Life, Liberty and DIY
Some weeks are just out there, and packed full of crap and busy work. This last week was that week for me. If you are interested in the craziness of the week I had. Here you go.
I talk about everything from my batter backup dieing to a new power supply for my ham radio, even some truck features I plan to do. It is a whirlwind of an episode that goes all over the place.
And then stay tuned for the end for a well done phishing attempt.
You may have grown up around chainsaws, but do you really know about them or how to use them? This was my life. I would go out and help my dad and others clear trees, but since we were always in a hurry or in a group I did the clearing. I never learned about or how to use chainsaws.
I did pick up a lot of things through observation and logic, but it really doesn’t compare to actual experience. So, much like a lot of the rest of my journey with this homestead, here is an introduction to chainsaws.
If you are in my position definitely give this episode a listen as I start with the basics of chainsaws, tools you probably need, and some safety equipment you will need. I thought I had a good handle on the basics until I started actually learning them.
When you are doing woodworking or homesteading or DIYing you are probably going to use some wood. What is interesting is learning where your wood comes from, and how you get what you buy.
If you have ever been interested in some of the basics around a sawmill and milling wood. What some of the terms are or even some of the tools. As well as a little bit of the processes then I go over what I have learned in this episode.
Next year we will start a bandsaw build so it is imperative to actually understand something about this part of the industry so I am sharing what I have learned so far. I hope it not only helps you in your woodworking to understand what is going on before you, but also to have a greater appreciation for the things you create.
One of the interesting things about milling would is it can help give your work more of a story. This is not only more fun to show it off, but if you sell the work you can command a higher price for it.
So join me in this episode as we start the process of learning about sawmills and milling.
Have you ever wanted to get pigs, but are a bit on the fence about getting them?
In this episode I discuss 5 of the main reasons we are looking to get pigs next year. We have kicked around the idea for a few years now, but if nothing goes awry between now and the new year we will get them.
I think pigs are going to be a great addition to the homestead for the income, work, and knowledge they will bring. To find out more, and to see what has gone on recently around here give this episode a listen.
Trailers are important to life when you can’t get everything in your car or truck. However, they are easy to ignore learning about because they are so “easy” to use. You hook them up, load stuff in there, and go. Right?
While that may be possible, and you can get away with that with light loads. When you have to do heavy loads to get some work done it is a good idea to actually know something about trailers. You especially don’t want to go to jail right?
I have ignored trailers, and understanding them for a longtime. However, this last week I was prompted to start learning about them, and I dove deeeeeeep. I have an all new understanding of trailers from how to properly use them, and especially how they are constructed and built.
In this episode I go over a bunch of things people should probably know if for no other reason so they can understand a few things when they get around trailers. The better part is understanding these things so if you have to do something you don’t use the wrong trailer.
The bandsaw I bought back in January has finally been restored, and put back into service. It didn’t need a lot of work, but I ended up replacing a lot of parts so that now it is almost like a brand new bandsaw.
I had some interesting experiences along the way, and learned a ton more. If you want to learn more give this episode a listen.
I also talk a bit about a couple of future projects that will be super exciting once I can get to them. So definitely listen to find out more.
The end of having meat chickens is the processing. Over the weekend was processing day, and it was long and tiring.
This was the first time I have been “in charge” of doing the processing. The last two times I have processed chickens a friend who has done it a lot came over to help and taught me a lot. This time I had to do all the steps.
Not only did I have to do all the steps, but I had the opportunity to teach other people as well. To be perfectly honest I enjoyed teaching how to process the chickens more than I did the work.
It was a long day, but we now have 29 chickens in our freezer. We raised and grew the chickens on our property, eating our grass and bugs on the ground as we cared for them. They worked the ground, and had a good life. In the end they are performing their final duty of feeding my family some of the most nutritious food we will eat.
Join me in this episode as I talk through what happened, the process, and the ups and downs. If you have ever been curious what it is like, without actually doing it, this episode is for you.
It is going to be a hot year this year, much like every year. It always seems when we get to summer we want to figure out ways to stay cool in the shop. Or to at least not have the shop as hot.
I recently made some changes that will effect the future of my shop, and force me to deal with the heat in the shop for a longer period of time. So I have spent some time researching how to keep the shop cool.
In this episode I discuss several ideas on how to keep your shop cool. Many of these things can work together to make your life a lot easier. I think my shop was build the worst way possible, so I am going to have to employ several of them.
Learning to sell is a huge weakness of mine. This year I stepped out and worked to sell a cow, granted it was to family. With guidance from my father-in-law who has done it before my wife and I figured out what needed to be done, and we got a cow sold.
It was definitely and interesting experience, and a lot of learning had to take place. We had to negotiate cuts with customers, coordinate with the butcher to do those, we had to find a butcher date when most where backed up a year and half.
However, we saw an opportunity in the market, we had to resources, and we took advantage of it. That is exactly what you should do as a sales person. In the end we walked away with some profit, and some meat so it was all great.
There were definitely problems that arose to be sorted out, and we will do better next time.
Working in the garden can be hard work. Whatever you can do to make life easier is a great idea. In this episode I talk about 3 projects that you can do to make life easier.
I think the most exciting project for my wife is an outdoor sink. My favorite is an actual hoop house that is affordable, and wont fall apart on you. The other project just makes sense to do so you don’t keep losing garden tools.