Building Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Build a compost tumbler

By Joe Mooney Issue #151 • January/February, 2015 A few years back, I caught myself becoming a bit frustrated with my compost pile. It seemed that I just couldn't produce compost as easily as I'd seen...

Make adobe bricks

By Rev. J.D. Hooker Issue #110 • March/April, 2008 Last winter I got a phone call from an old friend in Arizona. One of his sons had fallen in love, gotten the girl in trouble, and...

Stairs — The next level

By Skip Thomsen Website Exclusive • August, 2004 Any good carpenter can build a staircase. What we're talking about here is taking that staircase to the next level: beyond just a means to get from one...

Build your own portable forge

By Corcceigh Green Issue #51 • May/June, 1998 Looking for a handy summer project while building skills, supplies, and knowledge to put away for a rainy future? Here's one to consider: try making your own forge....

Small engine maintenance for women

By Michelle Richards Issue #24 • November/December, 1993 How many small engines do you have on your homestead? I counted mine the other day and came up with eight. These engines help me live a simple...

Tools and hardware for the backwoods home

By James Ballou Issue #74 • March/April, 2002 A certain degree of self reliance is obtainable by those who have the knowledge and skills, resourcefulness, courage, common sense, and tools to perform most of the tasks...

The house that Dorothy built

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #86 • March/April, 2004 This isn't the first time we've had an article by and about Dorothy Ainsworth. Throughout the text are editor's notes refering you...

Save Time and Energy with the Fenced Chicken Coop/Garden

By John Silveira Issue #44 • March/April, 1997 My engineer father was not fond of wasting time or energy. He was always searching for a better, more efficient way to perform chores, especially chores that reoccurred...

Building David’s Cabin, Part One

By Jackie Clay-Atkinson Issue #172 • July/August, 2018 Like most young folks today, our son David graduated high school, got a job, and went to college (accumulating student loans in the process). After that, he worked...

Here’s how to make a musical bamboo flute

By Robert E. Kramer Issue #42 • November/December, 1996 Materials 1 propane or butane torch or campfire to heat up metal rod. 1 steel rod at least 1/2" diameter 1 oven mitt or heavy cloth 1...

Build a cistern out of corrugated road culvert

By Joe Mooney Issue #146 • March/April, 2014 Using a corrugated road culvert as a cistern is an economical way to add to your water storage. Here is the finished tank with PVC pipe directing water...

Parge the ugly out of your concrete wall

By Bill Leonard Issue #57 • May/June, 1999 You can say a great deal in favor of cement block (or, if you prefer, concrete block) building. It's fairly fast, reasonably easy, particularly in small projects, and...

Build a Top-Bar Bee Hive

By Jereme Zimmerman Issue #175 • January/February/March, 2019 My journey to becoming a beekeeper has been a long one, and I’m still not quite there yet. For the past five years or so, I have read...

Build a portable woodstove for $30

By David Scott Matthews Issue #78 • November/December, 2002 I had a problem. Other men love football, baseball, basketball, or golf. I love to hunt. And the animal I love to hunt more than any other...

Build a poultry killing cone

By Allen Easterly Issue #135 • May/June, 2012 You've worked hard and spent many hours raising your pretty flock of meat chickens from eggs or chicks to nice fat fryers, roasters, or stewing birds. They've provided...

A river rock shower

By Dorothy Ainsworth Issue #77 • September/October, 2002 The finished shower weighs a ton and cost about $800. Cultured stones, made of pumice and portland cement, weigh about half as much as river rocks. Notched-trowel texturing in the mortar...