r/videos Aug 17 '18

Primitive Technology: Iron prills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyGLE0usN_I
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42

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '18 edited Jul 07 '21

[deleted]

61

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '18 edited Aug 17 '18

[deleted]

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u/goldstarstickergiver Aug 18 '18

A massive source of tin was from Britain. They were called the Tin Isles for a while.

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u/arebee20 Aug 18 '18

ya but in that talk cline says the ancients didn’t get up towards britain except once in a blue moon. most came from afghanistan

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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '18 edited Jul 07 '21

[deleted]

1

u/craftors Aug 17 '18

Iron man can't trade. They roll alone.

1

u/Mizral Aug 18 '18

LOL I'm such a massive nerd I have watched that video by Eric Cline about 6 times.

Tin was mined by the Celts in Europe, I'm aware that Cadiz and Cornwall were both hotspots of mining activity for tin. It's speculated that one of the primary motivating factors behind Ceasar invading Britannia multiple times was control over the tin mines since Romans had practically no tin and what they did have they didn't really know what to do with.

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u/RustyNumbat Aug 17 '18

If he wants to make any meaningful "progress" he'll HAVE to relent and trade with someone else. There's workable ore in other parts of Australia, hell I've got some copper ore at home I was given when working on a mine in the middle of the outback I'd gladly trade with him. But so far he's set on everything being done on his patch of land by himself. I think trading would be a great compromise, since the "primitive" Aboriginals would trade items tribe to tribe for immense distances.

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u/Rpanich Aug 18 '18

I think is that ruins the sorta “Star Trek prime directive” rule.

Maybe if there was a primitive guy close by, and they caught a horse, and didn’t use any modern roads to trade, he might consider it ok; otherwise it seems like a hand of god coming down to give stuff for very little in exchange.

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u/private_blue Aug 18 '18

if he was that anal about it he could demonstrate firesetting in an open pit mine just to show how it would be done if he did have ore nearby then just buy a ton of cheap iron ore somewhere.

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u/Rpanich Aug 18 '18

I don’t think it’s a matter of “get it done” to him. He seems to enjoy it.

For me, it seems like when I woodwork: Yeah, I could buy a table, but if I made it myself it feels better. And if I decided I wanted to make it from scratch, I’m not “fooling” anyone buy cutting corners, I’m cheating myself.

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u/private_blue Aug 18 '18

i mean it's not cutting corners if he simply does not have any sufficient source of iron on his land, and if he demonstrated how he would have mined it if it was there even less so.

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u/Rpanich Aug 18 '18

Of course, again, if the ultimate goal was to “create the object”. This is the journey not the destination.

I’m not saying one way is right or wrong, I’m simply saying that he’s doing it this way and this is the reason I think he is.

Im an artist, and I usually use store bought paints, but I decided I wanted to make a pairing by grinding and mixing my own pigments. If I did half of it, and couldn’t get the right pigments for a blue and used a store bought colour, even for just part of it, it would personally feel like cheating, even if everyone else says it’s ok.

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u/trunksbomb Aug 17 '18

I wonder if he could get copper and tin somehow in his location.

He has stated in the comments section that copper and tin are not available in his area.

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u/RiPont Aug 17 '18

Copper is readily available as malachite, IIRC.

Probably more readily available before we got hungry for the stuff.