Anthony Aiuppa

More things we might do

Portable Sawmill


Skidding logs.

That is a very impressive system. You have put a lot of thought and care into that project. I have recognized the over heating feed tube problem and am very excited about your solution. You mentioned that your exhaust leaves at 80 - 90 degrees which is quite amazing. I am curious what your exhaust port / chimney looks like, and whether it leaves through the roof or the wall. Thank you so much!

Heres an interesting video about the tungsten filaments.

Tyler Flaumitsch wrote:That bench looks heavy duty! The core looks awesome, I take it that it is the one that broke up though as heard in the podcast. Have you guys been able to make headway in rebuilding?

The core pictured above, made out of clay and perlite is the one we built to replace the original broken core. It has been working admirably so far.
When the core is fired for three plus hours the bench gets nice and warm. When fired for 6 plus hours I would call it hot. Emily and I were using inflatable thermarests that started to "pop" like popcorn as the factory bonds began to melt and break. Now however we have assembled the buckwheat mattress which is much better. We'll get some pictures up soon.

Micky Ewing wrote:Hi Emily and Tony,


I'm curious about the dry stone foundation for your RMH. I'm guessing this is a combined thermal mass, moisture barrier and thermal insulation. I'd like to know where the idea comes from and if it has been tested somewhere before. I have old stone fences on my land, so if this is an effective approach, I may try it too.

Micky, you would be right. The idea came straight from Erica during the workshop. I think it is a tested cob building technique, IE: cob needs a good hat and pair of galoshes. The topic is covered somewhat in the cob book "Hand Sculpted House" by Ianto Evans.
Emily and I like drystone masonry. I think if we had had more prep time we might have made more of the bench out of drystack, thus saving us the work of mixing as much cob. It is our other job to do this on trails in National Parks.

I just trying to get rid of a pile of rounds that was collecting snow and moisture. Not my original idea, but Paul really liked it. I was pretty pleased with it, though control was needed to not ruin the edge of the maul on the gravel underneath. Chris, I would agree, a strap would be better, the bungee is a bit sketchy and as you saw logs would fall from time to time. Although you would be sad if you put a maul through a nice ratchet strap. The bungees just happened to be on hand. I think some cheap rope or cord with a truckers hitch would be pretty good.

A Tipi Update:

We had a bit of a delay on our cob progress when we discovered that we could not find any organic straw anywhere nearby. After calling a dozen places and asking around, we decided to take Paul's advice and use his new scythe to harvest some straw from the backyard. So here is a photo of Tony's first scything experience. We still have some practicing to do, but we were able to harvest a decent amount of straw within an hour.

I was wondering if anyone has any organic straw they want to sell in or near Missoula. Likewise if you know any sources that would wish to sell. I'm only looking for a bale or two for some cob building, but I'm sure people might want to know for all sorts of things. Thanks much!

Kevin, since speed is currently of utmost importance large 8" timberlock screws are being used as fasteners. They are however expensive in quanity. In future construction the hope is to find alternative solutions that trade time skill and ingenuity for expense.