Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 45

Red Rooster.

A restaurant and pub in Polchis, run by the owner Oscar, his wife Chelline, and their daughter Richel.

Oscar was a resourceful man who opened the restaurant with the money he earned as a mercenary, traveling through battlefields. He was famous for serving delicious food, thanks to his cooking skills honed during his mercenary days.

And one evening.

The Factory Manager and the men were gathered around a round table in a corner of the always-busy restaurant. Oscar, the owner of the restaurant, was sitting on one side, and the Factory Manager was sitting opposite him.

After a round of beer, the men looked at the Factory Manager.

“So. Black Hair. Tell us now that we’re all gathered.”

It was Popper, the blacksmith, who started. Popper, a dwarf, wiped his beer-foam-covered beard with his sleeve and looked at the Factory Manager.

“Yeah. You must have something important to say if you gathered us all like this.”

“I just wanted to have a quiet drink.”

“Nah. You wouldn’t have gathered us all just for a drink, would you?”

When Karutz, the butcher and former mercenary companion of Oscar, spoke, the Factory Manager drank his beer without saying a word.

“Just be frank.”

This time, it was Wagner, the wagon workshop owner, who asked.

Other owners of small workshops on the street were also gathered, including Krutz, the jewel craftsman, and Halfman, the metalworker.

As all eyes focused on him, the Factory Manager drank his beer, sighed, and opened his mouth.

“You know the inn run by Oscar’s sister-in-law? It’s in danger of disappearing.”

“Oscar’s sister-in-law? Ah… That lady who came here once.”

Karutz acknowledged, and people started murmuring and talking amongst themselves.

After a while, when the commotion subsided a bit, the Factory Manager spoke again.

“Anyway, the nobleman who governs that manor said he would shut down the inn because it hasn’t been paying its taxes properly, and in the heat of the moment, I stepped up and said I would stop him.”

“What a busybody…”

Karutz commented on the Factory Manager’s words, and everyone nodded in agreement.

“So, what can we do to help?”

Wagner asked this time.

“You gathered us because you wanted help, didn’t you? Have you thought about what kind of help you want?”

“I have a rough idea…”

The Factory Manager began to explain his thoughts, and the other men listened while drinking beer.

“This is what I’ve thought of.”

“Hmm… That’s quite a thought. I’ve never heard of running things that way.”

As soon as the Factory Manager finished his explanation, Oscar replied with surprised eyes. The others felt the same way.

The Factory Manager was talking about something they had never heard of or thought of before, and it was a very surprising method.

“So, if you have any better ideas after hearing this, please feel free to share them.”

At the Factory Manager’s words, the men fell silent for a moment.

It was Karutz who broke the silence.

“You see, I’ve traveled a lot as a mercenary, just like Oscar. And what was difficult back then was laundry. It was really hard to wash clothes and stuff. What if there was something that could do the laundry for you? Not many people want to do laundry when they’re trying to relax, right?”

“Ah. Right. Laundry! That’s a real pain.”

At Oscar’s words, the other men nodded.

“My wife also has a hard time doing laundry. She has to go to the well to wash clothes. Her hands get so cold.”

“My wife pays to have it done. You know? Old lady Herbeta.”

“My family too. Old lady Herbeta makes a living doing laundry.”

Listening to the men’s stories, the Factory Manager thought for a moment and clapped his hands.

“Yes! That’s good! This is the kind of idea I’m looking for. Oscar! Bring Karutz a strong one! I’ll buy a drink for the man who came up with such a good idea!”

The men cheered and started racking their brains.

***

A few days passed.

“Wow… This is… Amazing!”

Channing was stunned to see the enormous wooden barrel that had been brought into the factory.

“Isn’t it great? Oscar got it from a brewery he knows. It’s an old barrel, but it’s sturdy.”

The Factory Manager said, tapping the huge wooden barrel with his hand, and Channing stared at it with wide eyes. The enormous wooden barrel was so large that two people could fit inside.

“What are you going to make with this?”

“A washing machine.”

When the Factory Manager answered, Tehez took out her notebook.

“Are you going to make something like the electric washing machine we have in the factory?”

“No. We’re the only ones who can use electricity, so what’s the point of attaching a motor? I’m going to make it run with a different mechanical method. It’s going to be installed in the inn.”

“Ah! Are you going to rotate this barrel itself?”

