How to Rodent Proof a Chicken Coop

February 19, 2016

...picture on the right (it has a much more secure lid than the larger can I used to keep the feed in). In the morning I put the food out again for our four hens. It means that I have to get up just a few minutes earlier than I usually do but that’s not a big deal as I’m one of those tedious and boring morning persons. Some folks use rodent proof treadle feeders. These feeders open when the hens step on a small metal platform. I was sent a treadle f...

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Announcing Our New Solar Cooking Initiative

Mrs. Homegrown

March 31, 2016

Solar, Solar Oven Summer

8 Comments

...clear lid. Solar ovens reach higher temperatures than cookers, and can be used in less ideal conditions. But we’d never invested in a solar oven because they are rather pricey, especially for an unknown quantity. Would they really work? Could we make good food in one? I certainly didn’t want to spend a couple of hundred bucks on an oversized rice cooker. Wait! I almost forgot. We do have a solar oven in our garage! And if I don’t mention it, the...

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On Sharpening Tools

Mr. Homegrown

August 8, 2017

Domesticus

9 Comments

...to start with a grinding wheel or a really coarse abrasive. Nagura stone (used for maintaining whetstones). Economical Sharpening In terms of price and versatility, it’s hard to beat a Japanese whetstone. With a set of whetstones you can polish everything from kitchen knives to chisels and planes. After the sharpening class I picked up a double sided 800/4,000 grit whetstone and few additional accessories: a sharpening stone holder, a honing guid...

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Measuring With a Shaft Key

Mr. Homegrown

November 19, 2018

Design

...ft keys between 1/8″ and 1/2″. You can buy a whole set for mere dollars. I used a sharpie to mark the dimensions of my set of shaft keys. I use them mostly for setting the depth of my router and table saw. Using your sense of touch, aided by a shaft key, is much more accurate than using your eyeballs and a ruler. But I also found them handy for assembling a new fence over the weekend. I wanted 1/4 inch gaps between the fence slats and used a shaft...

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A Brief History of Secret Drawers

Mr. Homegrown

August 13, 2018

Design

2 Comments

...nt of papers with mysterious writing and symbols. At some point their maid used around half of the papers to bake some pies before the couple decided to put the papers back in the chest. Some years later when the great fire of London broke out Susannah, now a widow, had the sense to take the papers with her. It turned out that those papers were John Dee’s account of his conferences with angels. Secret compartments like this used to be a common fea...

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