Measuring With a Shaft Key

...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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Citified Parched Corn

...Maybe it helps spices stick? Purists insist that there should be no oil. I used no oil. The second is flavoring. Parched corn doesn’t really need flavoring–it’s good on its own. Salt, of course, only makes it better. But it can take as many types of seasoning as popcorn, from sweet to spicy to savory. You just throw spices into the pan to roast with the corn. I’ve also seen recipes where someone will roast the corn in a pan then toss it with a fla...

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On Sharpening Tools

...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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Announcing Our New Solar Cooking Initiative

...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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How to Rodent Proof a Chicken Coop

...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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