How To Do it yourself

Growers often neglect the annual training and pruning of fruit trees. Without training and pruning, however, fruit trees will not develop proper shape and form. Properly trained and pruned trees will yield high quality fruit much earlier in their lives and live significantly longer.

A primary objective of training and pruning is to develop a strong tree framework that will support fruit production. Improperly trained fruit trees generally have very upright branch angles, which result in serious limb breakage under a heavy fruit load. This significantly reduces the productivity of the tree and may greatly reduce tree life. Another goal of annual training and pruning is to remove dead, diseased, or broken limbs.

Proper tree training also opens up the tree canopy to maximize light penetration. For most deciduous tree fruit, flower buds for the current season's crop are formed the previous summer. Light penetration is essential for flower bud development and optimal fruit set, flavor, and quality. Although a mature tree may be growing in full sun, a very dense canopy may not allow enough light to reach 12 to 18 inches inside the canopy. Opening the tree canopy also permits adequate air movement through the tree, which promotes rapid drying to minimize disease infection and allows thorough pesticide penetration. Additionally, a well shaped fruit tree is aesthetically pleasing, whether in a landscaped yard, garden, or commercial orchard.

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"Cheese making is theoretically a science, but we also need to appreciate that it is an art. While cheese making instructions often appear simple, there are skills and sensitivities which must be developed for successful cheese making. I strongly suggest that you master the following projects in sequence before you progress to more difficult cheeses. As an avid homesteader, I strive to keep the ingredients for these recipes relatively easily obtained from your local supermarket and to use the equipment commonly found in the kitchen."

This excellent collection of articles begins with a detailed examination of the ingredients and equipment needed to make cheese at home. Included in the equipment section is a link to a homemade cheese press you can build yourself.

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This scan of an article from an old magazine includes the option to view or print the article and plans at full size for easier reading.

Quoting from the article, "This crossbow, with all the romance and charm of a medieval weapon, is so powerful and accurate that it is used extensively for hunting and precision target shooting. It’s a deadly weapon, not a toy, exceptionally fine for hunting rabbits, pheasants, squirrels, and even capable of killing big game like deer, elk, antelope, and cougar when used by one skilled in its handling. Therefore it is most imperative that the crossbow be handled carefully. Never hold it in a position where it might endanger anyone if fired accidently, and always reckon with the area beyond the target or game in the event you should miss hitting the object aimed at."

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Not to be confused with the small "toy" looms often found in do-it-yourself books, this is a serious loom for serious weaving. The PDF has been translated into English, so expect a few "strange" sentences, but in spite of that the directions are clear and complete.

To quote the introduction: This loom presents the advantage to be simple to make. It contains no shaped detail which is easily building by a handyman equipped to work the wood. Furthermore, 90 % of the elements use an unique wooden section, what will facilitate the supply. We shall supply you so all that is necessary to make this loom by you or a carpenter. You will have so a loom, solid, sure and well conceived which will bring you the biggest satisfactions for a budget very reasonable.

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If you need a hammer but don't have one, you might be able to use a rock. If you need a screw driver, maybe a butter knife will do. But if you need a lathe there's nothing that can take it's place. It's the one tool that no shop should be without, whether you want to make table legs or wagon wheels, block and tackle pulleys or windmill hubs. If it has to be round, you have to use a lathe.

Sharing his experience with us, the author states, "The woodturning lathe described here and pictured above is the 4th homemade lathe that I will have built."

Combining his interest in playing the clarinet with his desire to make his own instrument, he goes on to say, "I attempted to make some of Tomlin's instruments but was frustrated by my lathe, which was very bad. At that time I did not have the money to "squander" (my wife's term) on non-essentials and so attempted to make my first woodworking lathe so that I could try making a clarinet (I actually did learn to play -- more enthusiasm than skill but I did it). Twenty years ago the internet was not available to search for the kinds of information that I needed, so I unfortunately spent a lot of time reinventing all sorts of things. I am now fully retired, and being exceptionally healthy, I can do whatever I want whenever I want -- within limits (mostly as established by my wife)."

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I've used my first version of this saw for a number of years with great success. Unlike a band saw, blade replacement is quick and inexpensive, and a broken blade falls harmlessly to the table. Unlike a circular table saw, there is no exposed blade to attack your finger, and no kick-back when the blade jams in the work piece. Unlike a jigsaw, the Sabre-Tooth Table Saw makes super-accurate, straight, reproducible cuts.

Follow along step by step as I build my second, and improved model, Sabre-Tooth Table Saw.

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This conversion does not quite give you a complete wash cycle, but is used for the spin cycle only, to replace a hand wringer. The author washes his clothes in a commercially made hand-operated washing machine and then does the spin cycles in this pedal-powered contraption.

"Examining the construction of the salad spinner, I realized I needed a giant perforated metal tub that I could spin inside a solid tub so that the water forced out of the laundry through centripetal force would collect on the inner wall of the solid tub, then drain out the bottom, instead of flying all around the room. ... So my strategy was to adapt a broken washing machine to my specific purpose of spinning clothes."

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"The addition of a handsome, handmade article to the home is always a cause for pride. To be able to accomplish this easily and with satisfying results every time, is almost unbelievable. But such is the case when you follow these simple instructions for braiding a rug."

Here is a web page with the basic instructions for designing and making oval, round and square braided rugs. An additional web page located here is lacking instructions, but does have a nice series of photographs of making a round braid rug from start to finish. These two web pages, taken together, complement each other and give you everything you need to know to make your own braid rug.

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