49th of Ash, 109th Year of the Age of Steel
Location: City of Rheimanc, Duchy of Arlais
The cold wind blew on his face. Leon took the piece of paper and gave it another read, ensuring he was in the right place. Despite the lack of light from inside the shop, Leon could hear distance hammering of metal and a melody being hummed in rhythm.
"Welker & Welker," he mumbled to himself, taking another look at the name written on the piece of paper.
After contemplating for a while, he decided to knock on the door.
"Hello? Anybody here?" he questioned. For a moment, the hammering of metal and humming stopped. After a few seconds, it resumed. Leon knocked on the door again, this time a little bit louder. "Hello? Anybody here?" he repeated his question. And for the second time, the hammering and humming stopped. It took a bit longer before the hammering and humming resumed.
Leon took a deep breath and steadied himself. This time he pounded on the door. "HELLO! ANYBODY HE-"
The door swung open. "Listen here….." the middle-aged man looked at Leon "…brat, what the heck do you want?"
"I…."
"What the hell do you want brat? I've had it with your childish pranks. Knocking on people's door at strange hours."
Leon took a deep breath and looked the man in the eyes. "My name is Leon. Franz told me to come here."
The man was slightly taken aback by his determination and firm stance. Usually, kids his age would have stuttered or run away once provoked. He can't help but feel a familiar uneasiness. He sighed, "Dammit Franz" he grumbled. "So you're the one Franz been talking about huh? Well, come on in."
The warmth of the workshop immediately greeted Leon. He looked around at the workshop. The man closed the door behind him and grunted. "So, Franz told me that you have an interest in gunsmithing, right?"
Leon nodded. "Yes, sir."
The man studied Leon, from his appearance, how he stood, how he walked and talked. "So, kid. Why are you here?"
"To learn about gunsmi-"
The man cut him short, "You doesn't look like you came from a poor upbringing, the way you stand, how you talk, even the way you dress showed that you must've proper upbringing, coming from a well off family."
Leon remained silent, thinking of the best response to the man's question. What should I tell him? I only wanted to get away from home and am interested in firearms. But it doesn't sound convincing enough. Looking at the man reminds me of that geezer. I guess telling the truth would be better than looking for excuses.
"We ain't got all day, some of us have work to do and if you are wasting my tim-"
"I came here because I have something to prove."
The man scoffed, "Join the army if you want to prove yourself."
Leon took a deep breath, "I wanted to prove to my grandfather and father that their ways are obsolete."
"Hoho…..Now, this is interesting." The man chuckled, and Leon's hand grabbed his attention. He knew the callouses of a working man and was intrigued by what line of work this kid in front of him did. "Obsolete, huh? In what ways is their teaching obsolete?
Leon took a deep breath. "Because swords are obsolete and firearms is the future of warfare."
The man scoffed, "Obsolete huh, then-"
From the man's response, Leon knew that the man was a native of Rheimanc, not a newcomer. Not many people knew about his family, probably some of the higher-ups in the Imperial military and those unfortunate enough to clash with his grandfather on the frontline during the annexation of their region into the Imperium.
"Not everyone can deflect a bullet like that monster! No matter how many hours we put into it, it's just inhumane. Yet that geezer worked us like a dog! Even his own sons can't reached that level of expertise and he wanted his grandchildren to achieve it? What a load of bull crap." Leon vented.
"Grandchi….." The man stopped, and his confusion turned into a hearty laugh. "Well, I'll be damned. No wonder you have that familiar aura in you. A Wralux, here in my workshop, asking to be taught in the ways of the Imperium." Catching his breath, the man continued, "I take it your old man didn't know of your little adventure here?"
Leon shook his head. "No, and why should he care? It's my life. I'm free to choose my own path."
"Even to the point of being disowned by your family?" gone was the easiness and playfulness in the man's tone.
Leon clenched his fist. "Yes, if you know what he puts us through then you would choose the same."
The man paused for a moment to think. He turned around, made his way to the stovetop, and placed a kettle. "So what will you do if your family came looking for you?"
"T..they won't."
"How can you be su-"
Leon unwrapped the half-broken blade and let it fall to the floor. "They won't."
The man stopped. He knew the gravity of Leon's action. To break one's blade willingly and not in combat is a taboo in the Wralux household, and if the bearer of the broken blade wants to rejoin the family, they have to be acknowledged in combat by the head of the current household. A duel with the current head of the household using the broken blade. He then chuckled. Somehow the kid reminded him of his past.
