R Scott

I have used a heavy machete as a froe. Passable on easy to split wood.

A Froe will require a lot more planing to get a smooth board than using a saw, but it leaves the grain whole so you can pay attention when planing to avoid runout and end up with a stronger board for the same thickness. It should improve the tone as well, but that is way beyond ability.

My philosophy on tools is to buy tools to make money, but make do for hobbies and home projects at least at first. I have learned this after spending WAY TOO MUCH tooling up for a hobby that doesn’t last.

They work for things like propane bottles and batteries, but I don’t know if they have enough output for a cold chunk of metal the size of a small engine.

We used to use a torpedo heaters, but have switched over to one of the Chinese diesel heaters. Set it by the equipment, point the air outlet at the oil pan or bottom of the block, and let it go. A small engine takes 5-10 minutes, a tractor takes 30-60.

My wife sprouts dragonfruit seeds from EVERY good dragonfruit she eats, they are not nearly as picky about temperature as they say.

She sprouts a bunch of the blah tasting white ones, too, because are supposed to make super vigorous root stock to graft the tasty buds onto to get fruit in a year instead of five. But she isn’t that far along yet.

The best resource I know for learning about plant nutrition is John Kempf. He has a podcast, articles at aea.com, and been a guest at acres USA eco ag conference. Some of his talks are simple and easy to understand, some are phd level.  

Lee valley has a US website, still $32.50 usd/20. But they are Italian made and by all appearances a multi generational product.

There are lots of clamps made for woodworking and industry that make wonderful clothespins for large or heavy items like jeans and sheets. Most are chrome plated with soft rubber pads but some are stainless.

Burton,

It is both. Low flush toilets definitely have issues with longer pipe runs and less than perfect pipe slope, but the long steady flow from the shower usually fixes the problem in normal houses.  The tank is more complicated, depending on pH, nutrient levels, turnover rate, etc. Way above my pay grade to predict.

John F Dean wrote:Hi R Scott,

You approach a fantastic topic. In a near starvation situation, to what  degree does a person need to be concerned about protein for building?  Certainly, I would not be concerned about muscle building, but just the process of replacing dead cells, even if not at 100%, levies some nutritional demand.

That is another interesting point to look into, autophagy.  Evidently your body much more efficient at recycling old proteins when fasting than when in a calorie restricted (starvation) diet.

As for muscle building, that depends on activity—are you sitting in a safe room waiting out the situation or are you suddenly trying to build a garden out homestead or new shelter?

Your body is constantly breaking down and rebuilding, or you are slowly dying. You need protein and minerals to rebuild, but the quantity and quality are so variable I don’t know what questions would lead to a better answer.

If you don’t want to haul concrete (I don’t blame you one bit) you can look at helical piers. They are giant ground screws. Some are made to be done manually, usually used for decks but should work for a cabin if you DON’T hit rock.

There are ways to make wood last longer in the ground, but some areas are just prone to rot because of moisture, drainage, acidity, soil life, etc. Will it last long enough for you there? I dunno. Your call.

Until you know what you are dealing with for soil in your specific building site, it is all just guesses. Figure out the exact site, dig a test hole, reevaluate the options.

Ned Harr, I will accept your nitpick. I meant to reuse the form for the next pier, not for elsewhere in the house. It isn’t any real money savings, just less hauling up the hill.

I would definitely find a way to haul things all the way without you being the pack mule.  

Code is a one size fits all solution, that’s why it is so expensive—built for worst case.

If you can RELIABLY hit large boulders or bedrock close to the surface, I would dig down till I hit bedrock and use a hammer drill to put rebar pins in the rock and pour concrete piers by hand. I would make square piers from wooden forms, easier to attach skirting than sonotubes and cheaper if you reuse the lumber.