Easier and Cheaper

Stop milking for toothpaste

2010-02-05T10:18:00.001-05:00

This may win it for the “too obvious to mention” category, but I finally learned how to avoid those annoying battles with a toothpaste tube that come when the thing is nearly empty.

It took me several decades of tube-frustration to realize that all you have to do is snip along one edge for easy access. It didn’t take too long after that to realize that you need to press the tube shut after each use (or seal it in a plastic bag) to keep the paste from drying out.

It also took 75 years to find a pair of decent kitchen-utility scissors. These are Kitchen Aid from the Kitchen Collection store.

Chimney from well casing

2010-02-03T09:30:00.003-05:00

Oil-well casing makes a good chimney for a coal- or wood-burning heater in a garage, barn, or workshop. This one is 15 1/2 ft tall and sits on a concrete block. The length of the piece of casing welded to the side is determined by how far the stove is from the inside wall, and how close to the building you can erect the pipe. It is stabilized by a bracket bolted to the chimney and to a piece of strap iron attached to the building. Total cost, installed, was about $250. This compares to $450 for parts alone if I had purchased the pipe and fittings to run a new chimney through the roof.

Sponsorship for this essay is provided by wood-burning stove suppliers.

Take-down fence

2009-11-28T12:38:00.004-05:00

Here’s an idea for folks who may need, as I do, a privacy fence that can be removed to drive a tractor through, for instance. The details of its construction show better before being painted, so here it is. Next spring I’ll paint it and maybe put some ornamental grass in front of the posts.

Since this fence is probably going to be removed some day, I did not set the 4X4 posts in concrete, as I would have done for a permanent fence; instead, just dug holes about two feet deep and gave a good tamping to the dirt as I shoveled it around them.

To those posts I air-nailed 1X3-1/2 X4” pieces of oak at 12” intervals, beginning 18” above ground level. Over those I nailed 3 1/2”-wide pieces of 2X4. Over these were nailed 1X3X44” vertical oak strips. Horizontal rails are 1X3X76” oak. They are laid over the spacers and not nailed, allowing them to be removed for entrance of a tractor or vehicle. All the 3" oak strips are salvaged from another fence and have been in use for at least 20 years, so far without paint or preservative. Also, they were free, making them a very good deal.

I had to use 16-gauge finish air nails because framing nails blew the short wood spacers apart. My plan is to set a 6” construction screw through each of the upright oak strips where they cross the spacers if and when the 16 gauge nails fail. If I only use one screw the post assemblies will be easily removed if I want to take the fence down some day.

Truck bed hook

2009-11-12T09:52:00.001-05:00

No pickup truck should ever be sold without a hook to snag gas cans, chainsaws, groceries - whatever you haul that always ends up in the front of the bed and out of reach. It took me many years to decide that a hook of some kind saves endless climbing in and out of a truck bed. This is a 3/8” X 5’ piece of iron rod I put into a vice and bent. Another foot in length would be better.

Bathroom towel post

2009-10-13T17:31:00.004-04:00

This bathroom towel post has been around my home for at least 30 years, and I think it’s one of the slickest ideas ever, though I can’t remember whose idea it was nor where the parts came from.

It is simply a post that extends from ceiling to floor and is held in place by unscrewing (extending) a bolt from the bottom, thus creating plenty of tension.

It is made from a 4X4 post, a bolt, two nuts, an electrical box cover (or some other light scrap metal), a scrap steel base from an old bumper jack or something similar, four screws and some coat hooks.

One nut is tack-welded to the box cover, the other nut is tack-welded to the bolt about 3/4-inch from the end. A hole big enough to accommodate the bolt is drilled into the center of the post at the bottom.

The end of the bolt with the nut welded thereon is inserted into the hole in the jack base and wrenched to extend the bolt and put as much pressure on the ceiling as is needed to keep the post in position.

This idea could be adapted for a variety of applications in the home or shop.

How to eat weeds and collect "green" info

2009-10-13T10:18:00.002-04:00

Other than dandelions, I never thought much about weeds as food, though I had a neighbor who moved in from Kentucky and often talked about the joys of eating pokeweed. I’d want confirmation of that before I gave it a try.

I may never eat a weed, but in a book entitled “Weeds - Guardians of the Soil” by Joseph A. Cocannouer is a chapter about “Weeds as Food” for anyone inclined toward this sort of experimentation. The link is here.

I found the weed book on a web site devoted to environment and rural development work: journeytoforever.org

The site covers a wide scope of information, including reproductions of books on small farms and gardening in what they call “Journey to Forever Online Library.” - Here’s a direct link to the farm library.

Rx for attic heat and pests

2009-09-20T16:40:00.001-04:00

The two most inexpensive and effective cures for attic problems are a big fan and an annual application of mothballs.

It wasn’t long after we moved into this big old two-story that I recognized our need for an attic fan. The heat in the upstairs bedrooms was atrocious. Installation of vents in the overhang had to be done by a pro, but I jockeyed a used - homemade - fan into the ceiling of the hallway as close to the stairway as I could get it.

The unit is a powerful bugger, though I have no idea how much air it moves. All I know is that it sucks air from throughout the house and blows it out the attic vents. For a long time it was a good substitute for whole-house air conditioning.

It has another important effect on our well-being. It gives a jolt to pests like bats and squirrels who might consider taking up residence in the attic. I don’t think they nest where the wind comes fast and furious.

The fan requires that each year I ascend by ladder to oil its bearings and motor (neither of which have required replacement in the past 40 or so years). It is during these trips that I scatter over the top of the insulation two or three pounds of mothballs, tossed to the far reaches in every direction.

Bear in mind that mothballs, last I looked, were not recommended for this use and were, in Ohio at least, outlawed by the EPA or some other bureaucracy for use by commercial pest controllers. Whatever, mothballs do the job on pests and they don’t cost much.

Sharpening saw chains is worth the effort

2009-09-20T15:34:00.003-04:00

During my many years of burning firewood, I’ve bought a variety of sharpening instruments - files, gauges, and even an attachment for my old Dremel grinder. They were all pretty slow and - for me - too time-consuming and tedious. Finally I chucked all of it and began taking my chains to a shop, keeping on hand enough extra chains to keep me going.

With slim hope that it would help, I ordered a little sharpener (shown above) from Harbor Freight tools. It cost less than $40 and paid for itself quickly, compared to shop sharpening prices - now about $4 per chain in my part of the world.

It isn’t difficult to set up once you know your chain’s size and angles, and the sharpening process goes fairly quickly.

Don’t mistake this thing for a quality tool. It’s mostly plastic and probably the angles aren’t exact, and I don’t expect it to last a lifetime. Still, this is an affordable way to avoid commercial sharpening prices.

Sponsorship for this essay is provided by wood-burning stove suppliers.

Win battles with “The Barrel”

2009-08-10T08:48:00.000-04:00

Getting kids to pick up after themselves is a major challenge, especially if your kids are like mine were. I used a barrel to help make a point.