"Let's hope that conviction of yours stayed strong." The man held out his hand for a handshake. "Well then a proper introduction is due. I'm Markus Welker of the Welker & Welker, well met Leon."
Leon grinned, "Well met sir."
"Let's get to it then. I'm sure old man Wralux emphasizes the importance of learning the basics, no matter how trivial it may seem." He looked at Leon and then around his workshop. "The most important thing for a gunsmith or any other smith is to have a proper workshop. You must remember three things: Warmth, ventilation, and light. Those three are the core requirements for a gunsmith's workshop." Markus explained and raised three fingers to emphasize on the importance of the three aspects.
"No one can work well if his hands are cold, his brain foggy from foul air, and his eyes tired from too little light." He continued. "Best place for a workshop location would be somewhere on ground level. You don't want to be stuck in a workshop in the basement since it is usually poorly heated in the cold seasons, inadequately ventilated, and devoid of natural light." Markus then took a deep breath and leaned on a workbench. "Dampness can cause the metal parts to rust."
"So basements would be bad choice for a workplace. What about attics? Since attics have those three aspects that you talked about earlier." Leon questioned.
"Well, they have warmth, light, and probably ventilation. You could cut a hole in the roof or use a dual fan like the one they used in the factory to control the ventilation." He paused briefly before continuing, "But you need to strengthen the flooring where you place your workbench and any heavy weights. As I said earlier, it would work best if you could have it on the ground floor. No need to worry about the workbench or any heavy weights crashing through the floor. You could build the place to get adequate natural light and ventilation." He spread his arms, "Just like this place, good light" Rolf pointed at the glass windows and roof, "Flooring," He stomped on the floor then took a deep breath, "and ventilation."
The kettle whistled, interrupting the two. Markus motioned for Leon to follow him. "So, what are the three core requirements for a gunsmith's workshop?" He asked Leon as he poured himself a cup of coffee and another one for Leon.
"Warmth, light and ventilation, sir." Leon replied as he took the cup handed to him.
"You catch on quick. Now on to the next part. A workshop wouldn't be a workshop without a workbench right?" Markus asked rhetorically and walked toward the workbench located in his workshop.
"This is important too," Markus said as he walked toward the workbench and counted as he went along. "One, two, three, four, five, six," and stopped at the workbench. "Five or six feet clear space in front of the workbench. Same clear area to the right of the bench if you are left-handed and to the left of the bench if you are right-handed." He motioned to the left and right spaces near the workbench. "Oh, and if you have a big enough place, try to keep the artificer power tools well away from the bench." Markus then took a sip from his cup and looked at Leon. He then took out a small notebook from his pocket and a pencil and handed them to Leon. "Our memory might betray us. Better write it down, kid."
Leon took the notebook and began scribbling down the information he had learned. "Five to six feet, left if right-handed, right if left-handed, warmth, light, ventilation, ground level, preferable natural light." He mumbled to himself as he scribbled the words down.
Markus took another sip from his cup and sighed in relief. "So aside from your workbench area, you have your bluing area and storage area." He continued explaining and raised his cup, pointing to two rooms farther from the workbench area. "But if you are short on space, you could store your wood and metal stock overhead using racks securely fastened to the wall and ceiling. Don't forget to arrange it securely. Least the vibrations from the various gunsmithing process caused the stocks to shake down on your head."
Leon furiously wrote it down. "Ah sir, what is the bluing area for?" He asked.
"Bluing is a process to preserve the appearance and performance of your gun, aside from the regular oiling and cleaning," Markus replied. He then walked toward the workbench, placed his cup on the workbench, and pulled out a ruler. "Now, let's get back to the workbench. You could use these measurements as a reference and adjust it to yourself." Markus then knelt beside the workbench and began measuring, "This workbench is around thirty inches wide, thirty-four inches high, with a top of one and a half times seven-inch pine, and legs four times four inches." He looked at Leon, ensuring he wasn't explaining it too fast. "For the drawers over here, nineteen times nineteen inches, and four inches deep, all being inside measurements." Markus then gave a slight knock on the backboard. "The backboard here, keeping your tools from falling on the floor, is made of seven-and-a-half-inch pine. The bench is assembled with a three eighth inch carriage bolts. A one times eight-inch apron board in front, a four-inch machinist's vise mounted at the right, and a six-inch carpenter's vise at the left."
"That's a lot of measurements." Leon sighed
Markus looked at Leon then he laughed. "Well that's how it is kid. Oh that reminds me, it's a whole different measurements if you prefer working standing up or sitting down." He grinned. "Rule to remember is, you want the bench to be high enough in order to work without straining the back and neck while you are standing."
