Recent content by GLyford

I'm really liking the put up fencing and let the cows do the work idea...if you want to go faster, try goats but you'll need a heck of a fence.

We keep our feed in steel trash cans. Medium size holds one bag, that's the one we feed from. Biggest size holds two bags, unopened. We are also overrun with squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits, so if its not one thing, it's another. But rats when we get them are the most persistent. I gather...

My wife opens the run on nice days. We have lost a few to hawk strikes doing that. We have had foxes, raccoons, and coyotes in the neighborhood, a "pest rated" fence 6" off the ground around the outside seems to be working at keeping those out/away. We put deer netting over the run also due to...

I used a couple of rough pine 2x8's across my 3-season porch, and along the inside ridge. They had a nice silver-gray to them when I picked them up. I found a quick hit with a random orbit with 120 grit took the fuzz off leaving the saw marks. Also sanded a small bevel down the corners. This...

Certainly easier than the way I used bowling alley...but it still makes me happy.

I have heard that apple trees prefer gypsum over lime.

For future reference, palm nailers aren't too bad to use, especially for connectors. They even make cordless (hoseless?) ones now.

Dad had his woodstove in the corner of the kitchen, it would roast us out of there, or if it was comfortable everyone was there getting underfoot because it was too cold everywhere else. The living room next to it was always cold. Dad cut two square openings through the wall, one stud bay...

There's a bunch of state university sites for ag extension service that have barn plans, usally all the same ones. This is one such site: https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub/ag-topics/natural-resources-and-facilities/facilities/building-plans/construction-building I haven't been poking...

It can, as long as you keep in mind the super secret chasing livestock technique: Walk toward them while rattling grain in a bucket. Whatever type of bucket they are used to, metal, rubber, etc. This is also why you get them used to be fed grain from a bucket at odd intervals from a young...

I'd pack the gap with dirt and call it good...?

If you have hard water, do not get the longest frost free valves. We have iron in ours as well, and it will plate out onto brass if allowed to sit (like over the winter) and essentially rust the brass threads. The frost free faucets have a long square valve actuator rod to get to the valve at...

One way to keep metal from degrading where it is against PT boards is to use the peel and stick butyl flashing, like they use to seal around windows.

Broaching keyways...

As far as notching tool handles, I had one hammer with a slick varnished handle that was just miserable for slipping. I ended up dragging a coarse power hacksaw blade across it in two directions, and then gave it a quick rub down with my favorite hammer handle finish, 10w-40, which soaks right...