I took a big trash barrel with a water-tight lid out in the yard behind the garage. When the boys failed to pick up their stuff after being asked/told/threatened, I’d take it to “The Barrel” where they’d have to go to get it.

This was particularly bothersome to them when the items were shoes or boots and it was cold and they were in a hurry. Now, the youngest son almost 30 years old, they are still crabbing about it.

Loader hook makes tractor more versatile

2009-07-18T18:58:00.004-04:00

The hook that’s welded to the back of the bucket on my front-end loader increases my tractor’s versatility and my ability to lift all sorts of unhandy items with it. Why the loader didn’t come from the factory that way is a mystery. Fact is, I never knew there was any need for such a hook, not until my son needed me to move something for him and he knew exactly how to make it happen. He welded the hook to the bucket and showed me how to use it.

I doubt he invented this, but I also doubt that its use is very widespread; correct me if you know differently. I think most folks use the boom pole, which is okay if you don’t have a loader. But I have both and I know that a driver can maneuver the front end of a tractor a lot better than the boom.

To illustrate how precise you can be with a chain from the bucket, I present photos of the way I put the wood rack on my flatbed trailer - the rack I built to haul firewood. Getting that heavy rack into a position from which the side stakes will drop straight down into the holes on the trailer is no easy skate, not unless you lift it with a chain from a ring at the rack’s center of balance.

Among the most frequent uses I make of this front-loader hook is the snaking of logs to be cut for firewood with grabber tongs. Often you can hitch onto a log without dismounting from the tractor, and once you get the end of the log off the ground just a little bit you can pull a surprising piece of tree with a little tractor like mine.

Sponsorship for this essay is provided by wood-burning stove suppliers.

Fence wire

2009-07-18T18:15:00.001-04:00

Before I started putting an electric fence around my garden I was always scrounging wire for various uses in the home and shop. A quarter-mile roll like this cost under $14 in the spring of 2009. I doubt there’s a better bargain for something so flexible, versatile and strong - utility that almost matches duct tape.

This kind of wire can be used to pull stuff through pipes and various holes. You can make hooks with it and clean out small orifices. The list goes on, and if you don’t build fences, a quarter-mile of wire might last a lifetime.

Rope ladder

2009-07-18T17:27:00.001-04:00

A rope ladder will take you to new heights cheaply and efficiently. I made my first one as a fire escape for one of our kids’ bedrooms. Tied to two large screw-eyes which were fastened to studs under the window, it stored out of sight behind a chest.

The one in the photo leads to the top of a partition over which I have to climb to reach the back of the washer and dryer. I have taped a piece of pipe insulator to the side of the step to prevent (more) gouges in the plaster wall. This also holds the step away from the wall, making it easier to get a good footing.

I expect to make another of these ladders to help me access the attic. I have for decades been dragging a high step ladder into the house and up the stairs when I need to get to the attic each year for maintenance on the attic fan. How sweet it will be to have a rope ladder attached to the rafters that will drop down when I open the access panel. Whoot.

Then maybe another one for access to lofts in my little barn and another for the workshop. When I make new rope ladders, likely they will have wider steps than the two-incher shown here. Stay tuned for updates.

Brush fork for front-end loader

2009-06-08T10:59:00.009-04:00

A front-end loader can be man’s best friend, but when it comes to moving and stacking brush there’s something lacking - namely the big long teeth to dig into the brush and then hold it in place.

They sell pallet forks that can be clamped to front-end loaders (http://www.wikco.com/palletbktforks.html) and should do well with brush, but the cost is nearly $400 for the cheapest set.

A lot cheaper ($130) and just as good for my purposes turned out to be something called a “carry all” for three-point hook up. If you turn it teeth-forward and chain it to the loader, it will do a pretty good job even though the “teeth” are angled steel, rather than flat.

You have to secure the top of the carry all so it can’t tip forward, and you have to secure bottom so it can’t slip away from the bucket.

There’s probably a better way to do this with one chain, but I used two of them, tightening them with load-binders.

One of the conveniences that helped considerably was the chain hook that my son had welded to the back of the bucket several years ago. It shows at the bottom of the lower photo. This allows me to grab a log chain from the front of the tractor and expands the convenience and ability of the tractor many times over. Why front-end loaders don’t come so equipped is a mystery.

Workbench on wheels

2009-05-30T07:48:00.004-04:00

Putting wheels under a shop bench is a good way to keep your shop flexible. By using wheels that can be retracted, you can lower the legs to the floor to ensure stability for heavy work.

There’s always more demand for space than there is space in my shop. By rolling benches and tools this way and that I can maximize the floor area where work space is needed.

This bench is a take-off from a design I saw in a magazine and also some others I saw on the Internet. This is not exactly like any of them, but I don’t call it my own design either.

The top photo shows the simple but very sturdy construction, and the 2X4 to which the wheels are attached. This piece is held in place by the short, hinged 2X4 braces on either side. The lower photo shows a detail of that with the table turned upside down.

Since I put the table to work carrying heavy tools I learned that putting the wheels down and retracting them is not an easy skate. In fact, with no helper, I had to use a scissor-jack. Likely I’ll add drawers before I call it finished.

Rolling floor drawers

2009-05-27T07:24:00.001-04:00

Any old drawer can become a sweet new rolling floor drawer if you install wooden toy wheels. The top photo shows one of one of my floor drawers that fits nicely under a low (8” high) shop bench.

The 2” wheels are from a hobby store and cost about $3 for eight. They are attached to the drawer with 1/4” X 1 1/4” hex-head screws. I put a flat washer between the wheel and the drawer, though it probably isn’t necessary, considering how infrequent will be their trips and how short will be their travel.

The second photo shows the bottom and front panel of the drawer. Note how I cut off the bottom lip of the drawer’s front panel, making it even with the sides so it wouldn’t drag on the floor. I used an angle grinder with a sanding disk for this.

You may want to further develop this system by making tracks on the floors or building spacers to keep the drawers running straight and true. As it seems to me now, I don’t think it’s necessary.

Baking soda - on your teeth and on your feet

2009-05-26T07:01:00.001-04:00

What else can you use on your battery terminals or in your belly or on your poison ivy or on your teeth, in your toilet or on your feet?

Baking soda, still coming packed in the same old raunchy-looking cardboard box that used to sit on Mom’s shelves more than 60 years ago, is still an old-fashioned value.

Using it as a refrigerator deodorizer is fairly common knowledge, but did you remember that you can also used it as paste to cover insect bites, burns, or poison ivy? Or that you can use it to make play clay for kids, or fashion from it things like plaques, candle holders and pendant necklaces? (Here’s a place to learn about those applications)

Use it to put out grease, electrical or oil fires; put it on battery terminals to remove corrosion; sprinkled some in ash trays or other stinky places it gives relief; cover the bottom of your cat’s litter pan to keep it smelling better (three parts litter to one part soda); maintain swimming pool pH at 7.4 to 8.2 by using one pound per week per 10,000 gallons of water.

