LukeJ

I actually carry a whistle. I thought about blowing the whistle, but it didn't seem appropriate since I wasn't lost. Luke

Well.... maybe a GPS wouldn't be a bad thing? Then I can see where you've been.

When drilling holes for subsequent tapping in a material like titanium, a slower drill speed coupled with a heavier feed rate is the best approach. Pecking the drill and removing the material quickly is the way to go. Faster drill speeds and lesser chip loads will cause work hardening of the hole and make it more difficult, if not impossible to tap. 3/8-16 is a pretty coarse thread as well. Spiral point taps with three or more flutes help quite a bit, but the hole has to be deeper or through. Usually, titanium parts have fine threads in my experience.

On the website that Skip posted the link to: https://bywindestal.com/crafted/custom-made-meteorite-rings/ The gentleman discusses at length the methods used to help prevent rust. The main concern is a nickel allergy however. In order to make stainless steel more rust resistant, a process called passivation is employed. The metal object is placed in a nitric acid solution for an hour or so. The nitric will dissolve the iron atoms at the surface only leaving the nickel and chromium behind. There by creating a 'stainless' skin on the surface. Just an FYI.

From what I observed, I could make a ring like that. I have preformed those simple machining operations thousands of times over the years. I have never machined meteorite material though. It looked like a 'gummy' version of cast iron based on the way the 'chips' were forming. The etching process at the end, was the only thing in the video that I don't know much about. Maybe I should start looking for some of that 'fancy' material he was using.

If the surface was 'skin-like', I would tend to agree. If you were to take a hazelnut and wrap it in one layer of gold leaf, would that be detectable? I don't know, that's my question. I do know that a bunch of tiny nuggets placed close together, do not act like a bigger target. Unless of course they are 'electrically' touching each other. The way I read the description was that the latex made a matrix that the gold particles were suspended in and there were even some air bubbles trapped. Based on that description, it seems unlikely to me that all the gold particles would be touching each other. Either way, it doesn't matter to me. It is interesting though. Why don't one of you guys buy one of these 'nuggets' so we can run some tests? Luke

I'm not sure it can be detected. Does your detector find 'nano particles'? The way the 'nugget' is assembled leaves me believing that the gold particles are not all touching each other. Like an extreme version of 'sponge gold'. It might be invisible to detectors. Maybe, the Falcon could hear it. Maybe....

The grass is invading as we speak. Are you suggesting the USFS shouldn't attempt to maintain the forest because of this grass? I guess I'm not following what you're trying to say.

In an attempt to 'fix' what's already taken place. To try to 'steer' it back where it should be. So hopefully, it will continue to be there long after we all die. Wildland fire tactics of the past have allowed fuels to accumulate. Doing nothing about it now, only increases the odds that there will be one big fire in the future. In places like the rim country, a huge fire could turn the place into a high desert for the foreseeable future. If these birds need some help because we put out fires that would have naturally cleared meadows and thinned underbrush, then I'm all for it. Losing these animals would cause their prey populations to increase which would further push the imbalance. Before you know it, it's affecting the deer, elk, and other large mammals. The mice and rabbits eat much of the same stuff as the larger mammals. Too much of one, means not enough for the others. Everything on here is about preservation and restoration. So You can continue to go there in the future. So there will be a nice place to go. You know what else? It's jobs. Jobs that most likely won't be outsourced. Jobs that people can pay their bills with. People to make the machines, fix the machines, and run the machines. Not everyone wants to settle for working at Walmart.

They're not closing the forest. They are reducing access in certain areas so there will continue to be a forest. "Letting Nature take it's course" sounds great. Except, it's the humans that are messing it all up. Are we nature? Or above it? Either way, we have a responsibility to protect it.

But people don't follow the law, that's how we end up with miles and miles of unauthorized roads. Do we need more cops out there?

So then you think people should just be able to drive their vehicles anywhere they please?

Happy New Year !!

What's the significance of the large number? Shouldn't it just be the symbol for infinity, or something along those lines?