Part 36

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The next day, the cold snap lifts, and we are let out of the hall. I am busy unloading the firewood back to the individual houses, dividing it as evenly as I can. A couple people complain that they had more than someone else, but I tell them that unless they can prove otherwise, I am distributing evenly and they can sort it out themselves.

I also spend some time with Eldrin, setting up the idea of the screw pump and waterwheel to bring water closer to the village. At the mention of the size I envision, he immediately sends me to the carpenters to start working on this, as he has nowhere near enough metal for that. On my way out the door, I mention I need 2 rods welded to the round piece of the motor he made before.

Walking into the carpenters as I think about how to gain more metal, I see two elves, both taller than me, but strong, not quite as strong as Eldrin, nor as tall, but getting there.

Looking up, I ask them, “So, the town improvements I mentioned…”

“Ah, yes… welcome to the carpentry shop. We were just wondering if you would be coming by” The man states.

“Yes! He’s here! T’at means you get to work on the new things he talked about?” Another one says as they rush into the room, they are about the same height as me, and I recognize them from the school.

“Hopefully!” I reply. “I need a waterwheel, about 6ft in diameter, some gears, and the most challenging of all, a screw in a sleeve.”

“My dad can do alllll those t’ings! And my bruther can help too!” The “little” one says.

The younger of the 2 in the shop, presumably the brother, picks them up and says “we’ll do our best, but you,” booping them on the nose, “you need to get to your room and clean it”

“Awww. But I want to help!”

“Maybe in time, but not today”

The “little” one runs off, and the brother turns to me, “Sorry about that, little sister thinks the world of me, but some of those words did not translate properly. What is a screw?”

Over the next few hours, I hash out the details of what a screw pump is, from memory, as I don’t want to have everyone see the working phone. After I sketch it out and he re sketches it into a way that makes sense to him and his dad, he states:

“That should be everything we need to do this, Give us about 3 weeks to build it.”

“Three weeks!” I exclaim.

“Yes, new technology, needs to be precise, and it’s all manual work, unlike what you were describing in the hall”

I think for a minute, and ask “how manual?”

“All hand tools, saws, chisels, grit and determination, and hopefully no blood.”

Stroking my chin, I think for a minute, and then ask “Do you have a few minutes? I need to talk to you both and Eldrin about a machine that will greatly accelerate both of your work.”

They look at each other and then nod.

Arriving at Eldrin’s, I see that he is busy with 2 pins and part of the stator, so I let him finish.

“‘Ere w’go.” he says, putting the finished stator half down, with the rod sticking out of its back as I asked.

“Na wha’ can I dew for ya? I see thachta brough t’carpentas as well.”

“I have a schematic for a machine that will make both of your lives easier.” I say, “but before we get into that, why were you using pins in the stator?”

“The word ya used, Wel’in’, did na transla’e for me. So I pinned i’ in, and filed ‘t smooth.”

Facepalming I nod in agreement “makes sense, difficult to weld without electricity”

“I’ can do tha’ too?!”

“Yes, but way more power is needed than what the generator you are making provides.”

“Fair, ‘nough, bu’ s’ill”

“Anyways, the machine I am talking about is a lathe. It is a machine that spins constantly at a very high speed, allowing for shavings to be made, shaping the part into whatever you want, as long as the feature is round. Drilling, cutting are also possible, but the main thing that is done on a lathe is turning. The screw I mentioned, that is a turning operation repeated many times to cut the groove, but would take maybe a couple of hours to make, in iron.”

“In Iron?!” they exclaim. “Tha’ little time”

“Yes, depending on the size of the lathe, even large parts can be made. Some of the largest lathes are used to tune ship propellers and other large shafts. We are talking ships the size of this village”

“A boat, that big… just to crew it…” the carpenter’s eye bulge slightly as the scale I just mentioned fully sinks in. Realizing I probably blew my cover again, I pull out my phone, and open up the page on lathes on Wikipedia.

“So, I am not a machinist, a person that operates these things, but in the right hands, these things can produce extremely intricate parts, from a single block of metal, the pieces you forged to make the stator, would be a fairly simple process on one of these, and the screw I mentioned would be very quick to make as well.”

I start sketching the gears, lead screw, and work area. Eldrin grabs my hand

“Give us a minu’e, lookin’ a’ this, we need someone ta redraw so we can undastand.”

A few minutes later, the brother returns with Lena. My face flushes red for a moment and I look down at what I am drawing again, trying to not draw attention to her.

“Right, so these gears link to the head, which holds the workpiece, and it spins, there is also a screw here at the bottom, which turns and by locking a tool into a post tracing the groove in the screw, the post will move inwards at a fixed rate, copying the thread into the workpiece. Playing with the gear ratios, a tighter or looser screw configuration can be made. Different tools allow for outside and inside work as well as facing operations…”

Over the next few hours, and into the mid afternoon, I describe a lathe, its many uses, and we plan out gears, tools and other features to make it precise. For power, we decide just treadle and flywheel with a belt, but with the ability to replace it with a motor later.

“Ok, we now got plans, who’s paying for this?” The brother says.

“I thin’ we shoul’ ea’ tha cos’ on this, and share i’ equally. If this is even ‘alf as good as i’s supposed ta be, we can make so many things fasta, even another one. We’ll make some par’s outa woo, for now, but replace ‘em with me’al as we can.”

“This, this is big” The father states.

“Yes, this device could be called what unlocked the industrial revolution, and there is a line between this thing and my phone, to the point that it is screwed together still”

“Why are you giving this to us?” the brother asks. “The precision unlocked in this is so great, that it would be a guarded secret!”

“I want to share my knowledge, and I just so happen to have a good chunk of it with me when I came here. That, and I want a flushable toilet again soon!”

That night, with Lena beside me, I am awakened by a hand over my mouth. In the dim light of the night, I cannot make out who it is, so I quickly pull the phone out of my pocket, and shaking it with 2 quick chopping motions, turn on the flashlight. The light is blinding, and the grabber is blinded and flees. I cannot make out anything either as I blinded myself as well.

Lena rolls over, and sees me, with the light on. I am wide awake now and my heart beat is running like a rabbit’s.

“Why are you up? Your shaking!” She asks, worried.

“Someone grabbed me just now, they ran off when my phone light blinded them”

“I’ll check the window.” She replies

After a few minutes, she returns, “The window was closed and locked already…”She looks at me, still shaking, “Here, let me hold you”

I nod, curl up on top of her, and fall asleep as she holds me close, feeling comforted and loved for the first time in a very long time.