Use baking soda on a damp sponge to take mildew off fiberglass showers without scratching them. Brush your teeth with it, use it as deodorant, drink 1/2 teaspoon (sometimes much less in my experience) per 1/2 glass of water for heartburn, remove dead skin from your feet by soaking in it; scour pots, pans, and utensils with it; sweeten drains, food disposers, coffee pots, and vacuum bottles with it and also take the onion smell off chopping boards.

I wish I had invented that stuff.

Bird feeder on the cheap

2009-05-25T08:37:00.001-04:00

The earthiest bird feeder you’ll ever know is one made from an onion sack filled with suet and hung from a nail in a tree. Next earthiest is two old hubcaps, held apart by a 3/4” wooden dowel, concave sides facing each other. Put a screw through the bottom hubcap into the dowel and a screw eye through the top to give you something to hang it with.

About what to feed ...

If you don’t want to feed English sparrows, blackbirds, grackles, starlings and cowbirds, then don’t feed anything with cracked corn in it. Most effective in driving them away is the feeding of nothing but sunflower seeds. But if you do this, you’ll also drive away juncos and mourning doves. Sunflower seeds will attract finches, nuthatches, chickadees, grosbeaks, redpolls and crossbills. All this according to the National Wildlife Federation, from a 1975 publication.

Tool rack for the shop

2009-05-24T16:30:00.002-04:00

Tool racks are as varied as the people who use them, so it took a lot of research before I found a plan that works well, is flexible, and also is easy to build from scrap wood.

This is a takeoff from plans for a rack published at Workshopics.com Entitled “Instructions for building the hand tool storage rack,” it was featured in American Woodworker Magazine. No matter what I’m about to say, you should go there and read this article for the original dimensions and technique. It’s a lot fancier and prettier than mine.

Here’s the rack above my all-purpose bench, featuring the hand tools I most often use, though you can’t see them all in this photo, nor is all the free space filled yet.

Tools are mounted in through-holes, slots, copper pipes, indentations, partial flat-bottomed holes and with miscellaneous hardware.

The photo below shows the basic construction: 1’ X 2” pine vertical slats nailed to the wall. To these are nailed 3/8” X 2” white oak hanger slats. Over these are the pine tool holders with 3/8” slots, about 3/8” deep and cut 3/4" from the back edge. The tight-fitting slot and the edge of the tool holder backed snugly against the wall keep the board in place until it is lifted straight up.

The pine I used is Southern Yellow Pine that was, in its first life, the side of a barn. I’m not sure today’s mass-marketed pine has the same strength so you may need to go to hardwood.

Here’s a view from another angle. Likely you’ll never see another tool rack that displays more worn and mismatched tools. Notice the prominent position of the oil can and also the tool holder above that which is the shelf for my beer can. You gotta think of these things as you plan.

The beauty of this thing, besides its simplicity and scrap-wood elements, is the fact that you can always change the holders by lifting the original ones off and burning them. And you can easily change the spacing of the tool holder slats by pulling the nails and re-nailing them higher or lower.

Chimney cleaning

2009-05-21T17:29:00.005-04:00

This photo shows the arduous and terrifying trip I made annually for about 40 years. The only thing that inspired me was the even more terrifying thought that if I neglected to do it the house might catch fire.

If someone didn’t go up there and knock down the soot and creosote, a hot fire in the wood burner could ignite the chimney. That, in itself, wouldn’t hurt. What hurts would be if there’s a crack in the chimney inside a wall or attic where escaping flames could ignite whatever is nearby. (In recent years, stainless chimney liners are often required, and even if they aren’t, it’s a good hedge toward safety.)

Wood-burner people should definitely attend to this chore at least once every year.

The tool I began with is pretty simple, but not so efficient - it was a burlap bag on a rope, filled with straw or rags and weighted with rocks. This eventually morphed into the 8-inch round brush on 20-foot, five-section fiber rod.

Other things that need an annual check are the items on the ground in the photo: the chimney cap and the interior stove pipe, both of which need to be cleaned or replaced if rusty.

I am not at peace with high places, which is why I made a couple tie-downs for the top ladder. One is a chain to the bottom rung so it will never (again) slip outward (and give me one of the scariest rides of my life), anchored to the house with a chain to an eye-hook. The other is a bungee strap from the top step anchoring it to the chimney.

If you have to hire someone to do this for you, here are some things to nail down before they get out of their truck. 1 - Are they local, bonded, and insured? 2 - Does their price include removal, cleaning, and reinstallation of the stove pipe? 3 - Do they go to the roof or do they push a brush up from the bottom? (This, in my opinion, is an ineffective method. It is one by which there can be no inspection of the chimney cap - and may even loosen or damage the cap.) 4 - Do they take with them all soot, creosote, dirt and residue? 5 - Will they install a new chimney cap if needed, and if so at what charge? 6) Might they make any additional charges for anything?

Final advice. There are some real slugs working the chimney-cleaning business. Until you really get to know them and their work, watch everything they do and ask all the questions you can think of.

Sponsorship for this essay is provided by wood-burning stove suppliers.

Heartburn? Cure it with an apple

2009-05-17T09:35:00.002-04:00

I am a heartburn warrior/veteran/victor. I’m in that woebegone class of folks whose heartburn loves to visit nearly every night.

Certain nights I avoid it if I am very careful about not eating this or that and never eating past 7 p.m. If you’re so cursed, you know the routine.

But - aha! By accident I discovered that eating an apple before bedtime has an amazing effect. Pectin, Rosalie says, is the reason.

Whatever, I peeled and sliced an apple, put light olive oil in a pan, then covered and cooked it until very tender. Meanwhile I added a dash of brown sugar and a small glop of honey.

Pectin is my love. No frickin’ heartburn. Night after night.

But then I got frisky. Please bake me an apple pie, I said to wife. That way I won’t have to fool around with the peeling and stuff every night.

She makes the best apple pies ever, but I learned that they do indeed live on through the night. Pectin apparently gets clobbered by dough and sugar and spices.

So remember, pectin - yes; pie - no.

Twine for everything

2009-05-14T14:41:00.002-04:00

Here is a many-years-long supply of string for tying anything you got, and I bought it for $10, maybe half the retail price. But even at $20 it would still have been a good deal.

I went to the Tractor Supply Co. store for a roll of hemp twine they use in baling hay, but those are now sold only in packages of two. Turns out they sell plastic twine in singles and, better, they happened to have one on hand with a damaged wrap at reduced price.

If you get one of these, a good way to keep track of the end feeding from the center of the spool is to tie it to the other end sticking up out of the wrapper.

Sunscreen applicator

2009-04-27T18:24:00.002-04:00

Being the inheritor of my genes, I must be very careful - especially in these later years - to slather upon myself wherever the sun shines, even indirectly, a heavy dose of sunscreen lotion.

So here you have the invention that should long ago have been invented and sold as an applicator of sunscreen for the backs of us lacking long arms and contortionist ability.

Rosalie glued a sponge to a worn-out bath-brush handle. Hello? Why were we the first to think of something so simple? (Or were we?)

