To Build a Smithy Part II

by **Crylon Stonecraft** on May 18th, 2019, 3:02 pm

35 Spring 519 Continued

Lifting the metal tube and setting it into place above the initial layers of stone, Crylon motioned for one of the men to hold it. While he did that Crylon began adding more bricks with additional gestures to the other men to hand off material.

A swipe of mortar, which was spread like a preserve on bread but instead on the bricks below. Smoothing the layer, and then placing the brick atop it so that it overlapped with two bricks below. This required keeping a good frame of reference to the materials before and after the mortar was placed, and to keep an idea of where to place the stone the entire time.

This was helped by having assistance, which allowed Crylon to be handed the things he needed while keeping his eyes on the work itself. Perhaps, Crylon thought, similar to how a surgeon might have various tools, tinctures, and materials handed to him while keeping focus on the wound itself.

The wound here was the potential, the idea of the Smithy to come and the form it took in his mind. He was simply placing things in that manner, to fill in those needed gaps in his mental image of the final object to be made.

He added a layer behind the place where the long metal tube would go, letting it once done form as an area for the metal to lean against before being boxed in.

A bit of mortar scraped up, slid down, spread, patted and smoothed. Then another brick next to the first. And another after that. Chimes went by. Bells. Crylon worked at the bricks and laying with a steady hand. Barely taking his eyes of his intended work.

He slowly worked his way around three sides. The back side where the metal tube would lay against, a canted cut at the bottom to allow part on the back side to meet the ground and provide support, while the open end on the front allowed materials to come out. Once far enough out so that a person could get down within to clean it out in the gap, he turned and added another side on each side coming forward towards the front of the smithy. This left him with a three sided shape or an open sided square.

Then it was simply a matter of adding more mortar and bricks and building up higher bit by bit.. A second layer at odds with the first so that the bricks did not directly line up in a stack. Instead each layer of brick consisting of bricks overlapping half with two below and a turn at the end that did likewise to each wall or in turn did not. Repetition, a pattern of matching, not matching, on and off layer by layer strengthening itself.

It was not long, and yet it was a long time later, when he went to pull another wad of mortar and spread it out, and he found himself standing rather than bending or reaching down to the layer. The main bit of the base was done, a small forge in some ways but a full and proper forge.

Fitting the grill in at the top of the tube of metal Crylon began the next step. Bricking it in, and adding in the bellows with a third half wall at the front to hold it in. And a set of bricks around the metal tube, which would hold up the base upon which the smithing itself would be done. The grill and tube were the center, with the bricks going back and forward and out on each of the four sides.

WC: 610

by **Crylon Stonecraft** on May 18th, 2019, 3:28 pm

After a few chimes break to make his ablutions and get a drink of water, Crylon was back at his work.

He spent a few chimes inspecting what had been done, before continuing. A narrow hole, big enough to sweep an arm around inside but little more, where the deposits could be extracted for cleaning. But slim enough that the gap could be crossed by a layer of brick. Each of the walls was few layers of brick deep, the ones on each side supporting their neighbors and broadening the structure or slimming the tap in turn.

They were also interconnected at odd length, one row to another, making them support each other that much more. Mostly where an odd gap would have made placing a brick within a layer hard, thereby allowing him to keep working and still strengthening it all. It had required a few half bricks though where gaps could be filled by no other means.

The metal tube stuck upward, a circle with a square bit of metal at the top for where it would mesh with the layer of brick around it. However as his bricks were not quite the right height, it was recessed half an inch, maybe a quarter inch or so down compared to the surrounding bricks. Nothing to be done about it, and nothing he thought would hinder the functioning of the smithy.

The half wall at the front did cross into a full wall of sorts most of the way up, but this was to allow the bellows to be held up and to cross over. Two bricks mortared half in, with one side leaning on the wall below them, and the other half hanging in empty air and leaning against its partner doing likewise. These he also mortared together with a bit of mortar between, having another of the assistants hold it till some drying had occurred. Then he added a second layer at odds with the first, a scrape of mortar across and a laying of rows of bricks in unison across the entire half wall.

