Brian Hamalainen

Howdy folks of Permies. I have a bunch of marigolds in my garden that I need to pull up. I know they're good for repelling a lot of pests and even attract some beneficial bugs.

My question is this: what parts are the best for repelling nasties and is there a way I can safely process and preserve them for applying to my spring seedlings?

Dale: Have you done your nail-/screw-holding tests on these poles yet? Have you figured out how deep/prevalent the dark staining usually is? Also, to clarify, the poles you peeled but brought inside/kept out of the rain, what was their color like a few months after peeling?

Data. We like data! Please feed us your findings!

Thank you for sharing. Brian.

Thank you, much.

Loading the logs is something I've seen, on a much smaller scale. Both of the milling devices ("mobile miller" AKA "Giant Freaking Blade On A Backhoe Arm" and the "stationary mill" AKA "The 6 Foot Diameter Blade On A 6 And A Half Foot Table") were new to me.

THIS VIDEO IS VERY CRINGE-WORTHY!



PS: Could someone please fix the code/embed the video?

And



It's amazing when computers can do that with laser-cut steel. Wood is not nearly as "uniform" and this is all by hand.

Great stuff, Joel. Have you fired it up and pounded any metal yet? If so, I'm sure others would also like to see your work.

I took a similar approach with my homemade scrap (wood/charcoal) forges, seen here www.permies.com/t/30487/gear/Wood-Charcoal-Blacksmithing-Tips-Tricks

I hope my experience can help you out.

Looks pretty snazzy Dale! Curious to see how it works out for you.

Andrew: It looks like it has a standard Bar&Chain Oil tank. I figure it probably doesn't spash into the electronics very much. My standard 2-stroke generally keeps the B&CO on the bar end of things and doesn't get it all over my engine.

Very awesome! Good work.

Could you please get some pictures of the stamps in the head? Thanks.

Peter: Was your Yellow Mystery Wood dark brown on the cut surface before you worked it? It sounds like it might be Mulberry. I came across a few rounds a while back. The outsides started as dark brown but instantly turned vibrant yellow as soon as I put a fresh cut in it or sanded it at all.

:EDIT: I found some pictures that include one on my pieces of Mulberry. One, under a piece of steel I was cold-forging, shows the "aged" brown color and the other shows the freshly cut color.

Also, we like to use these Reusable Mesh Produce Bags 6 pk Set or similar (we buy ours for about 4$ for 3 from the local market) for foraging. Berries usually go in zip-locks due to squishing/leaking/staining concerns, but the mesh bags are great for just about everything else.

Also, one can make a fairly decent "food dehydrator" by putting goodies in these bags and hanging them *behind* fans (so the fan sucks air through them). If one has fans running a lot anyways (we do because we live in a stuffy apartment), then most goods will be >90% dehydrated in about a week with no extra energy usage. For any type of long term storage, I'll throw most thing in a normal dehydrator for an hour or so to finish them off. None of our grown herbs have needed any further drying. Since they are dried at ambient temps, the herbs retain a lot more of their flavors.

:EDIT: Attached picture of some assorted hot peppers drying on our fan. They've been there about 2.5 weeks now, but 1/2 way through we had some really humid weather which set them back a bit. They are just now about ready for a touch of commercial dehydrator and grinding.