Low-heat firewood

2009-04-03T14:03:00.004-04:00

We’ve been burning firewood for decades, and for decades the problems associated with heat during cool (not cold) weather have dogged me. Trouble is, you get a fire hot enough to ignite normal, seasoned hardwood, and you get a fire so hot that it will have you opening windows and doors or drive you out of the house. With normal firewood, it’s all or nothing.

On the other end of the stick, if you use pine - which will ignite and burn at a lower temperature - you also get a chimney full of creosote because of the pitch in the pine wood.

After all these years I finally learned that I can maintain a lower temperature safely by using logs like the one in the picture at the top. It’s old (2 or 3 years) soft maple, though likely other old softwoods would also work. These logs ignite quickly and can hold a long, slow fire without causing a clogged, fire-prone chimney.

Sponsorship for this essay is provided by wood-burning stove suppliers.

Making long road trips easier

2009-04-03T13:59:00.002-04:00

The older I get the less tolerance I have for crappy conditions, one of which is driving for hours on end. Our last such drive took three days - each way.

Easing the physical pain was one of those butt cushions with a hole in the middle - made, I think, for folks with medical problems back there. Though I have no such problems, neither do I have sufficient padding where I need it for long sitting experiences, so the cushion helps a lot.

Also offering physical relief is frequent repositioning of the car seat, both the bottom and the back rest. Just the change of putting one’s weight on different places and at different angles helps me.

But what helps most is Scott Joplin. Incredible as it sounds, during that three-day bore-a-thon we listened to the 18 or so tracks on a Scott Joplin CD, over and over. It never got old and his rag-time music is so expertly syncopated, so varied, and so intricate that it seemed always new, always magnetic.

We played other music too, but Joplin was the only who could lift me from a bored driver’s funk.

Skunk stink can be wiped off - sorta

2008-11-17T17:11:00.006-05:00

My dog, "Ol' Yeller and Stupid," recently got a dose of skunk wee-wee though I expressly told her to learn from her experiences the last time this happened.

It's the kind of stink that hurts a man's nose, eyes, and gentle temperament, in case your dog hasn't yet volunteered itself to the back end of a skunk. Screaming at the dog has no effect on the smell. Otherwise she'd have been cleansed in short order.

She was banished to the garage, then (feeling sorry for her because she's a house dog and the nighttime temperatures were in the 30's) to the basement for the night. She was really ashamed and miserable and feeling very persecuted.

Next day, I called the pet store and asked if there were a dry skunk-stink cure since it's winter, she's a really big dog, and giving her a bathroom bath would be almost as painful as paying someone else to do it. Pet store woman said no, the dog must be bathed, using a real stink remover.

She, however, is not in the loop with Rosalie. While I wondered whether baby diaper powder might not absorb the skunk goo on "Ol' Yeller and Stupid" and restore her olfactory self-respect, Rosalie thought of a better thing and it worked.

That thing is sanitary hand wipes. She worked the dog over with a few of these on the hair where "Ol..." stunk most. The dog isn't perfect but she's good enough to rejoin the family as long as she isn't really close.

EDIT 11/24/08 - This comment by Valerie offers a skunk chemical to neutralize the smell, not wipe it away as Rosalie did.

We have used this recipe from MedVets, in Columbus. It neutralizes the skunk chemical, not just mask the smell.

1/4 cup baking soda
1 bottle peroxide(the brown bottle)
appx 1 Tablespoon of liquid dish soap (like Dawn, Joy, etc). A good squirt

Only mix the ingredients fresh (do not store them already mixed). Completely saturate the affected area on the dog with the mixture (careful of the eyes), and let sit for 5-10 mins. Rinse. Repeat if you think you need, but once usually works.

Dogs really are affected emotionally from this (shame), so try not to shun them too bad.

Good Luck. We always keep these ingredients on hand and ready to mix.

Free wood mallet

2008-11-10T18:04:00.007-05:00

Here's a truly useful tip for woodworkers. I sent it into The Family Handyman and last month they published it - with their own photo and text, but nevertheless here's what I told them when I was pitching the idea:

Among my best mallets is this nice little whacker I found in my pile of firewood. With an 8-inch handle and a 4 X 1 1/2-inch head, the tool weighs 6 ounces - and that's just right for light tapping jobs, including driving dowels and bumping boards into line for gluing.

This wood is from an ailanthus tree, a hardy tree which is easily grown in cities because it is resistant to pollution and is a prolific seed-producer. The book "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is based on the ailanthus. Its common name is Tree of Heaven, but because it easily overcomes forest land, it is also known by rural folks in my area as the "stink tree" for its distinctive aroma and because it's considered a nuisance. (See "Least Wanted" at http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/aial1.htm)

Any hardwood "T" branch will do - oak, hard maple, locust, elm - and you could choose bigger limbs for bigger tasks. Of course your mallet head could be shaped to a cone or a square or whatever helps. No forest handy where you live? Contact a firewood supplier; chances are his brush pile runneth over with great mallets.

Just be certain the mallet wood you select is cured and that there are no splits, serious chips, signs of rot, or other interior defects.

Batteries on the cheap

2008-11-09T18:19:00.001-05:00

Recently I bought at Country Dollar 4-packs of AA batteries and 2-packs of 9-volt batteries for ... guess?

First, let me tell you that the day before I bought one 4-pack of AA batteries at United Dairy Farmers (gas station in Ohio) for about $5; then I saw them at Walmart for more than $5.

OK. At Country Dollar (and likely lots of other "dollar stores") they cost $1 each pack. Made in China, shipped across the ocean, delivered to the local outlets - for less than 1/5 the U.S. rip-off price.

China may not be the best place from which to buy, but it's offering lots of savings for U.S. consumers who are willing to shop around. Be sure to see this.

Avoid losing tools in the fields or forests ...

2008-11-08T18:21:00.005-05:00

A few years ago when I was working in the back country my handgun slipped from the shoulder holster and dropped into the leaves and underbrush. Not only was the gun a gift from my son, it was among my all-time favorites. I learned through some tense hours of searching for it just how invisible even brightly reflective metal can be in the shadows and shapes of a forest floor. Since then I've kept a bright ribbon tied to the trigger guard.

Such a trick is also good for other tools that are used in out-of-the-way places. See, for instance, how I keep from losing log chains at this link.

Paint your tools

2008-11-08T18:18:00.004-05:00

Here are a couple Dad's tools with their traditional red handles from more than a half-century ago. He always painted his stuff, partly so they'd look nice, but also I believe because if they were loaned the borrower would always identify them as Dad's and be less likely to forget to return them.

Patch and preserve a tree

2008-11-08T18:01:00.007-05:00

Among Rosalie's dearest possessions is a pink dogwood that has beautified our front yard for more than 40 years - a mere baby when we moved here.

Now it's a veteran of many fallen limbs and bug and worm attacks. A few years ago I sprayed into the holes and rotted places some foam insulation, without believing it would do much good. I assumed the insulation would fall out and the damage would continue.