Leon jotted down all the measurements. "Sir, let's say I only have a small space, how can I maximize the use of the workbench?"
"Well, you could use the backboard for temporary storage of tools by adding cleats and a narrow, thin strip of wood so that the tools could be placed between the strip and the backboard and, at the same time, separated by the cleats. But it is better to keep your tools in a separate cabinet or chest or on a nearby table." Markus then took another sip from his cup. "And one more thing before I forget, it isn't a must but, for the quality of life of the gunsmith, keep your small objects such as screws, bolts, nuts, nails, taps, dies, drift pins, gauges and others in a screw-top glass jars, where they will be dust-proof and plainly visible. You don't want to be one of those gunsmiths keeping their small objects in cigar boxes and drawers cause when you want to find something in a hurry, it is always in the last container." He snorted. "Always find it in the last containers."
"And to keep all objects of the same kind in one jar, and for various sizes to use a separate jar for each size right?" Leon added
Markus chuckled, "You're really a quick learner. Don't forget to paste labels on jars for screws, showing the size and thread."
"Last but not least, is to keep neatness and cleanliness. Have a bench brush, to clear the bench of sawdust, shavings, metal filings and broken parts. Keep a broom handy and sweep the floor around the bench after each job. Throw your trash into container made of metal to avoid fire-hazard. Keep your tools under lock and key, never let anyone borrow your tools for work outside the workshop as the tools could be injured by careless handling and keep children away from the workshop. Curious little bastards they are, too curious for their own good."
"So aside from finding a location that have the three aspect of warmth, ventilation and light, I must have a big enough location for the workbench, storage and bluing area. That's quite the expense."
Markus scoffed, "You've seen one of those Imperium factories right? They're huge and the manpower needed to mass produced firearms ain't a joke. But you don't have to worry about that now. When you become skilled enough to surpass me then you could think about opening up your own workshop."
Leon placed the notebook in his pocket and took a sip from his cup. "So where do I start sir?"
The door opened, and a familiar figure entered. "Hey Leon, you're early." Franz chuckled.
Markus grinned, "From the basics, of course," he patted Leon as he made his way outside. "Franz will show you the ropes."
"Oh, come on geezer! "Franz protested
"So which workbench will we use?" Leon asked eagerly
Franz facepalm and pointed at the broom.
Location: City of Rheimanc, Duchy of Arlais
The cold wind blew on his face. Leon took the piece of paper and gave it another read, ensuring he was in the right place. Despite the lack of light from inside the shop, Leon could hear distance hammering of metal and a melody being hummed in rhythm.
"Welker & Welker," he mumbled to himself, taking another look at the name written on the piece of paper.
After contemplating for a while, he decided to knock on the door.
"Hello? Anybody here?" he questioned. For a moment, the hammering of metal and humming stopped. After a few seconds, it resumed. Leon knocked on the door again, this time a little bit louder. "Hello? Anybody here?" he repeated his question. And for the second time, the hammering and humming stopped. It took a bit longer before the hammering and humming resumed.
Leon took a deep breath and steadied himself. This time he pounded on the door. "HELLO! ANYBODY HE-"
The door swung open. "Listen here….." the middle-aged man looked at Leon "…brat, what the heck do you want?"
"I…."
"What the hell do you want brat? I've had it with your childish pranks. Knocking on people's door at strange hours."
Leon took a deep breath and looked the man in the eyes. "My name is Leon. Franz told me to come here."
The man was slightly taken aback by his determination and firm stance. Usually, kids his age would have stuttered or run away once provoked. He can't help but feel a familiar uneasiness. He sighed, "Dammit Franz" he grumbled. "So you're the one Franz been talking about huh? Well, come on in."
The warmth of the workshop immediately greeted Leon. He looked around at the workshop. The man closed the door behind him and grunted. "So, Franz told me that you have an interest in gunsmithing, right?"
Leon nodded. "Yes, sir."
The man studied Leon, from his appearance, how he stood, how he walked and talked. "So, kid. Why are you here?"
"To learn about gunsmi-"
The man cut him short, "You doesn't look like you came from a poor upbringing, the way you stand, how you talk, even the way you dress showed that you must've proper upbringing, coming from a well off family."
Leon remained silent, thinking of the best response to the man's question. What should I tell him? I only wanted to get away from home and am interested in firearms. But it doesn't sound convincing enough. Looking at the man reminds me of that geezer. I guess telling the truth would be better than looking for excuses.
"We ain't got all day, some of us have work to do and if you are wasting my tim-"
"I came here because I have something to prove."
