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Dustin

@dustin@sunny.garden

mastodon 4.7.3

I have been blacksmithing a while and live in the Pacific Northwest. I'll be posting about what I'm making, ideas of things to make, things related to metal working, and occasionally about what's happening in the PNW.

I speak English, can speak French, Norwegian, and Italian pretty well, and am pretty OK reading/writing Swedish, Danish, and Spanish. Feel free to write to me in any of these languages.

Vegan for the animals.

Butlerian Luddite.

He/him.

#nobot #nobots #noindex

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21 Posts

Joined October 10, 2025

Header alt-text:

A close up of the head of a cross peen hammer I made sitting on an anvil. The wood handle is blackened by fire and has been lightly oiled. The hammer head is blackened, typical of forged steel and iron.

Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 3w ago

Any #GMRS #radio folks? I'm thinking about getting a license and two HT for myself and others (partner, nephew, in-laws, etc) for camping, hiking, and use when we're close but separate. I'm curious if folks have strong opinions on it and which HTs to get. The btech gmrs pro looks nice, but maybe is overkill? The GMRS-V2 would probably be adequate but lacks a few of the fancy features of the pro (GPS, etc). Also, there's a 3x price difference.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 5mo ago

Replying to

I told my partner (not on mastodon) about this poll and she said she would do the first option if I did it. That makes things interesting!

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@Flux I like the diamond textured pattern at the top. I would love to see pictures of the tools you made too! That's half the fun of blacksmithing, for me at least.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@ShaulaEvans I've been doing this for years specifically for topics I'm well versed in and want to be able to speak about in the target language.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@yngmar @PalmAndNeedle That's super cool. I would love a small, mobile setup like that

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 5mo ago

Replying to

Making a round ring with a lip for it to rest on and forging and bending legs to rivet on would be a good test of my #blacksmithing skills.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@PermaSolarPotter I have no plans to either 😂 It sounds easy enough, but I'm a bit weirded out with the process to try it myself. I do a fair amount of lacto-fermentation, but never using a starter like for tempeh.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@thegiddystitcher that's a fair point. however, the allure of a new language or one i've only dabbled in is that it feels new and exciting. for several months, every time you study you learn many new things, so it really feels like progress. i do, however, agree that it's nice being able to speak well. i have let a couple of languages atrophy, so it'd be nice to get them back up to a comfortable conversational level.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@scandigonian have you studied any? and do you have any resources for them? i've used ASSIMIL for most of the languages i've studied, but they don't offer many of non-indo-european languages for english speakers. i could spend 6-8 months to brush back up on french or italian, and then be able to access a wider array of languages (e.g. learn another language from french or italian versions of ASSIMIL, which i have previously done with some success).

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@scandigonian oh wow, that's super cool. i wouldn't even know where to start with indigenous languages.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@yngmar I've even seen folks use hair dryers as blowers for coal forges before!

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@yngmar that is probably _way_ more reliable than a hair dryer! that looks like the blowers i've seen on most folks' solid fuel forges. a guy i know in my area has a hand crank blower similar to that electric one. he claims he likes the extra control it gives.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@PalmAndNeedle @yngmar that's cool- i haven't come across a treadle powered blower yet.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@yngmar what kind of set up do you have for blacksmithing? I would love to have my own smithy someday with gas and solid fuel forges, and maybe even an induction forge.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@PalmAndNeedle @yngmar i think i saw a video of someone that made bellows with a treadle, so it would make sense that a blower like that would be available too. i just hadn't considered it. if i ever set up a solid fuel forge, i'll have to look into that.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@Flux Nice! I've never made a curved chisel- if I ever do any decorative work I'll have to figure that out.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 5mo ago

RE: @dustin@sunny.garden

oh no! it's tied! if it comes down to it, i guess i'll flip a coin.

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Dustin @dustin@sunny.garden

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@PermaSolarPotter Are you making it yourself? I like tempeh, but I've never made it myself.

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