But the stuff did stay put. You can see it as brown spots in the photo above.

When the Big Wind of '08 hit us recently, it snapped off a large part of the tree and I removed it with a chain saw.

Over the amputation I again squirted foam insulation. It makes an air-tight seal, seemingly one that bugs aren't interested in attacking. Whether it will save the tree is still to be learned.

To make it less noticeable I spray-painted the hardened insulation with a bluish paint, then I toned that color down with some brown spots from another spray can. The color doesn't suit me so maybe next spring I'll cover more of it with gray. Still, from a distance it isn't too noticeable.

Because the tree is so special, I feed it with garden fertilizer each year. That has kept it healthy and radiating pink each spring, and perhaps it will aid in the tree's full recovery.

Harvest black walnuts

2008-11-08T11:45:00.006-05:00

Harvesting walnuts ain't easy no matter what you do but they are so freakin' tasty and walnuty that no matter how much time and sweat you put into it, you're going to be rewarded.

First is to get the hulls off. Dad used to put them down on the driveway and just drive over them many times and many days. Eventually the hulls came off, became part of the driveway and he'd rake up the nuts.

Trouble with that, for me, is the army of neighborhood squirrels who'll steal you blind. Which also means I have to beat the squirrels to getting the nuts in the first place, and I can't leave them out to dry. But I do soften them up by driving over them.

From there, I put them in a kids' plastic swimming pool in the garage and I stir them every day or two with a rake to speed the drying process. Be sure to keep the hulls away from the garden and compost pile - for the same reason you never plant a walnut tree near a garden. It's the kiss of death.

It is recommended by the University of Minnesota Extension Office that the nuts be cured for two weeks, then stored in a fairly humid, cool place.

They say that before shelling the nuts they should be soaked in water for about 24 hours. If nuts rise to the top of the water they're no good. Well, maybe. I tried it with mixed results, but the nasty mix of walnut goo and water makes this a worthless exercise, especially when the shelling process seemed no easier.

As for the shelling process, I've recently decided that the easiest and surest way to go at it is to wrap the walnuts in a clean but worn-out towel or heavy rag, hold it over a piece of steel and give it a wham with a hammer. Two whams probably.

Pick from the towel all the shell shards that contain nut meat and whatever tiny good parts you can find, put them in a container and take them to a quiet, well-lit spot with a nut pick and carefully separate the nut meat from the things that will break your teeth.

For preservation of the nut meats, the advice from Minnesota is to bake them for 10-15 minutes at 215 degrees. Otherwise, you can refrigerate them in a jar or plastic bag for up to nine months, or frozen and kept for up to two years.

Paint your log chains

2008-11-08T11:42:00.002-05:00

I dropped a short log chain in the woods about three years ago. I know where it is, give or take 75 feet in each direction, and I've looked for it many times without success.

Recently I replaced it - a 4 foot log chain with two hooks cost about $34.

But I had long since begun painting my chains once each season - just a little whack from a spray can will turn a chain from invisible to otherwise

Store a garden hose for winter

2008-09-12T10:28:00.002-04:00

There's nothing more futile than trying to get a cold hose into a decent circle, so when it's time to harvest a garden hose, I do it on a warm sunny day. I "hand-walk" the thing above my head from one end to the other to ensure all the water is out.

None of which is rocket science or likely anything that anyone doesn't already know. But here's the thing I do that may be helpful to you - the use of "zip ties" or "tie wraps" - available at Harbor Freight Tools and many other places.

When you have on hand only the ties that are too short to go around the hose (or whatever) you can connect two or more, as shown in the photo. Be sure the sides with ridges are aligned and put just the tip of one through the grabber end of the other - and don't pull out any slack until you're ready to tighten it.

If you haven't used these ties before, be advised that they are not reusable and you have to cut them to relax their grip.

Tomato juice with added flavor

2008-09-09T08:25:00.005-04:00

Once Rosalie has frozen all the garden tomatoes the freezer will hold, the remainder of the crop - those not used in salads and open-faced sandwiches and such - are transformed to juice.

She cooks them about 15 minutes, seasons with sea salt, diced garlic and celery; for each quart about one clove of garlic and one stalk of celery, with salt to taste. Then she puts it through a food mill.

That juice could be frozen or canned for winter, but I grow only six or eight plants and hardly ever harvest more tomatoes at one time than we can use. But if you have a family it would be worth the time and effort. Also, frozen or canned tomato paste, using the same ingredients as for juice.

Plant and prepare sweet corn

2008-09-05T17:34:00.004-04:00

For many years Rosalie and I have hosted reunions for her family members and timed them for what I always hope is the zenith of sweet corn harvest. Timing's the thing: A few days early, a few days late and the farmer is hung out to dry, at least in his own mind.

My rows are 80+ feet long and I plant about 10 of them. Lots of corn and you'd think the odds of catching it right would favor me since I try to have two succession plantings overlap around August 20th and schedule the affair for the closest weekend.

Mr. Weather is a fickle fellow and I haven't hit the exact target for the past two years, though I've faithfully counted days from planting to germination. I got by, but only barely.

WHAT TO PLANT
I plant the super-sweet (sugar-enhanced) varieties of "Breeder's Choice" from Burpee and whatever rows are left (three or so) with "Incredible" seed from Cedar's Lawn and Garden, a local garden center.

EDIT: The Breeder's Choice was a bust in the garden of 2009. It might be blamed on weather or my failure to water enough, but this Burpee's variety was pretty sickly, compared to "Incredible." In view of Burpee's price and this year's performance, likely I'll avoid Burpee corn from now on. Anyone else experience problems this year?

WHEN TO PICK
Part of my problem with "hitting the target" is that I am pleased only if I have ears enough (40-60) that are exactly at the apex of sweetness and tenderness. And exactly when is that? It is precisely when the individual kernels are beginning to turn yellow or have just turned yellow and before they have started to swell. Once the swelling begins and you can see them crowding one another the kernel skins begin to toughen and they are less sweet.

By the time those kernels are so fat they get all scrunched together, they are milky and pasty and their skins are like shards of glass. I exaggerate, but to me sweet corn is no good whatever when it gets this old.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR EATING
Corn when it's perfect can be eaten from the cob in the field. Eat around the worms, spit out the silk, throw the garbage back onto the field - and there ain't no finer day in summer to remember. This stuff is like wet candy.

This means only that preparation is mostly an unneeded decoration to a perfect meal that nature has already prepared. Heat is the thing, I guess.

For many years I baked the corn in husks over a wood fire for the reunion. Ears were soaked in water for a few hours (giving the worms the opportunity to get to hell out) before being placed on a rack over a fire in a pit. The water made steam, thus creating a nice, soft bunch of kernels once the husk had been peeled but left as a handle for one end.

Leave it over the fire to the end and kernels become "caramelized" as they say on Food TV Network - meaning a bit scorched and hardened, but nevertheless still (but no more) sweet.

