Build a wood crib with free materials
By Mark R. Roach
Issue #156 • November/December, 2015
Trying to stack wood so it stays up without falling can be a challenge. Just when you think you've got it licked, down it comes (or months...
Our Unconventional House
By Judy Zent
Website Exclusive • December, 2002
Fig. 1 - Tire walls with roof framing.
Need a prolonged workout? Want to do some major recycling? Want to stay warm and cozy with the help of the...
A recycled dresser makes a useful bathroom vanity
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #152 • March/April, 2015
Here's the finished vanity with our unfinished dresser
that will store our extra towels and linens.
We've had our log home built for more than eight years now, but until...
Making Apple Cider with a Homemade Press
By Robert Van Putten
Issue #170 • March/April, 2018
Apples are an important food resource for us. Every year we store hundreds of pounds in our root cellar where they will keep for up to six...
Parge the ugly out of your concrete wall
By Bill Leonard
Issue #57 • May/June, 1999
You can say a great deal in favor of cement block (or, if you prefer, concrete block) building. It's fairly fast, reasonably easy, particularly in small projects, and...
Build a graceful footbridge
By Harrison Stone
Issue #77 • September/October, 2002
Tap your heels together three times and repeat after me, "There is no place like homeThere is no place like homeThere is no place like home, especially when...
Make adobe bricks
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #110 • March/April, 2008
Last winter I got a phone call from an old friend in Arizona. One of his sons had fallen in love, gotten the girl in trouble, and...
Here’s how to make a musical bamboo flute
By Robert E. Kramer
Issue #42 • November/December, 1996
Materials
1 propane or butane torch or campfire to heat up metal rod.
1 steel rod at least 1/2" diameter
1 oven mitt or heavy cloth
1...
Making and using a solar cooker
By Joe Radabaugh
Issue #30 • November/December, 2004
Solar cooking is a delightful alternative to conventional cooking methods. The solar cookers available today really work and they deserve serious evaluation by a much larger audience. For...
Build a wood-fired stock tank heater
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #138 • November/December, 2012
Keeping fresh water in front of our livestock in the winter has always been somewhat of a problem. A long time ago, when we lived on a homestead...
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...
For summertime baking needs, build yourself an outdoor horno
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #57 • May/June, 1999
My family has always been big on birthdays and holidaysincluding Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, New Years, and so on. Every holiday is a major...
Renovating old walls
By David Lee
Issue #106 • July/August, 2007
Some years ago my wife and I were out searching for a new building lot when we fell into The Trap. We had recently built and sold a...
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...
Build a Trapper’s Tilt
By Robert Van Putten
Issue #177 • July/August/September, 2019
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted a rustic log cabin deep in the forest. I believe there is something unique about this simple,...
Build a pizza oven
By Mike Lorenzen
Issue #143 • September/October, 2013
About a year ago, my wife and I traveled around Italy by car. We had lots of wood-fired pizza. Italians make their pizza very thin with some sauce,...
