Matthew Woods

Here, in western Ohio, the water deposits so much lime we might be able to lime wash walls by simply misting them with well water on a hot day!  As such, everyone here has a tactic for decalcifying their shower heads. I prefer to wrap the shower head in a used plastic bag filled with vinegar. Let it soak overnight. Then brush with an old toothbrush saturated in vinegar to remove any stubborn deposits. If any jets remain clogged, repeat with fresh vinegar.


Photos required:
- Dirty/calcified shower head operating poorly
- Cleaning/decalcifying the shower head
- Newly cleaned/decalcified shower head operating properly

Here in western Ohio the limestone bedrock saturates well water, as well as most surface waters, with calcium. Lime deposits accumulate rapidly so, I decalcify my plumbing fixtures about every three months rather than wait until they’re clogged. Since I can be certain they’ll clog within a year, anyway, it makes sense to decalcify as part of preventative maintenance.

I prefer to flush any debris under running water. Then scrub the parts with vinegar and an old toothbrush. After that I soak the aerator overnight in vinegar. The next day I scrub any remaining material.


Required pics:
- Clooged or decalcified aerator
- Cleaning/decalcifying the faucet
- Newly cleaned/decalcified faucet operating properly
- A description of the method for how the faucet aerator was cleaned/decalcified

I’d like to offer a general suggestion for those who has a similar situation in the future. Traditionally hemp ropes were used for rigging at sea due to their strong resistance to environmental stress.  It’s a good choice for a clothes line, but can be a bit rough on the users’ hands. Sisal rots easily so if you live in a dry climate it might be a good option, but if you get pretty regular rain may be short lived.  For any kind of commercially made outdoor cordage check out websites that market to sail boat owners. They offer an endless variety of tough reliable weather hardy lines and more accessories for rope work than you can imagine.

One basin of my two basin kitchen sink hasn’t drained well for awhile. The zip tool, unexpectedly, brought up an oil waxy cottage cheese like substance. It did improve drainage noticeably. The stench was pretty foul. I don’t typically put a strainer in that basin and I think some food gunk must’ve gotten lodged in there.

My sign was made from 2x6 #2 pine finished with Linseed Oil during the 2024 SKIP event. It’s a much larger than the minimum required length. I planned to use a propane torch but Paul’s router went missing and a wood burning iron turned out to be a better choice, anyway.  Another SKIPper made the sign “Dances” which was mounted to the same post as mine.


To complete this BB, the minimum requirements are:
- At least 5" tall by 18" wide
- Some means of hanging or posting the sign
- No treated wood
- Lettering and images are burned
- Must finish with tung oil or linseed oil (or else the burned image disappears)

To document your completion of the BB, provide pics or video (<2 min) of the following:
- The wood and your burning tools
- The sign getting burned
- The sign getting oiled (showing type of oil)
- The sign meeting the minimum size
- The sign hanging or posted

Here’s my first attempt to build a kindling cracker. The key points of my design are: substantial mass, a dimensional stable base, a low aspect ratio along the log’s path, the supports for the splitting edge drive the log apart in the last few inches of stroke, uses a standard 6 lb splitting wedge instead of sharpened sheet metal. All these design choices should hopefully reduce how often logs bounce back when struck and prevent the logs from being cut instead of splitting.



Minimum requirements:
 - Cage accepts wood at least 8 inches in diameter (9 or more inches preferred)
 - Bolted to a chopping block
     - Lots of knots in the block if it's a soft wood (possibly a taller than average chopping block)
     - The creation does not have to be centered on the chopping block
 - Stamp, etch or chisel “made by XXXX” somewhere on it where XXXX is your name

Provide proof of the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
- Your creation at two points of construction
- The finished product with a tape measure showing the the size of the wood that can enter
- The stamped/etched/chiseled name

During the SKIP 2024 event I hard boiled an egg on the rocket cooktop at Allerton Abbey. Not a sophisticated meal, but the point is to evidence I can use a rocket cooktop not display my phenomenally (mediocre) cooking skills.  

To get certified for this Badge Bit you must provide:
 - 5 pictures
      o pic of starting materials before fire
      o pic of fire started
      o pic of additional wood added
      o pic of uncooked food on the rocket cooktop
      o pic of cooked food coming out

Duplicate post. Please ignore.

Here are the ten junk poles I collected during the SKIP 2024 workshop. Most were a smaller tree growing too close to a larger young tree for either to thrive.  

I stacked them on two stumps located conveniently close to where I felled them. Since they had to be stacked so closely together to fit on the stumps I’ve included extra pictures so you can count and see their measure. The smallest is about 8’ 6”.

I heated water for dishes using the water heater behind the shop at Wheaton Labs. Yes, my thermometer is really measuring the temperature of the pan because the reflectivity of the water is too low to get an accurate reading, but since the pan is being heated by the water the water must be equal or higher temperature. It took a lot more wood than expected.

Required pictures:
  - starting materials before fire
  - fire started
  - additional wood added
  - water sample being extracted
  - water sample temperature being measured at 140 degrees F or more