dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by beast, Oct 22, 2011.


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  1. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    we all hunt and/or butcher animals
    what do you do with the bones?
    if youre smart you will pile them someplace out of the way and keep them
    why should you keep bones? you ask... simple, they are extremely useful
    what are bones? they are just compressed calcium carbonate
    same as egg shells, fish bones and oyster shells
    which are all just plain lime, the kind limestone is made of
    what can all of these things be used for?
    well for starters, tums and rolaids are calcium carbonate
    you can make your own antacid
    just grind up some dried bones, add a little water and press it into pills
    you can also mix the ground bones with sand and clay to make mortar
    calcium carbonate (bones) are called natural cement
    add some gravel to your mix and you have concrete
    add rocks and you can build a wall or footing
    instead of gravel or rocks add sawdust and you have sandplaster for walls and water tanks
    mix the ground bones with a bit of soap and lots of water and you have whitewash
    mix equal parts ground bones and clay, heat it good in a rolling drum
    when it forms little balls, crush them and you have hydraulic cement
    take the ground bones and heat them alone and you have slaked lime
    a natural sanitizer for your outhouse barns and sewers, it also cleans stagnant water
    add a layer of ground bones to your water filter and it will take out most of the iron
    you can use whole bones to make tools and jewelry like the cavemen did
    the first needles and pins were nothing more than small bone splinters
    you can grind a femur down into a very useable knife or spear point
    bones are much harder and stronger than a piece of wood of the same size
    and much easier to get and work with than steel, copper, brass or aluminum
    large bones were also used as the first hammers and tomahawks
    and were a common tool in flint knapping and hide scraping
    so you see, bones are well worth keeping, way too useful to bury
     
  2. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Bone meal is...you guessed it, crushed dried bones, great for gardens.

    I hate to tell you this,

    Is completely incorrect. Lime is an inorganic compound made from limestone. Slaked lime is lime AKA quicklime mixed with water.

    Cement and cement products, concrete etc. all use lime.
     
  3. beast

    beast backwoodsman

    you should look up the chemical composition of bones and plain limestone
    you might get a surprise
    they are calcium carbonate
    fort st augustine is built from seashells and coral slaked to make hydraulic lime
    im told bones were used in the mortar of some ancient structures, parts of the great wall included
    and if you look, bonemeal has all the properties of regular lime
     
  4. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Sorry, Lime is calcium oxide - CaO. Hydrated lime is Calicium Hydroxide - Ca(OH)2.

    Bones are Calcium carbonate, different birds. Chemically similar, yes, they are not the same.

    This creates Calcium Phosphate: Ca3(PO4)2

    These are patently, chemically, and fundamentally different substances. They are similar but not the same. They have different uses and different chemical properties.


    Anything can be used as mortar aggregate. Bones, rocks, sand. They add strength to mortar.
     
  5. goinpostal

    goinpostal Monkey+++

    If you keep big piles of bones around your abode in the PAW,nobody will mess with you.
    If you keep big piles of bones around your abode now,they'll lock you up in Arkam Asylum with Gun Kid as a roomate!
    Matt
     
    Falcon15 likes this.
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