Phillip Gapp

Submitting my first ever carved spoon - made of buckthorn (left over chunk from the club mallet) using a pocket knife and later some chisels and sandpaper.

Sorry for spamming the thread, I'll be off now to bed What's the record for most bbs in a day? Asking for a friend.

I wanted extra carbon on hand for the new compost pile the fam started this year and near-future humanure for myself. The owner of the same lumberyard that worked with me on the lathe stakes said I could buy sawdust from the 'premium' pile... or just shovel my own for free from under the sawmill. Had to run to Menards anyway (like a budget Home Depot or Lowes) and they had a few tote options on steep sale!

Pics tell the rest

Edit: to clarify, my submission is intended to represent the soft skill side - entrepreneurial relationship and permie culture building - and I didn't communicate that clearly. It required iteration to get the right pitch as well as find the right audience. Only then was I able to obtain support in free and discounted materials that I don't yet have the skill or tools to produce myself. Driving around and shoveling 80gal of sawdust was simply the (second) benefit of that new connection

I made a cool tool! After learning to trace land contours with an a-frame level I decided to make a water level. I'll skip the tutorial but if anyone is interested I'm happy to help

The main issue was gluing the tube to the reservoir - I tried some things I had but didn't expect to work, and finally just used jb plastic bonder which added strength and a watertight seal.

Bonus, used some of the stakes I got from a local lumberyard at a discount because of my surveying experiments (see pics of bundle and stakes I made for marking survey points).

Hiya Permies!

I fixed a front-load washing machine experiencing violent slamming during spin cycles. The family was going to replace it after a pro 'diagnosed' it. First thought it was the 4 shocks, replaced those with no change. Then the springs, same. These were common causes online, the first steps the repair guy recommended, and 'cheap' parts.

Finally found the root cause - a broken concrete and plastic counterweight (pic). Partially stabilized it for continued use while we hunted for the part (which we were lucky to find).

It makes sense if this isn't worth full potential points because I don't have pics of the shocks and springs (or the 4 times I disassembled and reassembled the machine!), nor the final fix today. Also I don't want a washing machine in the future  (but happy to help people who do!); I'm really excited to prepare for the laundry-by-hand BB and plan to use it personally going forward.

The hardest part - the spring wire to hold the door seal to the tub. The first 3 times all had my blood pressure up as it popped off one side or another. Today I put in and place and pulled it right into position! It always feels good to level up, and keep a machine doing its job

I really wanted to make the broom first, but I want to make a nice one with the right materials and education, so here's my dirty->clean floor!

I did not expect this BB to be in my first 3 (or 20), but the universe said I would wake up to a septic pro mixing water into the primary tank to empty it!

Ran outside, met the guy and learned a lot about our specific system, general principles and best practices, and some horror stories that reinforced my  budding-yet-obsessive interest in humanure
(PS I'm working with the city and MN state regs to create a pilot: just my 'waste', a structure with multiple piles, water protection (above and below), wildlife and human protection (walls/fencing), carbon storage, and even an unmanaged control test pile. The idea is to have things tested to prove safe final product, and hopefully a clear timeframe for an unmanaged (abandoned) pile to be safe. Honestly I've already learned so much from this forum about 'poop beasts' that I'm almost tempted to scrap the experiment I had planned. What do you think?!)

Then I cut a sapling for my stick (that was too close to a structural foundation) (mightily in 6 hatchet swings! lol) and checked the secondary tank (a couple times in different places because the water was removing some material, making it hard to get a reading. I even added a rag per the pro's recommendation. He says they rarely do the stick test in this county and almost everyone roughly estimates the layers - which boggles me....). Luckily the system is working well and was in good shape, there was almost no sludge/scum in tanks 2 and 3!

I love(d) this one!

Opted for 2-pic submission because I already had urine collected just right for a 1:10 dilution in the 5gal bucket, and I had 3 tomato plants left from the neighbor I met recently and helped plant a BUNCH of tomatoes! I understand they are hungry

It might be too early for this treatment (?), but the 'one spot' philosophy rang true for me and I'm eager to observe and learn vs. harvest All 3 urine-receiving growies are German Pink tomatoes about 8-10 weeks old (the neighbor started them pretty early from seed and we completed her planting about 2 weeks ago).

FIRST BB for this budding permanatic (permanent permaculture fanatic? if it isn't coined yet please make a note in the log xD)!

Meets minimum reqs. Focused on safety, dealing with the tools at hand, and setting a baseline for documentation for future BBs

Starting wood: I think it is Common Buckthorn but I'm still embarrassingly new to plant ID. Any feedback appreciated!

Notes - I don't have the correct saw, hatchet, or axe for this. It will be so much faster with the right tools (not to mention having made one now), but I'm glad to have done it the hard way the first time.

Thank you leaders and community!!!

PS Extra credit - the scrap went into compost and mulch, and I plan to use other pieces of the buckthorn for the spoon, stool legs, and a lashed stand for some rolls of material I want to be able to measure and cut more easily!

Hi Mike! I'm Phil and I recently became interested in permaculture, earth structures, passive solar, etc.! Found this thread and (being in the Twin Cities, and your recent posts inviting help) just have to write Many of the inspirations for your design have been floating through my head, and I'm beginning very small scale experiments with everything from earth tubes and buried cisterns to walipini excavation and insulation. Some years future I'd absolutely love to build something like your greenhouse.

I read the first couple pages of the thread and the last, but haven't caught up entirely. What are your current goals besides replacing the 'glazing'? What do you need help with? What would you like to see planted? How long would you be comfortable having a guest ?

Seriously though I'd love to visit, and if it makes sense for us, discuss volunteer goals and plans. Even with experiments and daydreaming I still have spare time and idle hands.

Thank you!