[TheForge] the plate outsmarted me

[Peter Fels and Phoebe Palmer]

Well, we allegedly learn by our mistakes...here are a couple....more.
My attempts to flame straighten the 1" thick pavement plate ended in a 
warped mess. And while it was less a mess than part way through the ,um, 
educational process, and I did gain some control with experience...finally 
had to give it up. Bob Bergman was right when he pointed out that it was 
probably cheaper to buy new...like many of us, I was too stubborn to hear 
it...at first.
What happened is that during it's prior life it accumulated a whole lot 
of  internal stresses that attempts at flame straightening just 
unleashed...the end result is ugly and I hate to concede...but..given the 
limits of the time and tools at hand.....I've been outsmarted by a piece of 
steel.
About the borax as a wood preserver/ fire retardant thread  ( was that here 
or on keenjunk?).  We took some pieces of  walnut wood as samples to test, 
and following the suggestions, boiled some water and added borax till it 
stopped dissolving, then tossed the wood chunks in. The test was to see if 
the solution would discolor the wood. When the solution cooled, a  whole 
lot of borax came out of solution forming a solid mass in the bottom of the 
pot and thoroughly coated the chunks of wood in a very stout mass of 
crystals..sorta like stuff left for years on the floor of a limestone 
cave...at least I assume that the wood is still in there. I'm real sure it 
is bug and fireproof now!.....Pete