“It’ll be a huge task to rotate something this heavy…”

Channing said with a tired expression, and Illia looked around the barrel, then looked at the Factory Manager and said.

“You’re thinking of putting something inside that rotates, right?”

At Illia’s question, the Factory Manager smiled and stroked her head.

“Illia is the smartest.”

“How did you know?”

“I saw it when I was doing laundry with the factory washing machine. The inner drum of the factory washing machine rotates.”

At Illia’s explanation, Tehez nodded and wrote it down in her notebook.

“Okay! So Channing! Go get a 2T stainless steel plate. There should be a 2000 by 2500 size. Bring two. Tehez! Tehez, go get the steel pipes.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yes, sir.”

Channing and Tehez responded to the Factory Manager’s orders and moved to their respective tasks, and the Factory Manager approached the barrel and began to draw lines on the bottom circular frame with a pen and ruler.

After drawing a line on one side to mark the center, the Factory Manager went to the opposite side and knocked on the bottom circular frame.

“Hmm… This won’t come off easily…”

The Factory Manager pondered for a moment, then went to the corner of the factory and brought a giant hammer.

“What are you going to use that for all of a sudden?”

Channing, who had brought a huge steel plate tied to the hoist, asked, and the Factory Manager casually lifted the hammer onto his shoulder and slammed it down hard.

With a thud, the bottom of the barrel was pushed into the barrel.

“Whew.”

The Factory Manager, who had removed the bottom of the barrel, crawled inside and lifted the bottom.

“Hmm. As expected. It’s grooved and fits together during assembly. That’s why it’s so securely fixed.”

“Factory Manager-nim! Don’t overdo it, you’re not as young as you used to be.”

“Shut up, Channing! Did you bring the steel plate?”

“Yes. I brought two.”

“Oh. Good. Well done. Drill holes with the hole saw!”

“How many?”

The Factory Manager threw the split lid outside and came out over the barrel, picking up the paper lying next to it.

“Let’s see… 20 rows of 20 holes, each 15mm in diameter. Two plates.”

“Oh my god! How long will it take to drill 400 holes in each of the two plates with a drill hole saw?!”

Channing exclaimed in horror, and the Factory Manager gestured for him to place the steel plates on the wooden pallet on the floor.

When Channing placed the two steel plates on the pallet, the Factory Manager hammered them with a wooden block to make them overlap evenly, and then fixed the two steel plates together using C-clamps.

“And let’s see… Where was this…”

The Factory Manager went to the shelf where the tools were gathered and rummaged through the plastic toolboxes before picking one up and walking back.

“What’s that?”

“A magnetic drilling machine. It becomes an electromagnet when you connect it to electricity.”

“Ah. You can use that to drill. But, the stainless steel plate is not magnetic! That’s why I brought it tied with a round sling. How are you going to attach it and apply force?”

Channing asked the Factory Manager about his curiosity.

Austenitic stainless steel, which is basically made by mixing a large amount of chromium and nickel, is a metal that is used in various fields because it is easy to process and does not rust easily.

However, it has the property of not being attracted to magnets.

“Here. Watch closely, you punk.”

The Factory Manager brought a steel plate.

“Why the 200×600 steel plate?”

In response to Channing’s question, the Factory Manager first changed the drilling bit to a 5mm hole saw and connected it to the power cord. Then he put down the steel plate, placed the drilling machine on top of it, and turned on the switch.

With a click, the steel plate stuck to the drilling machine, and he lifted it up and placed it on the stainless steel plate, adjusting its position and then stepped on the steel plate protruding on both sides.

The drilling machine was positioned between the Factory Manager’s legs.

“Ah!”

Only then did Channing realize the Factory Manager’s idea and let out an exclamation of admiration. The Factory Manager activated the drilling machine and started turning the handle on the side.

The hole saw gradually went down, and the sharp sound of it touching the steel plate echoed. With a whirring sound, a hole was drilled in the steel plate.

“Now. You do it!”

The Factory Manager called Channing, and Channing took his place on the drilling machine.

“Tehez! Tehez, let’s modify the wooden barrel together.”

“Yes!”

Tehez, who had put down the steel pipes, approached, and the Factory Manager pointed to the lid part of the wooden barrel.

“Here. Drill a hole here with the hole saw. 30mm diameter. Make sure it’s centered.”

