Recent content by Jeff Ivers

I was really lucky on the truck/key issue. I spent several seconds wishing I had a coat hanger before I started looking for alternatives. I still can't quite believe the branch worked - apparently there was enough of a bump or high enough coefficient of friction to hold the carabiner while I...

Haven't done much in the shop lately. While pursuing my metal detecting hobby back in May, I found 2 gold bracelets 2 weeks apart. Since this was somewhat of an unusual occurrence for me, I submitted the info to the Garrett Find of the Month contest. This past week they notified me I had been...

Geologist's pick

Since yellow poplar or tulip tree is supposedly not native to this area and since I have never seen any blooms on any tree on my property like those associated with tulip trees, I consider it very unlikely. Of course, I have identified a Buckthorn Bumelia tree on this property which is not...

The first trees I cleared from my 5 acres were all the Locust trees - due to the thorns. I know some Locust trees do not have bad thorns, but as far as I can tell they are not native to this area. Also, this wood is not as hard as the Locust wood I have cut. I have had sweet gum trees on a...

Those are a type of woodworking clamp, but unfortunately that is all I remember about them. After I went through some additional threads, it finally came to me that I had seen those used as miter clamps and confirmed it by searching for that term.

Here are hopefully better pictures of the bark and wood of the tree I am trying to identify. So far, I think I have ruled out 41 species. There were no thorns on this tree. I have used 2 tree books in conjunction with internet searches on the wood and bark of each tree that I was trying to...

Ah, you last three posters got my hopes up that Andy was back.

I had the same problem about 3 years ago. The "plug" was actually algae in the condensate line. Since then, every six months, I pour a mixture of 2 cups bleach to a gallon of water down the line. So far, no further problems.

Well, I just looked up sycamore tree on the internet and neither the bark nor wood match what this is. The bark is not splotchy green/tan. The bark on this reminded me of hickory - darker gray, almost black, with strips of bark curling up. However the bark appearance may have been affected by...

Possibly - How old do tulip trees have to be to bloom? I have never observed a tulip tree bloom on the property in the 34 years I have been here. Do poplar trees have kind of a splotchy green/tan bark? The bark on this reminded me of a hickory but not as thick.

Today I cut the logs and stacked the pieces to dry: Positioning the log on the sled for the first cut. Discovered I needed 2 coarse sheetrock screws inserted from the bottom of the sled on each end to make the log stable enough for the first cut. First cut complete. For the second cut, I...

Haven't had much shop time lately. This is the time of the year that most of my chores take place outside. So shop time is generally limited to retrieving tools, touching up the chainsaw chain, slapping batteries into the chargers, or retrieving charged batteries, etc. However, one of my outside...

I think you are on the right track. At the top of the steps, it might be good to have the approach area slightly lower than the top step/landing and have the vertical door part go below that level down to the level of the approach area and make sure that area is properly drained.

This is how I repaired the removal of a doggie door. I am sure I used aluminum pop rivets. I never notice the repair since I am almost always 10 feet or more from the area. Silicon applied to the existing barn tin, repair panel attached to the outside, right edge of repair panel is tucked under...