Nirra made all the gunpowder she could get. Then, she placed it all inside a steel container, which was inside another steel container that was holding a bit of water. The water will prevent the gunpowder from ever igniting from the heat inside the forge. She needed to be extra careful, or else any stray heat or spark could make it explode, causing damage to her father's forge. Next, she placed a steel sheet on top so it would cover it and placed the container in a drawer underneath the crafting table.
To complete the flintlock pistol, Nirra only needed the projectile. She assumed she would just use steel balls, but when she thought about it, there could be monsters more dangerous than a guy with a gun back in her old world. That is why she needed to maximize the damage output of each firearm she makes to cope with monsters. The only way to do that is by using lead as her projectile.
The problem is that lead is very dangerous. Inhaling the dust of the stuff would mean lead poisoning, and Nirra paced around the room, thinking for a solution.
Maybe she could harvest some from the ground by digging up dirt and separating the rocks from the actual lead. No, that would be a waste of time since it would lead to little yield. Then she thought of going down a mine herself to mine it, but without a respirator, that is a death sentence. Her solution came at an opportune time.
"Nirra! I'm back!" Marcus yelled, which snapped Nirra out of her thoughts as her dad dragged a sack into the forge.
"Dad! Welcome back!" She greeted her father as she helped him drag the really heavy sack inside the forge.
"This feels heavier than last time," Nirra said, wiping the sweat from her eyebrows.
"Oh! It must be the new metal I got from the mining guild; it cost me 6 silver each," he said, pulling out a silver bar.
"Isn't that a little expensive for an ingot?" Nirra said.
"The person who sold it to me at the mining guild said that it took a lot to get this metal out of the ground and into ingot form; he said some even died from poisoning, while others thought this metal is haunted," he explained.
"Be careful not to let it fragment; the people said that it would be really bad if you inhaled the dust." He explained handing Nirra the bar for her to hold.
Nirra couldn't believe her eyes—this was exactly what she wanted. She blinked two times just to be sure that the metal she was holding was indeed lead.
"Why are you so surprised, kiddo?" Marcus commented on the face Nirra was making.
Nirra snapped out of her shock and turned to face her dad. She gave back the lead ingot she was holding, and Marcus put it back in the sack.
"It's nothing; I just hoped it would be the right metal to finish my project. Why did you even get that kind of metal?" Nirra said.
"I wanted to see the kind of things I can craft with it; we can't let it fragment so it can't be used as a tool. I can't use it as a weapon either because it's too soft. Maybe I can cast it to make pipes to transport water around instead of using iron pipes." He explained placing the lead bar back into the sack.
Nirra realized that her father was going to be experimenting with the lead ingot, but she needed to ask permission now or she'd never get the chance. So she mustered up her courage and asked the big question.
"I mentioned earlier that I needed this metal to finish my project. So can I use an ingot to see if it is indeed the right one to use? Nirra asked, nervous that her father might decline.
Marcus smiled, happy that her daughter wanted to do the same thing as him and experiment with the new metal.
"Sure kiddo, just one bar, okay? I only have three," Marcus said, smiling.
Nirra wore the biggest smile on her face as she hugged her father. Marcus grabbed a bar of lead from the sack and handed it over to Nirra.
"Don't let it fragment, alright? And most of all, don't inhale it the dust from it," he warned, to which Nirra nodded.
"Oh, by the way. What's the name of this ingot?" Nirra asked as she gazed at the silvery ingot she was holding.
"Oh, the mining guild said it was lead." He answered. Nirra then nodded, and the two went about their day in the blacksmith shop.
At night, Nirra was already hard at work making the lead balls for her flintlock pistol.
First, she needed a mold. She couldn't use the usual casting setup that she had since it would require her to sand it afterwards, which would produce dust that would poison her. She looked around and found wood that is used to make sword handles, and then she got an idea. Grabbing two pieces of wooden planks. She then took out her flintlock pistol and measured the bore, which is the diameter of the barrel, and took notes.
Next, she slowly carved out two half circles on the wood she had and nailed down a hinge that lets the two pieces of wood close without a gap in the middle. Once she was sure that it closed tightly, she drilled a small hole in one of the parts of the mold she made.
She checked again, and sure enough, it was ready for its first test run. She heated the piece of lead her father had and placed a lot of charcoal inside the furnace so that it would reach the optimal temperature where the lead would melt.
When it was still melting, Nirra set up a bucket on the ground and slowly took out the molten lead from the furnace. She then slowly poured it into the wooden mold she had made. The mold immediately started smoking. And after it settled, it looked solid. She opened the mold to be greeted by a shiny little ball of lead. Nirra smiled in joy as she repeated the process over and over till she used up the entire ingot. She was left with 14 lead balls ready for her waiting flintlock. She then took out her flintlock pistol and measured the balls, which fit perfectly into the barrel. The she stored all of the balls inside a metal box and placed it near the drawer where the gunpowder is kept.
"Oh, I almost forgot that part," Nirra said. while she grabbed a piece of steel.
She heated it up and hammered it into a small rod. Then she grabbed another piece of wood and used the measurements from earlier to make a ramrod so that there would be no air left inside the barrel when it was reloaded. She then placed the housing for the ramrod underneath the barrel and left it there.
"I'll finish it up tomorrow with the wooden handle, then it's finally time to test it." She said this to herself while gazing at the firearm she was holding.
