Waterwheel and air pump

It had been 2 since the expedition group had left. During this time I dedicated myself above all to teaching Haiden, Eri and Ellen the methods of calculation. In addition to Ellen's rapid learning, Eri also stood out, although that was foreseeable from the beginning her work in the village already required the knowledge of simple calculations. Haiden was the one who got the most out of him but was progressing little by little.

The rest of the village continued its work, cultivation, hunting, etc. Yoru continued to teach magic, the girls would soon begin with some magic practices. Nao returned home always excited after the magic classes. The work she had for her in the future required her to control her magic and above all to know how to use her "enchantment" ability. This skill was essential for the development of the village.

Surely the expedition group would return in about two more days. Today I assembled a group of men to carry out a task that I had wanted to do for some time and since the expedition would soon return I could not delay this plan any longer.

I could not have much help, since almost all the men were busy, some helped with heavy tasks in the care of crops, others were in charge of hunting, and others worked in the forge. Although this last task was not important, Mors was so determined to continue with the forge that I could not say no.

The men I met were the majority of those who were responsible for the well and channels. They already had experience so they were going to be useful to me. Most of the constructions I wanted to make still needed the materials that the expedition group would bring back. Until then I decided to go forward an important part of the blast furnaces.

First of all I have the plan to build a water wheel. With this we can make one of the necessary parts of blast furnaces and also we can use it for the process of creating flour from wheat grains.

At first I thought it would be easy to do it with my knowledge but at the moment of truth I realized that it required several technology that I did not have at my disposal to do it. So I had to improvise and design a simple but efficient water wheel. First I wanted to do it right next to the river but I realized that if I did I could not control the amount of water that would move the wheel. That is why I resorted to making a channel connected to the river in parallel. Therefore use the same men who already had experience in this.

We built a channel parallel to the river but we still do not connect it, it has an amplitude of 3 meters and a depth of 2 meters. Once this part of the canal was done, we proceeded with the construction of the ferris wheel. We had enough wood to make it, it came from the logging we had done during these days. From the thickest trees we made 2 structure in the form of a radiated wheel. At the beginning cost to make it since it was the first time we made this type of wheel, since we used to make solid wheels. In the end more than a wheel we made an octagon, in each of its inner corners we put a radius that was attached to the center where if we put in troco a tree previously treated to make it smaller, being a single piece of wood unique resistance was greater. We put all the pieces together using bronze nails that for my taste were not suitable but it is the only thing we have, we also wind ropes to give it more sustainability. Once the main structure was made, only the shovels and the subjection to the ground were missing. The blades were easier to make, but like the rest of the structure we could only join them with bronze nails. At the end if a good idea to let Mors continue with the bronze forge, otherwise we would have run out of nails.

The structure that would hold the wheel would be made of wood too but change your mind, since it would be more convenient to make them with the materials that the expedition brought. We finished the wheel in two days, this was simple but thanks to it it was relatively easy and quick to build it.

-Brother how are you- when I got home, Aria welcomed me.

-I'm pretty tired, finally we finish the water wheel-

-You have to rest, brother, you are the head of the village and I do not think you have to do these things personally-

-I can not simply order people, I also have to supervise them because in this case I was the only one who knew how to do it, besides we do not have much labor so I had to help too-

The truth, every time I realized that the lack of manpower would be a burden for the development of the village, I have to think of something soon or if the members of the tribe were too busy.

At the moment we will have to continue in this way. I had thought of making another 4 wheels of water more, although it will take time. Surely the expedition group would return tomorrow. By then I will have more help and we can make blast furnaces.

The next day, I wanted to start with the construction of the second water wheel but in the end we started with the second component we could do if we used the materials of the expedition. This was the air pump, this was important for the forge, with it we can create not only iron but also my final goal, steel.

Once this metal is made, we can make better waterwheels, so I did not want to do more, it would be a waste of resources.

There were different ways to make the air pump but I chose one which would use the movement of the water wheel to run continuously. This consisted of a rolled bronze sheet forming a hollow cylinder, this piece was not as difficult as it seemed. The rest of the pieces were also relatively easy to make. In the lower part we placed a piece of wood of the same shape as the cylinder and we fitted it under pressure, in the center of this wood there was an opening where we fit another piece of bronze in the shape of a cone. At the top we put inside the cylinder a piece of circular wood a little smaller than the cylinder, enough to easily get out and enter the cylinder. This is attached to a wooden bar longer than the cylinder, with the piece greased by the edges we put it to the bottom of the cylinder, we use grease since it would help in the movement of the piece that would act as a piston. Once this is done, we put another piece of wood in the upper part, which is pierced by means of a hole through the piston rod, this hole is wider than the bar, thus the air will enter the cylinder. Finally, in the lower part, in the opening of the cone we place a piece of fine leather, this one is only attached to the cone on three sides leaving an unbonded area, this piece would prevent the expelled air from returning by the effect of the piston moving upwards , since the piston would cause the piece of leather to force upwards, sealing the air circuit once it has been ejected from the pump.

The most difficult part that we would have to do once mounted the water wheel was to join the air pump to the wheel so that the movement of this made the piston rise and fall.

All these mechanisms are essential to make blast furnaces. Once we achieve this, we will enter a new era.