The man scoffed, "Join the army if you want to prove yourself."
Leon took a deep breath, "I wanted to prove to my grandfather and father that their ways are obsolete."
"Hoho…..Now, this is interesting." The man chuckled, and Leon's hand grabbed his attention. He knew the callouses of a working man and was intrigued by what line of work this kid in front of him did. "Obsolete, huh? In what ways is their teaching obsolete?
Leon took a deep breath. "Because swords are obsolete and firearms is the future of warfare."
The man scoffed, "Obsolete huh, then-"
From the man's response, Leon knew that the man was a native of Rheimanc, not a newcomer. Not many people knew about his family, probably some of the higher-ups in the Imperial military and those unfortunate enough to clash with his grandfather on the frontline during the annexation of their region into the Imperium.
"Not everyone can deflect a bullet like that monster! No matter how many hours we put into it, it's just inhumane. Yet that geezer worked us like a dog! Even his own sons can't reached that level of expertise and he wanted his grandchildren to achieve it? What a load of bull crap." Leon vented.
"Grandchi….." The man stopped, and his confusion turned into a hearty laugh. "Well, I'll be damned. No wonder you have that familiar aura in you. A Wralux, here in my workshop, asking to be taught in the ways of the Imperium." Catching his breath, the man continued, "I take it your old man didn't know of your little adventure here?"
Leon shook his head. "No, and why should he care? It's my life. I'm free to choose my own path."
"Even to the point of being disowned by your family?" gone was the easiness and playfulness in the man's tone.
Leon clenched his fist. "Yes, if you know what he puts us through then you would choose the same."
The man paused for a moment to think. He turned around, made his way to the stovetop, and placed a kettle. "So what will you do if your family came looking for you?"
"T..they won't."
"How can you be su-"
Leon unwrapped the half-broken blade and let it fall to the floor. "They won't."
The man stopped. He knew the gravity of Leon's action. To break one's blade willingly and not in combat is a taboo in the Wralux household, and if the bearer of the broken blade wants to rejoin the family, they have to be acknowledged in combat by the head of the current household. A duel with the current head of the household using the broken blade. He then chuckled. Somehow the kid reminded him of his past.
"Let's hope that conviction of yours stayed strong." The man held out his hand for a handshake. "Well then a proper introduction is due. I'm Markus Welker of the Welker & Welker, well met Leon."
Leon grinned, "Well met sir."
"Let's get to it then. I'm sure old man Wralux emphasizes the importance of learning the basics, no matter how trivial it may seem." He looked at Leon and then around his workshop. "The most important thing for a gunsmith or any other smith is to have a proper workshop. You must remember three things: Warmth, ventilation, and light. Those three are the core requirements for a gunsmith's workshop." Markus explained and raised three fingers to emphasize on the importance of the three aspects.
"No one can work well if his hands are cold, his brain foggy from foul air, and his eyes tired from too little light." He continued. "Best place for a workshop location would be somewhere on ground level. You don't want to be stuck in a workshop in the basement since it is usually poorly heated in the cold seasons, inadequately ventilated, and devoid of natural light." Markus then took a deep breath and leaned on a workbench. "Dampness can cause the metal parts to rust."
"So basements would be bad choice for a workplace. What about attics? Since attics have those three aspects that you talked about earlier." Leon questioned.
"Well, they have warmth, light, and probably ventilation. You could cut a hole in the roof or use a dual fan like the one they used in the factory to control the ventilation." He paused briefly before continuing, "But you need to strengthen the flooring where you place your workbench and any heavy weights. As I said earlier, it would work best if you could have it on the ground floor. No need to worry about the workbench or any heavy weights crashing through the floor. You could build the place to get adequate natural light and ventilation." He spread his arms, "Just like this place, good light" Rolf pointed at the glass windows and roof, "Flooring," He stomped on the floor then took a deep breath, "and ventilation."
The kettle whistled, interrupting the two. Markus motioned for Leon to follow him. "So, what are the three core requirements for a gunsmith's workshop?" He asked Leon as he poured himself a cup of coffee and another one for Leon.
"Warmth, light and ventilation, sir." Leon replied as he took the cup handed to him.
"You catch on quick. Now on to the next part. A workshop wouldn't be a workshop without a workbench right?" Markus asked rhetorically and walked toward the workbench located in his workshop.
