I will invent the wheel so the truck can be made.............over to you

Farther back to -3000 to -5000. To get from the very start what humans did without any developed tools but with a lot of ingeniousity.

In my opinion, Ronseto owns this question. He proposed a forum on old engineering (so we can't go back to the stone axe) and I'm just trying to get some conversation started that doesn't involve tin foil and super glue. It's really up to Ronseto to set up how to talk about old engineering, maybe even with a blog. I was just "poking with a sharp stick" cause I'm getting weary of the really wierd threads.

Back when I was shooting a lot, I saw a video of all the steps required to produce a flint lock rifle. Forming molds, casting parts, fitting and filing, etc. The method of cutting the rifling grooves into the barrel was fascinating, considering the tooling at hand. They drew this little button, with cutter blades on two sides through the barrel numerous times, shimming the cutters occasionally to get the proper groove depth.

The spiral grooving apparatus was made from wood, with a thin metal rod that fit inside the barrel.

I can't imagine all the thought and planning, and failures, that went into that process before it was perfected.

OK! I accept your throw-down.

Starting with water, we could chop down trees, hollow them out with stone implements to form a semi-circular trough; join the hollowed out logs end-to-end with the lower end of each log elevated slightly so the flow of water would cascade into the upper end of the next log. Starting from an elevation higher than the tent site, where there is a source of water, allow the water to flow down the logs ending in a holding pond lined with stone. At the head end, the flow rate could be controlled by piling stones up in the log to speed up or slow down the flow. At a point above the stone pile, more logs could be used to divert the excess water back into the stream.

Hollowing out a log in this fashion, requires lots of manpower, a supply of the right type of stone, chopping and scraping. Bronze tools were available at that time period, but assuming ready made tools were not available, they would have to be made. Water would probably be the number one priority, so stone would be the first choice. Some workers would be busy hollowing out logs; meanwhile others could be busy finding ore, smelting it and forming it into bronze tools.

Is this the type of feat you are talking about?

Sounds like a good start.

Are you Ok with the time and place?

I've got a couple of smiths in my workgang, so I've put them to work. I sent a dozen guys out to gather any elemental copper they could find as well as any copper ore. We dug a couple of smelter holes and then cut some trees and burned charcoal to use in the smelter holes. We're gonna make some sheet copper to line a cistern and maybe make some gutters. There's a lot of copper here, so I'm gonna have them make some buckets too, although I don't have anything to use for bails.

I sent a couple of guys up into the nearby mountains to look for higher water. We have to use line of sight surveying, so we're using a peak as a rough reference. I've taught my men how to pace off 2-1/2 feet so they know how far they go.

I'm trying to figure out what kind of stone I can quarry here. My tools that I brought with me are mostly bronze, but I've got a little iron. This is gonna be hard unless I find some uncured sandstone.

This sounds like an episode from the TV series, Survival. I guess the next thing to tackle is 1. Provide a more secure shelter to replace the tents and 2. Devise some sort of perimeter defense to protect us from marauders and wild animals. The sea is close, so it needs to be included in our plans to protect us from attack by sea. 3. Food is very high on the priority list so we must get busy cultivating the land for crops. Some of the men available will be sent out to gather any wild food and hunt down some game. 4. The women will be responsible for gathering firewood, cooking, washing and caring for the ill and children. 5. Weapons are limited to materials and technologies currently available to us. That means swords, knives and bows. 6. If we can find some charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur, we may be able to make some explosive devices that would aid us in defense and building.

I have listed some of the things needed to establish a self sufficient community. I know there are many others to consider. You may tackle any of the above that may be your expertise and run with it. Over. I might add that time is not a crucial factor as certain activities as farming, building, etc cannot be accomplished overnight.

You will need a waterwheel to produce power why not run that piped water through a wooden waterwheel and grind things crops ,tools,add a bellows ,a pump(invented yet?)

I will start experimenting with the types of wood available for the construction of weapons.Stone and sapling skins are the only tools required to construct something sharp and aerodynamic enough to cause damage,plus fend off any women not agreeable to point 4.

OK, I've got my stone building figured out. Crete has deposits of soft limestone. It is well layered. And, I know how to case harden semi-steel digging tools. So, I can use the technique to digging narrow trenches, finding layer lines, and driving wedges in to split blocks. I think I should be able to get pretty good blocks in the 400-1000 pound range. I still need to figure out sandstone, especially if I have some of the really soft stuff. I need to find some kind of mortar and, ideally, a source for rope.