Every bit as good is to remove the husk and boil, leaving the ear moist and hot, as is the easiest and quickest and most traditional way to do it.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR PRESERVING
Rosalie stopped canning stuff when our kids left home. Anyway, we have a little freezer in the basement devoted to corn and tomatoes and other stuff. As far as we're concerned, freezing corn beats canning this way and that (read: to hell and back).

Almost every day throughout corn harvest season (which lasts until the first weeks of September for us) we enjoy corn on the cob. But eventually each planting expires by giving us swelled kernels and too-husky husks. That's when I haul in the remainder and cut it for freezing.

The more I do it, the more I learn, and here's what I've learned so far: Begin immediately after picking. Do the cutting outside in the shade, preferably with a nice breeze. Use a long, serrated blade (as is sold for cutting bread). Have a big container for the husks and silk and wormy parts. Have a big cutting board and hold the ears vertically. Cut all you can get without cutting off the base of those nasty hulls. Have a big clean-water container nearby to wash from your hands and the knife and the board all that sugary, silky residue. A loaded garden hose will clean the syrup from your board, table and knife.

Put this garden gold in plastic freezer bags and freeze immediately. That's it. No blanch, no nothing else.

GO FOR A GOOD DEAL ON PRICE
By the way, if I didn't grow my own I'd look up commercial growers of super-sweet (sugar-enhanced) corn and I'd ask them to sell it at a super-sweet price. Ears that aren't pretty and have a worm or two and have missing kernels and aren't filled out at the ends are probably plowed under. Better to sell it to you, even if you have to go pick it. And if I were a commercial corn grower, I'd be glad to see you coming. Try it and let me know how you get along.

FEED US BACK
I never claimed to have perfect methods or the last word on anything. Tell us about your experiences.

Easy dutch oven cobbler

2008-08-14T08:18:00.003-04:00

From my adult son, an Eagle Scout, who has lots of dutch-oven experience ... and who said he invented this on a recent camp-out in the mountains of Utah. I'm taking his word and passing it along without test-driving it first. If you try this, give me a shout about how it went.

Very easy, two cans of pie filling, two boxes of white or vanilla cake mix, 1 and 3/4 cans of sprite. Pour all in, stir a little bit you don't have to completely mix. It is okay if the cake mix is still dry. Put a ring of about 12 hot coals underneath dutch oven and about 12 on top for about twenty minutes. Then load the top with coals and the bottom, when the top starts getting brown its done, should take about 45 minutes... Very good, and even you (meaning Dad) can do it :-)

Set up a rain gauge

2008-08-12T17:47:00.006-04:00

For years I tried to set up a permanent rain gauge, but they always got busted or bent or - most often - frozen and cracked. The best thing I've figured out so far is this contraption in the photo - so simple I'm almost embarrassed to show you. But the fact is, this thing is the result of many years of screwing around in the attempt to get something that works and is cheap and if it gets busted, well, a new one won't drive me to debt.

All it entails is a piece of scrap wood, this one about 3/8 thick, sharpened to a point, with a couple screws. The advantage is that the gauge can be lifted off the stake (as opposed to pulled from the ground), read, emptied, and easily replaced. Maybe not the greatest invention and if you have a better one, please let us know.

Secure loading ramps for an ATV

2008-08-12T08:44:00.005-04:00

While driving an ATV or tractor onto the back of a pickup truck you need to ensure they don't slip off the tailgate.

I did this by using heavy I-screws in the sides of the ramps and running a ratchet tie-down strap from them to the truck hitch.

Carry a chain saw on an ATV

2008-08-12T08:41:00.005-04:00

Getting a chain saw from one place to another on an ATV is as easy as strapping an old plastic milk crate to the rack and putting the saw inside. The plastic won't damage the chain teeth or other saw parts. These crates are lots cheaper and maybe easier than the kind you buy for $50 or so.

Inexpensive funeral

2008-08-03T15:37:00.006-04:00

Among life's most wasteful expenses are those accrued when you die.

The most unfortunate aspect of this is the fact that most of that expense is unnecessary and would be avoided if folks would face up to the fact that they're gonna die and get ready. If they did, they'd order up a sensible send-off; cremation, for example.

I know that's not for everyone, but that's the script for Rosalie and me. Why waste money on caskets, burial plots, excessive services by funeral homes, and all the other pretentiousness that goes along with "final expenses" because it's maybe somehow expected, or because everyone else does it, or because survivors are trying to be kind to the deceased, or for lack of communicating about it beforehand?

Rosalie and I have a good, firm understanding that we will be cremated. There will be no casket, no burial, no "viewing." None of that depressing claptrap. Just poof, and away with the "remains." Let our survivors be as inventive as they wish with the ashes. We don't care and we're not going to be offended, no matter what the outcome.

There will be, instead, a "celebration of life" service later, when things have cooled down and folks have their wits about them. Let it be happy; a true celebration of a life lived and the positive climax thereto.

Well, that's for us; not to everyone's preference for sure. I mention it as an example of how it can work if folks would talk about it ahead of time. Consider, too, a written legal agreement, especially if there could be attempted interference by other relatives.

Some couples and/or families may need to shop around by visiting a funeral home or two perhaps. Learn about your options from these folks. Maybe get your plan in writing at a funeral home, and if you insist on going out Cadillac-style, consider pre-paying to lock in prices.

Check veterans', Social Security, and insurance death benefits, and write this stuff down so there won't be any fumbling later.

Also, try to plan to avoid probate court with its hassle, expense and wasted time. If your affairs and your family are without much complication it can be handled by signing over your assets to survivors beforehand. Rosalie and I have joint ownership of every asset. When the first of us goes, there will be no questions about who remains as owner.

When the second of us goes, we hope to have those assets listed in joint ownership with our beneficiaries. As a back-up, we both have wills, and living wills.

Let it be peaceful, quick, and cheap. We all should be so lucky.

EDIT: Because this is such a good addition to my thoughts above, here's the comment left by Dave Levingston:

I agree, except that there is an even better way to handle "remains." My uncle did it and when I saw how it worked I decided that was what was going to happen with me when the time comes.

If you donate your body to "science" there is no cost at all. And your body does some good after you are gone. My uncle's body went to a medical school. After his death, his son-in-law simply contacted the school and they came and picked up the body. No cost to the family at all. And some medical student probably got to learn skills that will save lives in the future thanks to his donation. Seems like a great approach to me.

Garden fence for deer and small animals

2008-08-02T19:22:00.007-04:00

I've found only one defense for my garden against deer and smaller critters such as raccoons and groundhogs.

Over the many years I've been gardening, I experimented with all sorts of remedies that have been touted by advertisers and recommended by garden writers. I've concluded there's only one reliable defense and that is a fence - either a really high (like seven feet) chain link or woven wire fence, or a really good electric fence which is, of course, easier and cheaper.

I've been fencing with electricity for the past several years, experimenting with different types of chargers and configurations. The only installation that works for me is a five-strand fence powered by an AC charger rated at 10 miles - meaning it will carry a meaningful shock through electric-fence wire for 10 miles.

