Reprinted from the UMBA Journal, Vol 16, Issue 6, Novemnber-December 1994

    The ancient lament goes "Sad as a smith in winter". Not only is this reference to the typically unheated, save for the forge, smithy, but the innate contrariness of the block of ice occupying the slack tub. We all know that UMBA really stands for Unbelievably Malevolent Blizzards Arriving, or should. Though I'm definitely in the "lower" Upper Midwest, last winter my shop saw -20 F. more than once, enough to harden up the slack tub and my disposition.

    The traditional solution for the "I can't stick no iron in no big block 'O' ice blues is to salt the tub, which while working reasonable well, has the unpleasant tendency to rust everything in the shop but your backside. Conscious of this, I messed around with a number of different antifreezes (don't even think about using automotive antifreeze-ethylene glycol it's sweet tasting and poisonous which isn't so good for kids and dogs) before trying RV antifreeze (propylene glycol the pink stuff) which is non-poisonous and doesn't leave your hands feeling yucky. A 30% mix pulled me through the above temperatures with just a touch of slushiness at -25 F. After a year of use I'm happy to report that not only are there no negative side effects, but the lost tongs I just fished out after a years marinade emerged devoid of corrosion!

 Jeffrey D. Knight