In varius varius justo, eget ultrices mauris rhoncus non. Morbi tristique, mauris eu imperdiet bibendum, velit diam iaculis velit, in ornare massa enim at lorem. Etiam risus diam, porttitor vitae ultrices quis, dapibus id dolor. Morbi venenatis lacinia rhoncus. Vestibulum tincidunt ullamcorper eros eget luctus. Nulla eget porttitor libero. Read More
Rodent and dog-proof compost bin… for under $40
We’ve all got our shortcomings. Our compost bin situation has been severely lacking for… a few years, I’ll say. How embarrassing. Let’s just say we were kinda lacking on the “bin” end of things for a while… until now. These great compost bin plans we came up with eliminate dogs and rodents from getting into our pile, allowing us to create soil fertility without the headache of critters messing things up! All it took was a roll of hardware cloth, and a bag of zip ties. I’m so pleased to have a functional compost bin that I just had to share this here. The whole thing costs under $40.
Yikes…
At least once a year, I spend several stressful hours troubleshooting a new website problem, at times hopelessly, and finally, at the brink of despair, a solution rises up like a phoenix that instantly alleviates the technical bug. Well, that is what just happened.
For the last month, any posts and updates to pages I have made to The Year of Mud were not publicly viewable… but all of that is ironed out now. You may see a few “new” posts here since February, and additionally, the 2013 Timber Frame Workshop details are fully viewable!
Thanks for your patience! You can imagine I’d much rather be outside building than scouring troubleshooting forums for answers all night, but it’s all important and worth it in the end.
More updates as they come. Spring is here!
We are very pleased to announce a new Timber Frame Workshop for the summer of 2013, as part of our natural building workshop program! Based on the success of last year’s class, we’ll be hosting another workshop here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage to teach folks all about the beautiful craft of timber frame construction.
How to make a mortise with hand tools: boring machine and chisel
You can’t have a tenon without a mortise. They go together like peas and carrots. (Or insert your favorite “go together” cliche here.) Uh, anyway, I described how to cut a tenon by hand in a previous post, and in this article, I’ll describe the process for making a mortise in a timber by hand. A mortise is basically a slot for a tenon, which is later pegged to secure the joinery. It’s simple and timeless.
Mortises are arguably more difficult to make by hand than tenons. I’ll describe how to do it with a boring machine and chisel.
We’ve got an exciting announcement to make in the coming week. I’m holding out for now, but I can say that it you’re itching to get your natural building on later this summer, you’re going to enjoy the news we have to share.
Here are a couple clues, though. It’s an event that you can participate in, it involves creating wood chips, and… well, maybe you should just wait a few more days.
2013 is shaping up to be a big year!
(Photo credit: GrungeTextures via photopin cc)
John Neeman’s new wares
If you haven’t heard the scoop already, master bladesmith John Neeman of Neeman Tools, whose dazzling photos and videos of deliciously hand forged woodworking tools have whipped up a lot of excitement over the past year, has now branched away from his namesake company and is heading AUTINE, a new family company dedicated to creating stunning, and absolutely top quality axes, knives, chisels, and more.
It is unclear how the split between John Neeman and Neeman Tools has occurred, and it’s certainly confusing that his name is still the brand for the company that he has detached from, but regardless, we lucky tool fetishists now have two incredible sources for excellent hand forged tools.
Hans Karlsson 5cm adze for bowl carving
I like learning about new tool makers, and Hans Karlsson is a Swedish blacksmith whose high quality, hand-forged carving and woodworking tools are ones I’ve been recently taken with. I picked up a small carving adze and heavy duty bent gouge for bowl making, and the excellent quality is distinct from the get-go.
Here’s some information on Hans Karlsson and his tools that I have been able to glean. If you’re interested in bowl and spoon carving, or any kind of hand tool woodworking, take note!
The partly restored Millers Falls machine with brand new base
First of all, I love craigslist. I actually don’t use it that often in my daily life (it’s less useful when you live in the country), but we’ve made a few real scores in some lucky searching stints. While in TN, I happened to do a Millers Falls boring machine search, and I found one… for $160, and it wasn’t terribly far away. The only downside is that it needed some work, namely a new base and one or two small parts replaced.
Considering these suckers can go for $400-$900, I’d say it was worth it. And they just don’t make any equivalent (hand-powered) versions of these things anymore, so I felt obligated to pick this one up, tune it up, and preserve it. (And use it, too, no doubt.)
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About The Year of Mud
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