My garden, which is about 60 ft. by 90 ft. sits a long distance from the house, so I had to bury an electric wire under the lawn and under two driveways, but this thing is worth it. Every year I find traces of deer trying to bust the system, but usually only once. That kind of shock trains a deer pretty quick.

It takes about a quarter-mile of wire to go around my garden with five strands, but the wire is very light-weight and fairly cheap. Five strands are required because the lowest strand is only about three inches off the ground, the next about two inches higher, then another three or so. No critter except maybe mice and moles will get under it because it is so low. The top wire is only about 3-ft. high, which a deer could easily jump if it could figure it out. Lucky for me all my deer pests are too dumb for that.

Such a design means the gardner must religiously trim the grass and weeds from under that lower wire to keep it from shorting out.

The "posts" are fiberglass sticks that you can push into the ground with your foot, with clips for the wire, except for the corner posts which are regular steel "T" posts with an anchor at the base. They have to be driven in securely with a post driver and provided with those yellow insulator things you see in the photo. All the parts are available at Tractor Supply Company.

Strawberry planter from bricks

2008-08-02T19:02:00.005-04:00

Many years ago when Rosalie, the resident strawberry eater, wanted to grow our own, I put out a bunch in one corner of the garden and soon grew to regret it.

Strawberries are not that easy to control. They go every which way and there's a definite routine one should follow to do it right, and it's a lot of work. But that's not what I'm here to talk about. Likely the growing info is easy to find on the Internet, or maybe I'll get to it later here.

What I'm here for now is to tell you how to make a quick and easy planting bed for strawberries, or anything else.

Those bricks in the photo above were free for the hauling, and you find bricks like these if you're patient and persistent. And if you can't wait for free ones, you can buy them at Bowerson Shale in Hanover, OH.

It took about 60 bricks to make an 8-ft. circle around a 6-inch-high pile of soil. That's big enough to plant a dozen strawberry plants. You can't see it in the photo, but there's a small (2-ft.-high), woven-wire fence around it - enough to keep out deer and other pests, so far at least.

Baked hamburgers

2008-08-01T17:11:00.002-04:00

Rural Letter Carriers Auxiliary published "Ohio Favorite Recipes" many years ago and one of the concoctions I picked up from them and remembered as an excellent taste trip is this one:

1 cup catsup
2 tbs. vinegar
2 tbs. mustard or Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
2 lb. ground meat*
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Combine and mix the first five ingredients.
Make patties of the meat, bread crumbs, eggs, and milk.
Put in a baking dish and cover with the sauce.
Bake one hour at 350 degrees.

* Rosalie and I have switched to veggie burgers which should substitute nicely in this recipe.

Clatter blocks

2008-08-01T16:49:00.007-04:00

See introduction at this link.
Clatter blocks are strung together so that by holding the top one and moving it back and forth, each of those below it takes a tumble down the line. You need seven blocks from 1/4" wood, each 2 1/2" square. Weave 1/4" twill tape in the pattern shown and use staples or small tacks to fasten them to the ends.

Gee Haw Whammydiddle

2008-08-01T15:31:00.003-04:00

See introduction at this link.
Cut a couple hardwood twigs about 8" to 10" long and about 3/8" to 1/2" in diameter. Whittle one down to about 1/4" in diameter back to about 4". Notch the other one with about eight notches over a length of 3" to 4".

Make a blade from light metal about 1" by 3/8" and drill a hole in the center. Put a nail, small enough to be loose in the hole, through the blade and drive it into the end of the stick with the notches. The blade needs to be free-turning, and pretty well-balanced. (The drawing may look like the nail is going through the edge of the blade. Not so; it goes through the flat side.)

As you rub the whittled stick over the one with the blade it creates a vibration from the washboard effect, making the blade turn. You can make it go "gee" or "haw" (right or left) depending on whether you touch it with your forefinger or not, because it changes the way the stick vibrates.

If you're a good Gee-Haw-er you can move your finger so nobody notices, pretending to control the direction of the blade by saying "Gee" or "Haw" to the sticks. My dad about drove me nuts trying to figure this out and I did it to my kids too.

String figures for kids

2008-08-01T15:28:00.004-04:00

See introduction at this link.
In the 70's, when my daughter was in elementary school, one of the hottest toys was a loop of string from which kids made "Cat's Cradle," "Farmer Brown's Pants," and even "Teacher's Bra." Lots of books have been written about this pastime, and there's a good set of instructions at this link.

Sling for throwing stones

2008-08-01T15:23:00.003-04:00

See introduction at this link.
Mostly for country kids, the sling is must two pieces of string about 12" to 15" long attached to a small (3-4" long by 2" wide) piece of leather. Put a rock into the sling, whirl it over your head and let one string go. When you get good enough at it, you can pretend you're killing the giant.

Spool racer

2008-08-01T15:21:00.005-04:00

See introduction at this link.
You can make a little racer from a spool, two tacks, a 3" X 1/4" dowel, a bead and a rubber band. Drive the tacks into one end of the spool, wrap the rubber band around them, thread it through the hold in the spool, through the bead and around one end of the dowel. Wind it up and race it on a smooth surface.

Using old plastic bags

2008-08-01T15:17:00.002-04:00

Rosalie inadvertently invented a pretty good invention many years ago when she cut a hole in the bottom of a trash bag and stuck our boy's head through it before giving him a hair cut. Somehow the bag got charged with static electricity and the falling hair stuck to the plastic.

We weren't sure how the thing got charged in the first place, but likely it was done by walking over a carpet while holding the bag.

Folks nowadays are inundated with plastic bags, fer sure. Seems there ought to be a bunch of ways to use them productively. Some of them that I've used in the past are to tie tomato plants to stakes, same with small trees; also placing them at the base of plants to keep the weeds down while retaining moisture and warmth in the soil.

Tell us about ways you employ these things for economy and convenience.

Pinwheel is easy to make

2008-08-01T11:19:00.005-04:00

See introduction at this link.
You can make them from heavy paper, and more permanent models from heavy tinfoil or lightweight tin. Cut a 5 1/2" square, then cut in diagonally from the corners 2 1/4". Draw around the edge of a nickel at the end of this line and cut the hole out. Then bend in one corner at each diagonal line, run a pin through it and into a stick.

Hummer-buttons

2008-08-01T11:02:00.008-04:00

See introduction at this link.

Made from string, three large buttons and two 3" pieces of wood dowel. Use good, strong string, about 15" long. Thread the string through the buttons and through holes in the dowels. Pull the handles and the buttons spin and hum.

Climbing bear

2008-08-01T10:56:00.007-04:00

See introduction at this link.

