Livestock fencing for the small homesteader
By Don Lewis
In 1874, a United States patent (#157,124) was issued to Joseph F. Glidden, a long-serving sheriff in DeKalb County, Illinois. His invention — possibly one of the simplest ever recorded by the...
Build a Concrete Root Cellar
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #168 • November/December, 2017
I should have been a mole — it feels so safe and cool and quiet to be underground. So when my house burned down 20 years ago and...
Claw Hammers
By R.E. Rawlinson
Scottish writer and philosopher Thomas Carlyle observed that “Man is a tool using animal … without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all.” In the modern world we are awash...
Build a lean-to greenhouse
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #154 • July/August, 2015
Just thinking about a greenhouse can stimulate the senses. In our minds' eyes, we can see the filtered light shimmering down on rows of greenery, feel the moist...
Simplify life in your backwoods home by using these easy mountain methods
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #54 • November/December, 1998
Backwoods folk, or in my case, mountain folk, are typically very resourceful, utilizing whatever is on hand to make their lives easier and more pleasant. And hill-women...
PVC pipe in the home, garden, farm, and workshop
By Charles Sanders
Issue #94 • July/August, 2005
Perhaps one of the most important innovations in modern plumbing has been the development of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), and related plastic pipe. These materials...
A house a tornado helped build
By Robert L. Williams
Issue #16 • July/August, 1992
On May 5, 1989, tornadoes ripped through parts of three western North Carolina counties, including ours, and left piles of debris where houses, also including ours, once...
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...
Build a homestead Copy Cart
By Charles Sanders
Issue #45 • July/August, 1997
I don't know too many homesteaders, gardeners, or small farmers who haven't at one time or another wished for one of those fancy big-wheeled garden carts. It seems...
New invention— The Fencerunner
By Dietmar Berg
Issue #68 • March/April, 2001
Here's a gadget I developed to run barb or barbless wire. You mount it on the back of a pickup truck using the ball hitch (see drawing) so...
Getting logs
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Website Exclusive • March, 2004
Online Exclusive April 2003
Attention: Would-be loggers. There have been changes in policy at the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. I have just found...
Build an attached solar greenhouse
By David Lee
Issue #125 • September/October, 2010
We planned it to be permanent, well built, and able to withstand the extremes of temperature, humidity, and weather a greenhouse must tolerate inside and out for many...
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...
Five building tricks for super strong framing
By Don Fallick
Issue #49 • January/February, 1998
I was standing on the edge of the roof overhang, holding two bundles of asphalt shingles, when my boss's son drove up. He looked at me, then took...
Vise Dremel Moto Tool mount
By Dana Martin Batory
Issue #84 • November/December, 2003
Sometimes it seems two hands are not enough—three would be nice, four even better. This economical, easy to build jig solves that common workshop problem. Designed to...
Make a fully functional cold storage pit/mound and enjoy your garden’s production all winter
By Armand O. Deblois
Issue #47 • September/October, 1997
Cold stored fruits and vegetables are the next best thing to fresh-picked. Flavor and texture change little and nutritional value remains high. They keep for an amazingly...
