...

 

[wiley coyote]

Is that 2 trolley tyres on your suspension in photo three?

 

[Hobby miner]

Thanks for all the pictures, it makes for a very lively story. Interesting tip on how to preserve the steel of the horseshoes, I will definitely remember that; not as if it were possible to do galvanizing all the time with all the tools handy.
Apparently, depending on how high the temperature is, it will greatly influence the color of it

At high temperatures, steel takes on colors ranging from dull red to bright yellow, while at low temperatures it changes into colors such as brown, purple, blue and grey.

1. Prepare an appropriate heat source, such as a charcoal fire, a propane forge, a torch, high temperature salt bath or electric furnace. Ideally, the heat source will provide a uniform heat, be easily controlled and provide a non oxidizing environment.
   Heat the steel to temperatures from 400 to 800 degrees Fahrenheit, to produce oxidation colors. At 480 degrees F., the steel turns brown, at 520 degrees, it turns purple, at 575 degrees, it turns blue and at 800 degrees, it turns grey. These temperatures are commonly used in tempering tool steel.
   
   Heat the steel above 800 degrees to produce incandescent colors. From 1000 to 1500 degrees, the steel will turn an increasingly brighter shade of red. At the critical eutectoid temperature of 1335 degrees, the steel recrystallizes as austenite and eventually loses its magnetic charge. From 1600 to1900 degrees, the steel will turn orange and then yellow. At 2000 degrees, the steel will be bright yellow.
   Remove your steel from the heat source and quench it vertically in oil. Once the steel is cool enough to handle, temper it as soon as possible.

 

[Moneybox]

Is that 2 trolley tyres on your suspension in photo three?

No that's an airbag. I fitted the rear suspension, with a widened axle, from a Holden Combo van but the parabolic leaf spring was not strong enough to handle the weight. The two 6" airbags run at just under 40psi. I have a 4.5kg fire extinguisher as an airtank with a regulator set at suspension pressure. I pump the tank to about 120psi from the bus before leaving on a trip.

 

[Moneybox]

Thanks for all the pictures, it makes for a very lively story. Interesting tip on how to preserve the steel of the horseshoes, I will definitely remember that; not as if it were possible to do galvanizing all the time with all the tools handy.
Apparently, depending on how high the temperature is, it will greatly influence the color of it

At high temperatures, steel takes on colors ranging from dull red to bright yellow, while at low temperatures it changes into colors such as brown, purple, blue and grey.

1. Prepare an appropriate heat source, such as a charcoal fire, a propane forge, a torch, high temperature salt bath or electric furnace. Ideally, the heat source will provide a uniform heat, be easily controlled and provide a non oxidizing environment.
   Heat the steel to temperatures from 400 to 800 degrees Fahrenheit, to produce oxidation colors. At 480 degrees F., the steel turns brown, at 520 degrees, it turns purple, at 575 degrees, it turns blue and at 800 degrees, it turns grey. These temperatures are commonly used in tempering tool steel.
   
   Heat the steel above 800 degrees to produce incandescent colors. From 1000 to 1500 degrees, the steel will turn an increasingly brighter shade of red. At the critical eutectoid temperature of 1335 degrees, the steel recrystallizes as austenite and eventually loses its magnetic charge. From 1600 to1900 degrees, the steel will turn orange and then yellow. At 2000 degrees, the steel will be bright yellow.
   Remove your steel from the heat source and quench it vertically in oil. Once the steel is cool enough to handle, temper it as soon as possible.

I used to have a set of crayons for temperature indication. When the steel reaches the required temperature the crayon colour changes. It's a bit like we use for aluminium. I just use the soot from the acceylene torch or the graphite from a pencil. When the soot or pencil dissapears you stop heating or it'll all fall in a molten heap

 

[Moneybox]

You'll need a little spare time for this video but I did dig as quickly as I could....