Use a band saw or a coping saw or jig saw to cut out a bear shape as shown. The one my daughter and I made many years ago was from a 3/4-inch board, about 6" tall and 5" wide. Drill holes in the arms of the bear angling inward. The inward angle is important to the friction required to make him climb. Drill the holes a little bigger than the size of rope you'll use. Our rope had a smooth surface and was about 1/4" in diameter. The climbing ropes should be at least 3 1/2 to 4 foot long. Drill three holes through the top bar and run a short piece of rope through the center hole. This rope acts as a hinge for the bar, letting it move up and down on each end. Make a loop in one end for hanging it to something, push it through the bar and knot the end so it doesn't slip out. Run the climbing ropes through the bear's arms and through the holes on the top bar. Knot the ends. To make the bear climb, you put tension on both ropes, pulling down first on one, then the other. The top bar has to pivot as this is being done. Remember to keep tension on BOTH ropes - until the bear reaches the top and then you relax the tension on both ropes and the bear slides down. That was my daughter's Christmas present to her younger brother and he liked it as much as any he got that year.

Old-time toys

2008-08-01T10:54:00.003-04:00

Many years ago when our kids were little we made some of their toys, based on old-timey designs. I found an old Advocate clipping that described them, and showed some of the drawings I made as illustrations. I picked out seven of the more interesting ones to reproduce for you here, each as a separate entry.

Double-whammy pizza

2008-07-28T09:42:00.004-04:00

That's my name for Rosalie's best pizza ever - because she delivers a double whammy of herbs and olive oil. I think you can make great pizza with many different kinds of ingredients as long as you don't chintz on good olive oil and the right herbs, which is why we're not measuring here...

Ready-to-bake Meijers brand thin pizza crust
Chopped onions & garlic
Thin-sliced zucchini
Mushrooms
Tomatoes chopped
Mozzarella cheese
Small amount of any kind of lunch meat
Sweet basil
Rosemary
Thyme
Oregano

Sprinkle olive oil over crust
Add herbs- small amounts of sweet basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano
Add onions, garlic, zucchini,
Add just enough lunch meat to give it flavor
Add tomatoes, mushrooms
Add more herbs and a little salt
Cover with mozzarella cheese and more olive oil
Bake 15-17 minutes at 450 degrees.

Bi-fold screen door

2008-07-28T09:33:00.015-04:00

I designed and built a bi-fold screen door as a way to save floor space.

When we had the exterior door installed, I specified that it swing outward because otherwise it would gum up the traffic flow and take too much room. We also had a sliding screen on a spring roller installed on the inside of the door casing. It took up zero space, almost, but I never liked it. It was inconvenient to operate. Then one day the dog went through it on her way to chasing a cat or something. End of sliding screen.

The bi-fold door sticks out only about 16 inches when open, which isn't bad, and it operates very smoothly and effortlessly.

Bi-fold hardware is easily available and not difficult to install. The door frame is 2 1/2"-wide sycamore boards using half-lap joints and reinforced with wood pegs.

Vertical half-inch dowels at the bottom will whap any dog with bright ideas about chasing cats.

The aluminum screen panels are stapled, with the edges covered by 3/4" decorative wood strips.

The doodads with a heart-shaped motive at the panel corners and top rail serve no structural purpose and were installed with wire brads.

EDIT: Be sure to read the comment by Jim about hardware for bi-fold doors

Shop with less money

2008-07-28T09:31:00.004-04:00

Inflation rages, and nobody knows that better than she who goes for groceries. One of the best ways to build a defense, however small, is to break up your shopping among stores.

Shop first at the Dollar-Store/Big-Lots type store. There you can pick up the basics, the convenience items, the soap and the paper products and batteries and stuff like that. Work your shopping list down as near to the bone as possible in these stores first. Don't forget Save-A-Lot on East Main Street.

Yeah, yeah. It's more convenient not to go to more than one store, but it's a lot cheaper if you do. Meijers, supposedly an economical place to spend money, sold me an item for nearly $7 that I paid $2 for a the Dollar Store, though the latter was lower quality; still good enough.)

More work, more driving, more time, but I bet the pay-off is pretty handsome.

Disposable paint dipper

2008-07-28T09:26:00.005-04:00

You can make yourself a disposable dipper for paint and other icky substances out of old aluminum cans.

One way is to use a knife and cut all but a small section that acts as a hinge for the handle.

Invest a few minutes more for a classier model and cut the top of the can off, then use a paint stirring stick or thin scraps to make a handle. A small scrap inside the can helps secure the nails.

Tie a long extension cord for storage

2008-07-28T09:14:00.007-04:00

Rosalie says everyone knows how to do this, but I say pffft. If everyone knows how to do it, why did I have to live longer than 60 years to learn it?

In the photo are two cords that are 50 feet long. The one on the right is coiled around the hand and elbow until you come to the last six or eight feet. That tail is wrapped as tightly as possible around the coil and up through its top and given a jerk to keep it snug.

The one on the left is the way I wrap a 100-ft. cord when I need to stash the whole thing, but expect to use only a part of it next time. This way I can can coil and uncoil the needed amount without doing the whole 100-ft. wrap.

Feeding fat dogs

2008-07-24T17:55:00.003-04:00

If you have fat dogs, here's a way to cut back on their feed, help curb their appetites and skinny them up (down?). The vet told us to mix into their dog food some canned green beans.

We buy dog food "healthy weight" or something like that. I also put a shot of (cheap) olive oil on their feed. Good for me, good for doggie.

I have a big dog (golden retriever) and a little dog (who knows?) and big dog always gets twice as much food as little dog but at least three times as many beans.

Save A Lot has the best price on canned vegetables of anywhere I know in Newark. So I go there and buy beans by the case. Also, for variety I buy, peas, mixed vegetables, spinach and like that.

Also, Rosalie came up with the slickest bulk food for dogs for anyone with a garden: shredded zucchini. They love it. It's free. Life is good.

Remove clogged rain gutters

2008-07-24T17:52:00.006-04:00

The worst misconception about the way to handle rain run-off from a roof is spelled GUTTERS.

I suffered the bad effects of rain gutters for about 40 years before I decided everyone else was crazy and I paid to have nearly all mine removed. By doing so, I ended decades of frustration and most basement dampness.

People who insist on installation of gutters - including building-code designers - are full of it and I have a house and a basement to prove it. Most of my roof run-off problems ended when I found the courage to have the gutters on my house de-installed.

The problem was that gutters got clogged and all they did after that was to pour rainwater off the roof into one giant river. Don't tell me about those screens to keep out the leaves. Don't tell me about those little doodads you stick down into the opening for the downspout. Don't tell me about climbing up two stories in winter to unclog all this crap. And don't even tell me about those rain water dispersal things you can install under the eves. You don't need any of this.

All you need to do is to let the water run off the edges of the roof evenly, naturally. When it hits the ground it is so widely dispersed that you probably won't notice. If it isn't, then you may need an outward-sloping concrete or hard-packed limestone base beside your foundation, or some other water diversion device. Whatever it takes to keep you from having to haul out your ladder in dead of winter to clear the ice dams and frozen leaves is going to be far more valuable than rain gutters.

To ensure that roof run-off is evenly dispersed you can, for instance, plant ferns, hostas and especially low-growing evergreens at ground level under the roof line. Not only will you have a natural and pretty and inexpensive dispersal mechanism, the roots will also help hold soil in place and prevent percolation through the soil near basement walls.