They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
After the setback with the trestles for the new workbench, Seppi and Daddy figured out how to glue the split section back on, clamp it, and then reinforce it with decking screws. Of course then we had to re-trim the notches to compensate for the torque that split the piece off in the first place.… Continue reading New Workbench, Part 2
Seppi and Daddy bought a new workbench! Some assembly required. Before you can assemble, you must disassemble. Cutting the legs using a miter saw. It gives a nice straight cut, but is probably a little overkill for this. A faster, rougher saw would work well enough. Even for these mortices, Grandpa Carl's old rip saw… Continue reading New Workbench, part 1
This is a project I started 6 or 7 years ago, when we took down an old shed in the backyard at the house. I borrowed a thickness planer from a friend and planed a bunch of 2x4's and 2x6's, and glued them into rough pieces for a pair of work horses. These are like… Continue reading Work Horses
It is funny how things never quite go according to (our) plan on the farm. It's also funny how one thing leads to another. For instance, we got to the farm on Tuesday with a list of tasks to get done. One of them, the smallest and easiest, was to come back with four 1/2… Continue reading Taking Apart Shelves
Sometimes doing school in the shop is fun. Sometimes it is not. Sometimes, when your sisters get done before you and get to play with the world's greatest toy (the shop vac), it is just downright awful. That's why it is important to have an incentive for a small man to work for. In this… Continue reading The Box
The last shade mobile we built had a door. This is because, eventually, we plan on enclosing it in chicken wire and putting chickens in it. However, this is not ideal for cows, as they can get stuck in the doorway and break it. So we made another shade mobile last Tuesday. Incidentally, Ryan had… Continue reading The Second Shade Mobile
There are two main issues with keeping animals on pasture all year around here. One is the heat and dryness for 3 months every summer. The other is the cold and wetness for 9 months every winter. Other than that, it's a cinch. Since our pasture doesn't have any trees (yet) we are constructing mobile… Continue reading Mobile Shelters
The big wet and rainy is here. The days of beautiful weather are behind us. We may get one or two here in there, but from now on, it is pretty much just rain until next spring. After the heavy, homeschool lift, and baking and laundry and dishes are done for the morning, and errands… Continue reading Rainy day in the shop
Yesterday was a busy day, we were racing to get the buckwheat harvested and under cover before the rain. We got it off the ground, but only by chopping it up with the lawnmower, and bagging it, and then dumping it on a tarp in the shop. Threshing by hand is just too slow, An… Continue reading Building a Winnowing Frame
Little Farm in the Big City 