Onoff

I watch a video of knapping, pick up a flint and think wtf? It's a proper art. I really must make a set of boppers.

Very basic tap wrench. Must have been made pretty early on, like straight after the perfect 2" cube / drill drift. Still looking for one knurled screw and a handle! I still use it's bigger brother to this day, will dig it out. (A bit more complicated to make that one). A bit later on I made this: This little clamp. Always liked it but never used it since I made it tbh: I've even got my tray work somewhere and the bending tool I made for that though I did that years after the mechanical stuff above.

I remember one of the other apprentices got his measurements wrong by 100mm when doing his tool box. Of course he had to make the lids longer in turn. He had the last laugh as only he could fit a full size hacksaw in. On another note the knurling tool is looking salvageable: Hoping to clean up the old leather working tools and flog to some yuppie with more money than sense to compliment their AGA! 😂

Nice. Interesting how it's not just the "black" faces pointing outward (which is what we're wanting). Took this of a pillar I passed somewhere en route to Hever Castle from memory, as I say just the black faces pointing out. I'll stop tomorrow at out church and have a look at theirs:

Thanks. Interestingly those green trays the flints are sitting in are full of water. They've been in there for a couple of years I guess. The water has got into a couple and frozen, splitting them along I guess what are natural fault lines.

Thanks. No it won't be removable panels.What's a fist size 80x80mm maybe? And now more questions! 😂 Can the lime mortar be hand mixed on a board? Selecting the flints, do you avoid ones that although flat look as though the face has imperfections in? I've yet to try knapping. Do you dress them or just use whatever fits?

Small ones look better d'you think?

My fist is then about as big or a bit bigger than what I'm calling the "big" flints. Just about to watch some YouTube vids on lime mortar. Someone did say to me the way to lay them was to do in 9" high courses and strap a scaffold board to the pillar front whilst it goes off?

Flints... I've about 12 or more crates of assorted flints. Each one collected by SWMBO's late cousin, an amateur geologist who saw something in each. So for sentimental reasons they're going in the front of the pillars, 4 panels in total. I quickly knocked up a ply box and filled with sharp sand: Then had a play with how the flints might fit look. The rough aim was a 1/2" mortar gap around each flint: I initially favoured larger flints as per the lower half here. SWMBO favours the smaller flints in the top half. Think she's right?

It's about the only thing I am quick at!

I too removed one chimney in my first house. Used a Minimax tower from work and my ladders and hooks. I wasn't going to but went up via just ladders onto the roof to look at a chimney pot that was leant over. Pretty hairy when it came off in my hands. I wedged it behind the stack. Next plan was to take a few courses off and cap it off. Every course might as well have been held together with sand so I just kept on going. I slid the bricks down the roof on a couple of tethered sheets of ply to my FiL on the scaffold and he dropped them into the front garden. I had to put in a new bit of roof joist then felt and tile.

Eventually your chimney could become structurally unsound.

Was there supposed to be a picture?

As has been said it's more of an American thing. At least you should be well versed when you do yours! A (good?) Pinterest link that really goes into the ingredients for a mix. Mentions fibres, plasticisers etc and an interesting "mineral" additive. I imagine that might give it a "glisten". Of course you can buy it pre mixed. I wonder if ground / crushed glass could be used? This is the basic recipe: https://pin.it/5mb7y2gg3le72c

This may be of interest: concrete-countertop-sealers.pdf