That Crylon felt was good enough, and so he then slotted in the bellows into its hole on the metal tube, its middle resting on the bricks with room to either side and above for it to open and close fully. The end stuck out into empty air at the front of the smithy, where the smith would stand and pump the bellows.

Lastly before making the flue which would go up to the ceiling and would come later, Crylon had to brick in the top, of the metal pieces.

This was done with similar cross bricks to the front half wall, but enough to hold up a bed of coals and such for the fire. The three thick wall around it which it connected to held most of the weight, supporting those around it where by itself they could not hold.

A scrape of mortar, a spreading, a flattening, patting and firming, then a place of a brick. Repeated again and again, till the main bit of the forge was done. Now Crylon needed to give time for it all to dry, before adding the flue.

WC: 535

by **Crylon Stonecraft** on May 18th, 2019, 4:11 pm

35-36 Spring 519

The main bit of the forge done, Crylon moved on to other elements for now. Namely the walls of brick which would make up the building proper.

This was less precise compared to what was needed for the forge, and a different cheaper sort of brick was used for the walls. The forge and the chimney was made of a tough heat resistant fire brick, whereas the walls were of a more common style.

Still it was used in a similar manner, though with less layers needed compared to the differing style of bricks of the forge.

They started in a similar manner to the forge, flattening and clearing the ground and making sure there was a firm and flat surface to work on. Crylon and the men made their way around the ground, while Crylon marked out the spots where the walls would go. A door at the front and back, to let if needed a cross breeze, but otherwise a whole and intact building with no opening or windows.

Then the work began, and like with before Crylon did the actual building with barely an eye from the task, while the men followed him around handing off materials. Bricks. Tools. Mortar. One of the men had found a smaller container, and had taken to scooping bits of prepared mortar into it, which could then be transferred to Crylon much more quickly than going back and forth to the main mix of mortar.

Every once in a while though Crylon would need to go back to check on the mix, adding a bit of water and helping mix it to keep it at the right consistency.

Otherwise it was the rote repetition of work over the rest of the day and into the next. He knew though without the extra hands allowing him to focus on the action of building and nothing else, he would not have been able to do so much so quickly. It was all of the small tasks divided among the three men, with some time for each to take breaks, that let Crylon hone himself to the main task which required all those other unrelated things to be done.

A brick placed, a layer on the bottom. Then another above, a scrape or mortar patted and spread down. Placing it at odds with the ones below. Then another pat of mortar, scraped and flattened, and another brick placed. Again, and again, till the wall grew in its dimensions. Up to his ankles all the way around. Up to his knees. A scrape or mortar. A patting, a placing of a brick. Again, the same but slightly different. Up to his waist.

A scrape of mortar, spreading it, placing another brick. Another row. Up to his shoulders, he no longer had to stoop. A scrape of mortar, a patting and spreading, a placement of a brick. Up above his shoulder, as high as his head. By then a ladder was needed, and after so many bricks it needed to be moved which slowed down the work. Still he kept on, till the doorway was a good six foot high and the walls where thick and tall and by their own weight able to hold each other up.

At that point he stopped, as the brick work on all but the flue was done, leaving the tops of the walls and the roof to be finished in wood.

WC: 572

by **Crylon Stonecraft** on May 18th, 2019, 4:30 pm

Wanting to finish the mortar and masonry work before adding the roof, Crylon got the ladder and headed back to the forge. It was almost done, with the anvil having been dragged into place earlier that day along with a table for holding other tools and materials. That had taken a fair number of chimes, and much grunting from the human laborers as they positioned and re-positioned it. For his part Crylon moved about, standing as if forging. It needed to be all placed so that everything could be reached with but a partial turn, not even a step needing to be taken to get from the forge to the tools or from the forge to the anvil.

Once he was satisfied he let the men rest for a bit, before they began work on the flue of the forge. In the meantime he moved in a large barrel for holding water, and a trough for quenching in.

The flue required more brickwork, the last for the building overall. It was also to be the highest point, which was what a second even taller ladder was for. It would need to stretch up above the walls, the ceiling, the roof, to let the smoke out. However it also had a peaked metal cover which had been brought in today, so that smoke and such could escape out but rain and such could not easily get down.