Tehez changed the drill bit to a hole saw and positioned it. It wasn’t difficult to position it because the Factory Manager had already drawn lines and a circle.

“What are you going to do with the front?”

“I’m going to make a lid to cover it.”

The Factory Manager brought some parts and placed them on the workbench, finishing the preparations for work.

Tehez, who had finished drilling all the holes with the hole saw, came over to the side, and the Factory Manager took out a drill and started drilling holes in a circular wooden board.

“You’re going to make a lid with this.”

“Yes. I thought about making it out of metal, but metal is heavy. Since it’s not going to be under tremendous pressure anyway, I thought wood would be enough. I’m going to make it similar to a pressure cooker lid.”

The Factory Manager placed the pre-cut metal parts and bolts and nuts on the workbench. Tehez thought he was going to make the locking mechanism he had made when he made the pressure cooker.

“Now. Tehez, you see the part marked with a pen here?”

“Ah. Yes.”

“Attach this here. Drill holes and secure it firmly with bolts. You need to put rubber packing on the bolts.”

What the Factory Manager handed over was a circularly rolled flat bar. Inside, six L-shaped brackets were already welded.

Tehez placed the circular metal frame on the wooden board and marked the holes in the brackets on the wooden board with the pencil she had tucked behind her ear.

Lifting the circular frame, Tehez went to the drilling machine set up on one side, drilled holes according to the markings, and placed the steel plate back down.

Finally, Tehez tightened the bolts and nuts with rubber packing using a T-wrench and checked the position.

“Master. I’m done.”

At Tehez’s words, the Factory Manager took the board, examined it, placed the welded part on it, and marked it with a pen.

He drilled holes in the marked positions and fixed the hinges and locking device he had made with bolts and nuts.

Then, he fitted a large rubber packing into the circular frame.

“The water won’t leak when the lid is closed.”

“It won’t be 100%, but it’s better than nothing. Good. That’s about it… Channing! How many holes have you drilled?”

“I’m almost done.”

“Tehez! Go and bend that into a cylinder with Channing. You have to weld it carefully.”

Tehez nodded and approached Channing.

“Are you done?”

“Yeah. I’m done. Turn on the bending machine.”

“If we’re making it with a motor, wouldn’t it be better to weld the two together and bend them at once?”

Channing, who had drilled the last hole, pondered for a moment and looked at Tehez.

“Hmm… Wouldn’t the welded part break while bending?”

“That could happen. Then we’ll have to bend it into a semicircle and weld it simultaneously.”

Tehez agreed with Channing’s words and operated the bending machine. Channing carefully tried to lift the perforated steel plate with his gloved hand but let go.

“Wow. This is heavier than I thought.”

“Let’s do it together.”

Tehez, who had finished operating the bending machine, quickly came over, and the two carefully lifted the steel plate.

As they inserted the steel plate into the bending machine, it rotated and bent the steel plate. Channing and Tehez lowered the semi-circular perforated steel plate and inserted the next one.

Two semi-circular steel plates were made, and Channing tied a nylon string to a piece of chalk and measured one end with a tape measure.

“What are you doing?”

At Tehez’s question, Channing looked at the paper and thought, measuring the length of the string on the tape measure a few more times before tying a sharp chisel to one end and handing it to Tehez.

“Stick it on the floor.”

“This?”

Tehez placed the tip of the chisel on the floor, and Channing held the chalk and started to rotate around the cement floor. A circle was drawn on the floor with Tehez as the center.

“If we weld it along this line, we’ll get a perfect circle.”

“Oh! Smart! Did you use what Master explained back then?”

“Yeah. That pi thing. I’m not smart enough to fully understand it, but I learned how to do it roughly.”

Tehez praised Channing, who was scratching his head, and she stood the steel plate up and aligned it with the circle.

When Channing stood the other steel plate up to make a cylinder with the first one, Tehez quickly picked up the welding machine next to her.

“Hold it steady, Channing.”

“Just tack weld it. Otherwise, it’ll warp.”

“I know.”

While Channing held the two steel plates together with his hands, Tehez welded from the top. She was welding one stitch at a time. It was like basting in sewing.

After welding one side, Tehez walked to the other side and welded it in the same way.

“I’m done.”

“Good. Now we do it simultaneously.”

At Tehez’s words, Channing brought another welding machine. And so, the two, wearing welding masks, began to weld simultaneously.