Kathryn Chapman

I respect the paywall and the reasons for it. Just wish is wasn't out of reach for me at this time. I've been on a journey for about 14 years and I understand so much of where you are at and what you are seeking. I wish you all the best on your continued journey. I intend to keep breaking all the "rules" skewing their statistics.

My first air fryer was one I earned through a program I was enrolled in for my son (pre-school thing that I attended all the meetings for). It was a stand alone air fryer with a pull out drawer. I made a few of the recipes, but I hated the clean up simply because of the shape of the drawer. I did enjoy the crispy effect that veggies produced when cooked in it so when our countertop oven went on the fritz, my husband upgraded us to the Oster multi-function bake, broil, toast, convection, air-fry model. We later had to also get a new full sized range and chose one that happened to include the air fry option. I tend to use the countertop model more often because it is just easier and in the summer does not heat up the house. The family loves how the fries get crispy in the air fryer and my oldest who inherited the drawer model has made many things including crispy wings that he enjoys although he upgraded to the same countertop model we have because he lacked any form of oven in his small place.
I don't know that I would go on and on about it, but I enjoy access to it through the multi-funcional options because then it isn't a one-hit-wonder taking up space.

Judson Carroll wrote:This is about 200 ft of yucca cordage that I made from just a couple of handfuls of leaves/fronds! You can definitely tell the difference between the pounded and boiled leaves. The tender, inner leaves make a fiber almost as fine as linen when boiled.

Could you please describe your method for boiling? I have mostly worked with pounded and scraped yucca, I've watched a video of a method for charring a variety from the southwest, but I haven't yet learned the boiling process.  Thanks!

Luke Mitchell wrote:

Kathryn Chapman wrote:I find it interesting that so many claim that linseed with mineral spirits goes deeper into the wood. It is interesting because while researching, I found a woodworking site that claims this is simply not true. The purpose of mixing the mineral spirits with a raw oil is to help it dry more quickly. The absorption has more to do with the type of wood.

Subjectively, it does seem that thinned oil will penetrate further than neat.

I have used a lot of tung oil (which has similar properties to linseed oil) for treating and finishing wood and I generally find that using it neat results in very limited penetration - it builds a nice, protective layer on the surface but rarely reaches more than 2 or 3 millimeters into the timber.

Mixing the oil with white spirit (the cheapest solvent available around here - turps and citrus thinners aren't easy to procure) I find it roughly doubles the penetration depth. Of course, I have to apply more coats (gradually reducing the amount of solvent) to get the same surface finish.

I'm judging the penetration by observing the colour/texture change as I cross-cut timber, by the way. I often sand + treat an entire plank or pole before cutting it to dimension, then re-treat the end grain.

I appreciate the information. I have learned with many things that you will always find conflicting statements and views. I favor empirical evidence over generalized claims.

Anne Miller wrote:Thank you, Kathryn, for reviving this older thread as it offers some great solutions for wood preservation.

This thread about using borax might also be of interest to some folks:

https://permies.com/t/177032/Borax-Wood-Preservation

We have started using wood charring aka shou sugi ban for our wood preservation needs.  Here are some helpful threads:

https://permies.com/t/114526/Yakisugi-Shou-Sugi-Ban

https://permies.com/t/22394/charring-effective-treatment-ground-preservation

https://permies.com/t/157490/Making-wood-rot-resistant

I can appreciate the wood charring method as it was one heavily discussed. However, the irony is the project was an experimental archaeology attempt to make a dugout canoe using only stone tools. There were a few variations in that the tree was topped professionally before it was felled and then a chainsaw was employed to remove the very top of the tree where the branches began to eliminate an extra 3 days of chopping to remove it. The one joke throughout was about fire because everyone seems to believe you must burn out a dugout canoe. Attached is a picture of the canoe after its one and only river voyage. The closest any fire came to the project was the charcoal used to mark the trunk for where to chop and when they heated up some pitch to patch the knots which let water seep in on the first river attempt. It is now destined for museum exhibit.

I find it interesting that so many claim that linseed with mineral spirits goes deeper into the wood. It is interesting because while researching, I found a woodworking site that claims this is simply not true. The purpose of mixing the mineral spirits with a raw oil is to help it dry more quickly. The absorption has more to do with the type of wood. It would be interesting to see an experiment testing all of this out. I think it is difficult to find truly natural wood preservation because wood should rot to be natural. If we want it to last longer then we are already asking it to be unnatural to some degree.

I am in an unexpected pickle of looking for ways to preserve a greenwood dugout canoe for long term museum display. Our area tends toward highish humidity (two rivers and all) and insects, mold, and whatever I haven't thought of yet will pose hurdles to keeping this experimental project from being lost to the natural process. Long ago the canoes would have been stored underwater. Actual artifacts hundreds of years old have fancy expensive preservatives used. This isn't an easy internet search.

I can't seem to kick the habit of rooting my pineapple tops. Sure I could throw them in the compost, but it just amazes me that if you cut them off the top, peel off the lower leaves and place them in water, they grow roots. I probably should read up on exactly how to get them to produce a fruit, but until then, I'm going to be the insane woman growing a field of pineapple in the midwest. (okay maybe not a whole field, but this top hoarding is getting pretty serious. I think I have 10 and another fruit on the counter ready to be cut up.

It all started with a question. I don't recall the question, I'm pretty sure it was something I asked myself and then typed into a search engine. I was already familiar with homesteading and permaculture and whatever thread it was that showed up must have been informative. Anyway, I have grown to abhor most social media, I tolerate YouTube and now make a modest amount of time for perusing forum threads here and one other place.

Does anyone have updates on their experiences with the Justin Rhodes Chickshaw design? I have been contemplating this for use with my small flock allowing me to give them greater variation in their range without including garden beds that they would destroy. I've had concern about weasels. We have least weasels here and they have been a problem in the past.  

Weasels have mostly been an issue for us in the spring when we had an open floor stationary coop. At the time I learned from some friends who work with wildlife more (wildlife rehabers) that weasels like areas with cover because they can hide better. I have not heard Justin address the issues of weasels and there are two different species in North Carolina. I wonder if his regularly grazed pastures and the mobility of the coop make it less desirable adding in the electric fencing and a livestock dog and guard goose. Hard to know, but have to think of everything.

What a great reminder that I have yet to plant any of the Job's Tears seeds that I have. I have been looking all over for things to make into beads. It began a while ago because I am an archaeology educator and I have been working on a curriculum centered around beads. They are a very old technology. Some of the earliest known beads were made of ostrich egg shell. I spent a day making beads from mussel shell with a friend. It takes some serious time. I should also mention we were working with primitive tools. My deep dive into beads has been a lot of fun, but now I am overwhelmed with all of the other stuff that I must attend. Hopefully I can at least collect some more interesting things. I will try to share some pictures when I figure out if they are on my phone or computer.