TechnoPrimitive » Building

Cool! Wonder if I can do something similar with old books? Would need to use an adhesive that would not fill up all the little pores in the paper that would help with the sound absorption. Maybe just starch or something along those lines. Something to think on seeing how I keep adding to the collection of non salable books.

Building

3M Canada: Scotch(R) Transparent Duct Tape

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By Dave, April 23, 2005 11:17 pm

3M Canada: Scotch(R) Transparent Duct Tape

Gonna have to go some to beat the gray stuff or especially the old military OD green stuff.

Building

Tracker Trail – Wilderness Survival

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By Dave, April 23, 2005 11:13 pm

Tracker Trail – Wilderness Survival

Interesting site. Loads of info on all kinds of back to basics survival stuff.

Back To The Land, Building

And more pix of the Footbridge

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By Dave, April 22, 2005 7:03 am

Pictures of the Foot Bridge has some new pictures. Covered the arbor ends with bamboo and then put the vines on them. Also got a bit done with the retaining wall between the bridge and road.

Bits and pieces…

Building

Bridge update

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By Dave, April 21, 2005 12:06 am

Got it mostly finished this morning. New pictures are up at Pictures of the Foot Bridge. Too tired to do or write more right now.

Building

A Bridge Grows In Blue Springs.

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By Dave, April 16, 2005 8:08 pm

A Bridge Grows In Blue Springs.

Building

Tax Day Eve

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By Dave, April 15, 2005 11:16 am

Not done yet. Tomorrow as per usual.

Been a long day. Got loads done though.

Started with moving the stuff out of the way in cats office and putting a 6 shelf 4 ft wide 12 inch deep unit up. Cut 16 ft 2×6’s into 4 pieces and a inch and get 2 shelves.

Moved on into the living room and emptied the 12 ft book case and moved it 12 ft toward the east. Then put most of the breakable stuff from Edwina’s on it. Loads of glass and ceramics. Nice stuff but tis only to look at for the most part. Anyway, got most of it up out of the way and on display. Turned the couch around and back up against the side of my desk. Took the end table into Cats office and put the glass top coffee table under the window where it was. Moved the 2 medium palms outside for the season. Moved the amp and cd player off the stand and got it out of the way. Moved the entire wall of stuff east about 2 feet leaving room for the recliner to stay for now. And my corner is about the same.

Added 3 more shelves for the video tape collection. Then helped Cat move the remainder from overhead in the kitchen to the new shelves.

Ate lunch and then went to the creek to see what I could do there today.

Got the top braces finished on the east arbor as well as the top side rails. Put one cross piece in to help stabilize some of the sway. Will finish the cross bracing at the bottom tomorrow Need 4 more to get the 4 areas under the hand rails done. Only one with both and 2 with one. Moved the back boards from the south bench and widened the spacing to about 5 inches between so we can see the creek and such through the cracks. Boards are 5 inches wide so fine to align your spine on when leaning back. Put the extras on the north bench and added the 2 more to finish it off.

That completed for the most part the 2 arbors which are boxes about 6 feet long and 4 wide and 8 high outlined with landscape timbers. Then took 2 timbers and laid them out on the ground like I wanted the roof line to be and drew a line on them one at a time where they crossed. Then set the saw at the angle and cut them. Placed the ends together and using 3 inch rock screws attached them. Bill and I set them up and marked where they crossed the upright supports. Took them down and cut wedges out with the saws all. Added nails and put them back up and screwed and nailed into place. And then did it again for the other rafter.

Took and held a purlin in place above the rafters and marked it. Took it down and added nails, one on each end. Did this 6 times, on each of the 6 purlins. Then put rock screws on the lower side of where they would cross the rafters to keep them in place while we are nailing them. All this on the step ladder on the bridge above the creek. Interesting experience. Got them all nailed in! Put the tools up and saw under wraps and came back to the shelves…

Came up and started cutting 4 foot shelves again. Cut 15 shelves worth which is 30 pieces. Then came in and started the chili warming. Got a drink and went out and sat on the trailer while the sun finished sinking into the west. Came in and ate. Then into the living room and started assembling three more 6 foot x 1 ft x 4 ft shelves where the 12 ft short shelf was. Centered the window and put 2 below and one above. may add another later. but may not. Then put all the books back on the new shelves. Got a lot more to move but for now most of the stuff is at least on a shelf rather than in a box.

Now to shower and hit the sack. And hope I can move in the morning.

Building

Update

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By Dave, April 12, 2005 9:29 am

Still alive. Been feeling real bad the past few days. Guess it has just been another flair up. Seems to have eased this evening quite a bit. Last night was particularly bad. Thought several times about going to the ER but managed to meditate my way through it once again.

But the weird thing is at times I can work as hard as ever and then it’s like someone flipped a switch and cut my power off. Hit me this morning at the table between one spoon of cereal and the next. One minute I am fine, tired but okay, and then next I can hardly move the spoon from the bowl to my mouth. Could still talk with no trouble and thought ~~was~~ seemed to be unimpaired but the energy seemed to be drained from all the voluntary muscles in my body. I sat there for about 20 minutes I guess and it came back and I went and started doing stuff again.

Spent most of the day today at the creek working on the new bridge. Started it last week after stepping through yet another rotten board on one of the pallets that floored the old foot bridge across the creek. I have been thinking about what to do in rebuilding this for some time (years) now and at that point decided to fix it. So later that day I look at a Marvin’s flyer and see that they have a sale on landscape timbers. So make a run and get 30 figuring that would be enough for a 20 foot long foot bridge. Well it was till Bill says something about would be nice to put benches in the middle. And a roof on it.

And so it grew. At present we have made 3 trips. 30. 28. 30. The last trip was supposed to also get the ones for the front porch here at the trailer too but looks like they will be used on the bridge. It’s overall 4 feet wide for about 6 feet on each end and 8 feet for about 8 feet in the middle. There is a 2 foot + wide bench on one side and another with half the frame built on the other side now. One of the end arbor tops is framed in on 2 sides, another cut but not in place and 2 uprights need another setback cut into them at the top, and then the wire for the vines to run in. Got a bunch of native muscatine vines that are right beside the bridge that I am going to try to train to the arbors. Hand rails on the end sides at 3 feet with cross bracing of saplings below.

The benches are over the creek. Supported by pilings that I pounded into the ground, on each side of the water, till they hit limestone. This is one of those projects that just keep growing. And growing. Got a bunch of pictures of it as I have been working on it. So will try to get the pictures together and make a page for them.

I haven’t put anything on paper other than one set of measurements that I made after building the first bench seat end. It’s all come out of my head as I have built it. Cut to fit for the most part. Benches are 2 feet by 8 feet. Big enough for me to take a nap on. Backs are 30+ inches high boards spaced an inch or so apart. 3 inch lean from bottom to top.

Roof is gonna be about 9 by 10 with each side being 9 by 5. Got the idea in my head now to get it into wood. Entire roof should take 9 timbers if my figuring is correct. 5 of those will be 9 feet long and be made of an 8 foot timber and a 1 1/2 foot piece with a 6 inch lap joint. The other 4 are 2 8 foot pieces cut at an angle in the center, one side reversed to form the peak, 2 points cut out to fit the post corners about 2 feet from each end and nailed into place on top of the seat front supports. Then the 5 will be affixed across the rafters and the roofing put on. Should be interesting…

Guess I have rambled enough for now. Hands and arms are about done in. 3 pound hammer that it takes to pound in the 6 inch spiral cut nails has taken its tole.

Building