Thekla McDaniels

Much better!  

I need the outside dimension of one side of the sawbuck to be smaller than the firebox on my wood stove so that a piece of wood that is small enough for my firebox will rest between the cross pieces.

Thank you

I have bought all wool and all jute rugs from overstock dot com and been happy with the price and the quality.  And woven many a rag rug, but that requires a loom.

You can crochet a rag rug… you control the size and fiber content, and color.

If you can get the raw fleece, you can make a felt rug.

If we want non mainstream items, sometimes the only viable option is to (learn to) make them ourselves.  

Good luck!

paul wheaton wrote:

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Here is my sawbuck…..
And back to the sawbuck, right now it is collapsible, and I am reluctant to put permanent boards, holding the legs a set distance apart. I am thinking I will just tie string around them.

Two suggestions:

suggestion-1:  move the middle bits closer to one edge.  It helps when cutting smaller chunks.

suggestion-2:  add a rope or wire to the bottom so that the sawbuck footprint is limited.  This keeps the sawbuck from getting lower and lower to the ground.

Yeah, string rope wire something

And “middle bits” is the center uprights, so one end is longer than the other?  I had trouble figuring that out so I just made it symmetrical, but now, I could probably un screw the screws on the center and adjust it.  As it is I am cutting inside the end uprights, and while the horizontal cross pieces are not in the way, I worry about saw chain coming in to contact with the bolt that holds the X.

Even with the current configuration, it is a very handy piece of equipment!

Here is my sawbuck. It is in my greenhouse because in the greenhouse the Fire Wood is pre warmed ( compared to outdoor temperatures), if it got snowed on or was wet, it can dry.

It is a new use for the greenhouse, which has its long axis east to West. I’m using the north side to store Wood. The greenhouse got torn up by hail last summer. I did not get the roof replaced. I threw a tarp over it and then chicken wire completely covering the tarp. The chicken wire is weighted down. The point of the chicken wire is to keep the tarp from flapping because we get a lot of wind here.  It seems like maybe half inch chicken wire installed with an inch gap over the replacement glazing might protect future greenhouse from future hail storms.

And back to the sawbuck, right now it is collapsible, and I am reluctant to put permanent boards, holding the legs a set distance apart. I am thinking I will just tie string around them.

Chicken teapot!  Chick standing on hen, not peeking out from wing

Thank you Phil!

I think I will use chellac!  

You know, I made an adobe-cob floor once.  Didn’t want to use solvent “boiled” linseed oil.  I bought flax seed oil from my soapmaking oil supplier (Soapers Choice), and heated it.  Probably dangerous, though I didn’t injure myself or burn anything down.  It stunk, took a while to cure, and made a very hard and waterproof finish…. But I don’t want to do it again!

I like the idea of chellac because it’s non-toxic, you can build up one thin coat after another because it’s quick drying, and you can erase mistakes just for starters.

That guy, Stumpy Nubs is great.  Thanks very much

All this incredibly beautiful wood work!

What ever do people put on the wood as finish?

I just received a new and unfinished spinning wheel and I have no idea what kind of finish to use.

Can anyone direct me to beautiful nontoxic durable wood finish, for indoor use?

Is Danish oil or tung oil appropriate?

Many thanks

My best success gardening in deer territory is a fence to keep the dog in.  Yes, the dog barks, but I don’t have close neighbors.

A big problem is when the majority of the people population just LOVE the deer that come in to town.  

Reading this great thread, starting with the input from Toby Hemenway, I wondered how a slingshot would work on those deer that don’t even bother to run away.  

When a deer gets caught in a fence, it’s the crying and wailing that I don’t like.  Only reason I haven’t killed a fawn with a shovel is the distress it would cause me.

I live in mule deer country, and it’s a wintering ground.  We have hundreds of deer within a couple mile radius.  I am trying to establish pasture and deep soil.  I want a few sheep and goats.  Right now I am buying 800 pound bales of alfalfa to keep them from eating the plants too low.  I don’t want to feed the deer.

What makes the dogs even more valuable IMO is that there are wolves in the neighborhood.  Maybe 15-20 miles distant, but that’s not out of range for wolves.  We also have coyotes, bear, fox and mountain lions.  I am counting on the intelligence of the predators.  I am sure they know I and my livestock are here, but I hope they would rather not tangle with the dogs, and will eat the deer, or the livestock not guarded by LGDs.  

Keeping the deer at a distance is an added benefit.

Many a teapot has come and gone in my life! Currently I make tea in a revere ware pot.  

What is worthy of this thread but I have no photo, is a teapot shaped like a chicken, complete with a chick head poking out from underneath one of the wings.  The spout is where the hen’s beak belongs.  It’s a functional spout .

I found it at a junk store last fall, got it for $6.00, a STEAL!  And sent it in my daughter’s birthday box.

Kate said
“Clearing some of this to grow food is more of a matter of choosing where to get our firewood and mulch from, not industrial-scale clearing.“

Well said!  To me this represents the very heart of permaculture!

I am going to be quoting and paraphrasing this in days and years to come.

Thank you, Kate.