"This is important too," Markus said as he walked toward the workbench and counted as he went along. "One, two, three, four, five, six," and stopped at the workbench. "Five or six feet clear space in front of the workbench. Same clear area to the right of the bench if you are left-handed and to the left of the bench if you are right-handed." He motioned to the left and right spaces near the workbench. "Oh, and if you have a big enough place, try to keep the artificer power tools well away from the bench." Markus then took a sip from his cup and looked at Leon. He then took out a small notebook from his pocket and a pencil and handed them to Leon. "Our memory might betray us. Better write it down, kid."
Leon took the notebook and began scribbling down the information he had learned. "Five to six feet, left if right-handed, right if left-handed, warmth, light, ventilation, ground level, preferable natural light." He mumbled to himself as he scribbled the words down.
Markus took another sip from his cup and sighed in relief. "So aside from your workbench area, you have your bluing area and storage area." He continued explaining and raised his cup, pointing to two rooms farther from the workbench area. "But if you are short on space, you could store your wood and metal stock overhead using racks securely fastened to the wall and ceiling. Don't forget to arrange it securely. Least the vibrations from the various gunsmithing process caused the stocks to shake down on your head."
Leon furiously wrote it down. "Ah sir, what is the bluing area for?" He asked.
"Bluing is a process to preserve the appearance and performance of your gun, aside from the regular oiling and cleaning," Markus replied. He then walked toward the workbench, placed his cup on the workbench, and pulled out a ruler. "Now, let's get back to the workbench. You could use these measurements as a reference and adjust it to yourself." Markus then knelt beside the workbench and began measuring, "This workbench is around thirty inches wide, thirty-four inches high, with a top of one and a half times seven-inch pine, and legs four times four inches." He looked at Leon, ensuring he wasn't explaining it too fast. "For the drawers over here, nineteen times nineteen inches, and four inches deep, all being inside measurements." Markus then gave a slight knock on the backboard. "The backboard here, keeping your tools from falling on the floor, is made of seven-and-a-half-inch pine. The bench is assembled with a three eighth inch carriage bolts. A one times eight-inch apron board in front, a four-inch machinist's vise mounted at the right, and a six-inch carpenter's vise at the left."
"That's a lot of measurements." Leon sighed
Markus looked at Leon then he laughed. "Well that's how it is kid. Oh that reminds me, it's a whole different measurements if you prefer working standing up or sitting down." He grinned. "Rule to remember is, you want the bench to be high enough in order to work without straining the back and neck while you are standing."
Leon jotted down all the measurements. "Sir, let's say I only have a small space, how can I maximize the use of the workbench?"
"Well, you could use the backboard for temporary storage of tools by adding cleats and a narrow, thin strip of wood so that the tools could be placed between the strip and the backboard and, at the same time, separated by the cleats. But it is better to keep your tools in a separate cabinet or chest or on a nearby table." Markus then took another sip from his cup. "And one more thing before I forget, it isn't a must but, for the quality of life of the gunsmith, keep your small objects such as screws, bolts, nuts, nails, taps, dies, drift pins, gauges and others in a screw-top glass jars, where they will be dust-proof and plainly visible. You don't want to be one of those gunsmiths keeping their small objects in cigar boxes and drawers cause when you want to find something in a hurry, it is always in the last container." He snorted. "Always find it in the last containers."
"And to keep all objects of the same kind in one jar, and for various sizes to use a separate jar for each size right?" Leon added
Markus chuckled, "You're really a quick learner. Don't forget to paste labels on jars for screws, showing the size and thread."
"Last but not least, is to keep neatness and cleanliness. Have a bench brush, to clear the bench of sawdust, shavings, metal filings and broken parts. Keep a broom handy and sweep the floor around the bench after each job. Throw your trash into container made of metal to avoid fire-hazard. Keep your tools under lock and key, never let anyone borrow your tools for work outside the workshop as the tools could be injured by careless handling and keep children away from the workshop. Curious little bastards they are, too curious for their own good."
"So aside from finding a location that have the three aspect of warmth, ventilation and light, I must have a big enough location for the workbench, storage and bluing area. That's quite the expense."
Markus scoffed, "You've seen one of those Imperium factories right? They're huge and the manpower needed to mass produced firearms ain't a joke. But you don't have to worry about that now. When you become skilled enough to surpass me then you could think about opening up your own workshop."
Leon placed the notebook in his pocket and took a sip from his cup. "So where do I start sir?"
The door opened, and a familiar figure entered. "Hey Leon, you're early." Franz chuckled.
Markus grinned, "From the basics, of course," he patted Leon as he made his way outside. "Franz will show you the ropes."
"Oh, come on geezer! "Franz protested
"So which workbench will we use?" Leon asked eagerly
Franz facepalm and pointed at the broom.
