All moved in and getting set up

It has been awhile since I have written anything. My wife and I bought a house back in February, moved in March, and have been putting a lot of work into it. And, timing what it is, in July I got laid off from my job. Since it is around Thanksgiving, I will say I am very thankful to have a new job, new house (to us), a workshop in the house, and a ShopSmith that I got from a friend who’s step-dad passed away a couple of years ago. I actually had time the other day to go down and turn it on – and blow the circuit breaker. So I guess I am not doing much with it until I can get at least an outlet or two re-wired for 20 amp service. Sigh. I painted one wall with the blackboard paint in a big 3 x 6 foot blackboard. I did it to draw plans on while working so I didn’t forget things but my nieces like it so much there isn’t much space for me to write on. That paint is really cool and I highly recommend a nice wall of it in your workshop, if you have a blank wall. A little square of it by a door would be nice to write notes for kids also.

Every year for the last 10 years or so my wife and I have made Christmas ornaments for family and friends. This year we are cutting up a piece of cedar off a tree at our house (can’t give more away in case any of them read this). I am definitely going to need some dust collection in the workshop.

One of the first things I did after we moved was to dig up an area next to the fence and plant a small garden. The tomatoes went crazy! We had load after load of Roma and a grape tomato. The rosemary, basil, parsley, zucchini, summer squash, and butternut squash did well. It may sound like a lot but it isn’t. I like to have a lot of different things even with a small space so plant 1 of a lot of things. The Swiss chard did ok, not great, and the beets and carrots didn’t amount to much. I don’t know why I never do well with them. I am trying the tomato cutting experiment again. If you read the blog you know I tried it before and it worked ok but when I planted the cuttings in the spring they were pretty spindly and the stems ended up breaking when I planted them. I also dug up a few of the Swiss chard and put them in a good sized pot to see what they will do in front of the sliding glass door this winter.

Comments

Fixing Weber-type Charcoal Grill Legs

Do you have a charcoal grill? After awhile if you have moved it around do the legs come out? I have two of these grills and they both have this problem. But then again I did get both of them out of the trash! I suppose they were in the trash in the first place because their owner was tired of dealing with the legs coming out. The problem is that the legs are typically just crimped as you see below instead of firmly attached. Well, we are going to fix this! First, what you will need is a drill, a small-ish drill bit, and either 3 screws long enough to go all the way through the leg with nuts to go with them, or 6 rivets and a rivet gun. The drill bit naturally will be sized to fit the size of the screws or rivets. I like rivets because with screws there is a chance the nuts will come loose and then you are going to have wobbly legs again. Rivets are a permanent fix. So now that you have everything you need, drill a hole through the leg where it attaches to the grill. Make sure

Shovel Handle Repair

Don't you hate when this happens? There you are digging in the garden and try to pry out a sapling stump and SNAP! If you can part with an old friend it is time to go buy a new shovel. If not (can you tell how much I have worn down the tip on this shovel?) it is time to replace the handle. Step one: Remove the Handle Notice where the rivet is installed through the handle. Find the pre-formed end. Look at the other side. If it has been flattened much bigger than the hole through the shovel you will need to cut it off. A Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel is the way to go. Don't forget the safety glasses. Now take a punch and hammer and knock the rivet through the shovel shaft. Now you can knock the piece of the broken handle out of the shovel shaft. Step two: Fit and Drill the Hole in the New Handle But where to get your new handle? I just read an article that mentioned the House Handle Company (http://househandle.com/index.html), a family owned business in

Swiss Chard Update 3, or Winter Veggies 1

Long time readers may remember that I have overwintered Swiss Chard in my basement under lights for the last several years. This fall I started my winter Swiss Chard from seed to compare it to digging the old roots from the garden. I also had some collards that I bought from Home Depot that were originally planted out in the garden but with a cool, wet fall, the slugs, and the deer they weren't going to get a chance to do anything so I dug a couple of them up and planted everything in a window box. As you can see the chard is pretty tight. I was going to thin them but they seem to be more productive the way they are. They don't make as many big leaves but there is a lot more stem production and since we eat both the leaves and stems I am getting a better harvest this way. In this 6 x 8 inch area I am getting a cutting (for 2 people) a week. It took about 6 weeks to get started though. I think the best approach is to plant some seed and transplant the older garden plan

Ed's Experiments and Stuff

Search This Blog