Working from the solid base of the smithy Crylon added three full walls, and a partial wall at the front. This was continued upward layer by layer, similar to the earlier bit of the smithy. A scrape and pat of mortar, spreading and flattening. A brick, placed and set. Then another, scraped mortar and pat of brick into place. Again, and again.

Once it got high enough, the somewhat open side having reached about as high as Crylon's head, he began to close it. A small gap had to be crossed, but with the bricks along and before it this was not too troublesome. Then things became much simpler, as he simply had to go up with all four solid walls.

Using one ladder he continued the work upward. A pat of mortar, a scrape and spreading, a positioning of the stone. Stopping to add some water to the mortar, then a pinch or two of the dry mix to even if back out when too much was added. Almost done with it.

He switched to the second ladder before long, adding another layer and then another. A pat of mortar, a spreading and flattening. A placement of a brick with care.

He kept this up till it was all up to a proper size, the roof arcing still below its height while allowing enough room for taller humans to get their heads under the ceiling. At its lowest the roof would be seven foot within, getting up to almost nine near the top. Plenty of space and head room for taller humans. And for other such things to be done from the roof.

The last few bricks on the last layer were trickiest of all. They had some holes drilled into them, which met with brackets on the metal mounting of the cover. Crylon placed out the bricks dry first to get the proper placement and spacing, before adding the mortar and making them permanent. A pat of mortar, a scraping and flattening. A placement of a brick.

Then a setting of the metal cover, adding the metal fasteners and brackets, and placing them within the holes to keep it all in place. Nothing left but the roof, Crylon thought to himself.

WC: 609

by **Crylon Stonecraft** on May 18th, 2019, 4:58 pm

36-37 Spring 519

With all but the roof done, Crylon began with the assistance of the laborers hauling the wood into place. The trickier part was getting the main beams into place, which were large and thick bits of wood that would support the rest.

This required a bit of cutting to get them to just the right length for the final structure, which Crylon had the tools at hand to do. He also had to drill some holes into the top most bricks, to add mounting elements for the bricks. Luckily within his Isur made tools he had found not that long ago he had just about every conceivable construction tool he could want, and a small hand drill of varying sized bores were included.

Then they had to in unison lift and mount the wood into place, on each of the four sides. The two on te sides without the doors were in two parts, with a gap in the middle. On the sides with the door this would partly function as the top of the doorway, after which they could mount the frame and doors inside.

He also added a cross beam over the middle, on the opposite two sides to the doors which fitted into the gap he had left. This would be an additional cross support for the rest of the roofing elements. Each end of this had its own hole and bracket to place it within and fasten it in.

Once those were up he began some more sawing, adding some diagonal ended length of wood for the frame. These were placed over the non door sides for their added weight and the support needed. These arced up and across, meeting halfway up with a vertical beam supporting them. These would all be nailed together and into place, the wood allowing nails where the stone would not. Then he did likewise on the opposite side. Lastly using the beam he had added across the middle, he added a third set of supports.

Once these were all in place he added a cross beam which went underneath the peak of the upside down and flattened V of the peak on each of the three main cross and diagonal ended supports. This held them all together, and added to the frame.

Three cross pieces arcing up and giving a frame, along with the other cross pieces, Crylon felt the roof had a good bit of support. The only hard part would be where the flue came up, which would require some cutting of length and fitting to get them to form a tight seal around it. For the other sections though, Crylon could see in his head as the finished product the simple enough task of adding planks to become the roof covering.

Working with the other men Crylon hauled, cut, nailed, and worked, until all but the one gap was left where the flue jutted out. Then there was more cutting and measuring and cutting and fitting, and those bits were added as well all around the flue.

The roof done, Crylon headed to the doorways, helping tp put up the wooden frame around the edges. Then it was the simple task of slotting in the doors and hinges, hammering the pints into place, and they were done.

Letting out a sigh Crylon took a few moments to enjoy his work, before letting himself fall across the ground of the smithy. He felt like he could sleep for a day after all that work, and would not rise for another bell before he made his way directly to his bed which would need a good cleaning afterwards.

WC: 609

Costs :