Fun With Mortises and Tenons

January 22, 2018

Design

...s test of eighteen of the most common joints (article is behind a paywall) used in furniture and found some surprising results. The strongest joint was actually a half lap. It’s not an attractive joint nor would it have worked for my table base. While the half lap is stronger, Fine Woodworking’s tests vindicated the traditional mortise and tenon over pocket screw joinery (similar to what is used in Ikea furniture). Pocket screws failed under 698 p...

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How to Carry Heavy Objects with a Two-Person Carrying Pole

Mr. Homegrown

May 16, 2016

Appropriate Technology, Water and Power

16 Comments

...le would work much better for most other objects. The carrying pole can be used to carry people, a use for which there is a word in English: “litter.” Here’s a carrying pole being used in Guatemala to carry an injured man to the hospital: I’m hoping that the litter version of the carrying poll will become Kelly’s new way of getting around the neighborhood during the hot summer months: In all seriousness, I would like to figure out a way to get rel...

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New Project: Making Bitters

Mrs. Homegrown

December 16, 2013

Domesticus, How-to

5 Comments

...various aromatic substances tinctured in alcohol. These flavorings can be used to concoct fancy artisanal cocktails. True bitters are made with sharp, bitter herbs, like wormwood and dandelion–their original purpose was to stimulate digestion, and you’ll find them used often in appertifs. But the definition has widened to include all sorts of aromatic flavors, from resinous flavors, like pine, to sweet, mellow flavors like vanilla, to floral note...

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A Tensegrity Table

Mr. Homegrown

December 27, 2008

Design

3 Comments

...uller probably did not invent the concept. Having seen a coffee table that used a tensegrity as a base, I decided to see if I could make a similar table, only out of scavenged materials (scavenging seems appropriate in these crummy economic times!). To make your own tensegrity table, molecular biomechanics professor Dr. William H. Guilford has some very nice step-by-step instructions here. My version is slightly different, but frankly Guilford’s d...

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Do Something Day

Mr. Homegrown

November 28, 2008

Thoughtstylings

4 Comments

...e the one that got fried in a freak electric storm the other night, “Never used, brand new 2008 GE Energystar fridge in original box. Blessed by his Holiness the Dalai Lama upon his last visit to Los Angeles, this fridge is sure to maintain the temperature and spiritual balance of all food. Due to health and dietary restrictions and my strict belief in the tenets of Mahayana Buddhist teachings, I asked his holiness Tenzing Norbu to bless the fridg...

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