Nirra made all the gunpowder she could get. Then, she placed it all inside a steel container, which was inside another steel container that was holding a bit of water. The water will prevent the gunpowder from ever igniting from the heat inside the forge. She needed to be extra careful, or else any stray heat or spark could make it explode, causing damage to her father's forge. Next, she placed a steel sheet on top so it would cover it and placed the container in a drawer underneath the crafting table.
To complete the flintlock pistol, Nirra only needed the projectile. She assumed she would just use steel balls, but when she thought about it, there could be monsters more dangerous than a guy with a gun back in her old world. That is why she needed to maximize the damage output of each firearm she makes to cope with monsters. The only way to do that is by using lead as her projectile.
The problem is that lead is very dangerous. Inhaling the dust of the stuff would mean lead poisoning, and Nirra paced around the room, thinking for a solution.
Maybe she could harvest some from the ground by digging up dirt and separating the rocks from the actual lead. No, that would be a waste of time since it would lead to little yield. Then she thought of going down a mine herself to mine it, but without a respirator, that is a death sentence. Her solution came at an opportune time.
"Nirra! I'm back!" Marcus yelled, which snapped Nirra out of her thoughts as her dad dragged a sack into the forge.
"Dad! Welcome back!" She greeted her father as she helped him drag the really heavy sack inside the forge.
"This feels heavier than last time," Nirra said, wiping the sweat from her eyebrows.
"Oh! It must be the new metal I got from the mining guild; it cost me 6 silver each," he said, pulling out a silver bar.
"Isn't that a little expensive for an ingot?" Nirra said.
"The person who sold it to me at the mining guild said that it took a lot to get this metal out of the ground and into ingot form; he said some even died from poisoning, while others thought this metal is haunted," he explained.
"Be careful not to let it fragment; the people said that it would be really bad if you inhaled the dust." He explained handing Nirra the bar for her to hold.
Nirra couldn't believe her eyes—this was exactly what she wanted. She blinked two times just to be sure that the metal she was holding was indeed lead.
"Why are you so surprised, kiddo?" Marcus commented on the face Nirra was making.
Nirra snapped out of her shock and turned to face her dad. She gave back the lead ingot she was holding, and Marcus put it back in the sack.
"It's nothing; I just hoped it would be the right metal to finish my project. Why did you even get that kind of metal?" Nirra said.
"I wanted to see the kind of things I can craft with it; we can't let it fragment so it can't be used as a tool. I can't use it as a weapon either because it's too soft. Maybe I can cast it to make pipes to transport water around instead of using iron pipes." He explained placing the lead bar back into the sack.
Nirra realized that her father was going to be experimenting with the lead ingot, but she needed to ask permission now or she'd never get the chance. So she mustered up her courage and asked the big question.
"I mentioned earlier that I needed this metal to finish my project. So can I use an ingot to see if it is indeed the right one to use? Nirra asked, nervous that her father might decline.
Marcus smiled, happy that her daughter wanted to do the same thing as him and experiment with the new metal.
"Sure kiddo, just one bar, okay? I only have three," Marcus said, smiling.
Nirra wore the biggest smile on her face as she hugged her father. Marcus grabbed a bar of lead from the sack and handed it over to Nirra.
"Don't let it fragment, alright? And most of all, don't inhale it the dust from it," he warned, to which Nirra nodded.
"Oh, by the way. What's the name of this ingot?" Nirra asked as she gazed at the silvery ingot she was holding.
"Oh, the mining guild said it was lead." He answered. Nirra then nodded, and the two went about their day in the blacksmith shop.
At night, Nirra was already hard at work making the lead balls for her flintlock pistol.
First, she needed a mold. She couldn't use the usual casting setup that she had since it would require her to sand it afterwards, which would produce dust that would poison her. She looked around and found wood that is used to make sword handles, and then she got an idea. Grabbing two pieces of wooden planks. She then took out her flintlock pistol and measured the bore, which is the diameter of the barrel, and took notes.
Next, she slowly carved out two half circles on the wood she had and nailed down a hinge that lets the two pieces of wood close without a gap in the middle. Once she was sure that it closed tightly, she drilled a small hole in one of the parts of the mold she made.
She checked again, and sure enough, it was ready for its first test run. She heated the piece of lead her father had and placed a lot of charcoal inside the furnace so that it would reach the optimal temperature where the lead would melt.
When it was still melting, Nirra set up a bucket on the ground and slowly took out the molten lead from the furnace. She then slowly poured it into the wooden mold she had made. The mold immediately started smoking. And after it settled, it looked solid. She opened the mold to be greeted by a shiny little ball of lead. Nirra smiled in joy as she repeated the process over and over till she used up the entire ingot. She was left with 14 lead balls ready for her waiting flintlock. She then took out her flintlock pistol and measured the balls, which fit perfectly into the barrel. The she stored all of the balls inside a metal box and placed it near the drawer where the gunpowder is kept.
"Oh, I almost forgot that part," Nirra said. while she grabbed a piece of steel.
She heated it up and hammered it into a small rod. Then she grabbed another piece of wood and used the measurements from earlier to make a ramrod so that there would be no air left inside the barrel when it was reloaded. She then placed the housing for the ramrod underneath the barrel and left it there.
"I'll finish it up tomorrow with the wooden handle, then it's finally time to test it." She said this to herself while gazing at the firearm she was holding.
