Grandpa,
Last Christmas I wrote you about my brother’s terminal illness. You offered a suggestion as to how to have his nursing home cleaned out and give his things to charity. (See December 28, 2017 issue of The Voice, page 7). My brother passed in April. I want to thank you for the advice. The (charity) did come out and respectfully accept his possessions for their resale store. More than that, they cleaned out even the things that they could not reuse. I want to thank you for the flowers you sent to his funeral. That was so nice of you.
Grandpa says: I am sorry for the loss of your brother. I, too, am grateful to the charity you mentioned, as they contacted me to let me know of your brother’s passing, as did the home where he lived. Keep him alive in your heart. May God bless you and yours.
Grandpa,
This may sound foolish, but we will ask it anyway. Several of us want to get together and smelt metal like they did in the days of ancient Egypt. We are all fans of Ancient Egyptology. Do you happen to know how it was done?
Grandpa says: I am a might too young to recall first hand how it was done back when the pharaohs ruled the Nile area, so my staff and I took a working vacation day to the Field Museum to see what we might learn. The first thing we learned was that public transportation would have cost us less than driving in, but that is not germane to your question.
Simple furnaces for extracting metal from ore, and this shocked me, used charcoal for fuel. I had presupposed they would use coal. In the bottom of the oven there was a hole dug into the ground. This hole, called the smelting bowl, was about 16 inches deep and 18 inches in diameter. The hole was lined with clay. Next to it was what is called a tapping pit. It was about half again as large as the smelting bowl. I still am not quite sure of the purpose of the tapping pit. Then there was a platform of flat stones surrounding the installation. I am guessing that this is where the ore was set before the fire was lighted. There was a set of bellows used to force air into the chamber to keep the air flowing to the fire.
Now for the disclaimer (with gratitude to my lawyers): If you decide you want to build one of these, make sure you check with the fire marshal, building inspector, and anyone else who will take the blame for okay-ing it. Grandpa respectfully declines to accept that particular honor. There is one thing you did not mention in your letter. Where do you plan to get the metal ore? Grandpa and staff members want to thank you for giving us a good excuse to get out and enjoy a day wandering around the museums of Chicago. We deserved, and needed, a day out on the town.
Got something stuck in your craw? Ask Grandpa. Address your letters to Ask Grandpa c/o The Voice, 314 N. Lake Street, Suite 2, Aurora, IL 60506 or send an E-mail to askgrandpa@thevoice.us.