Simplify life in your backwoods home by using these easy mountain methods
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #54 • November/December, 1998
Backwoods folk, or in my case, mountain folk, are typically very resourceful, utilizing whatever is on hand to make their lives easier and more pleasant. And hill-women...
Build a homestead Copy Cart
By Charles Sanders
Issue #45 • July/August, 1997
I don't know too many homesteaders, gardeners, or small farmers who haven't at one time or another wished for one of those fancy big-wheeled garden carts. It seems...
Build a portable woodstove for $30
By David Scott Matthews
Issue #78 • November/December, 2002
I had a problem. Other men love football, baseball, basketball, or golf. I love to hunt. And the animal I love to hunt more than any other...
Trusses — Low cost marvels to roof over most large spaces
By Martin Harris
Issue #23 • September/October, 1993
When you strip away all the frills, building construction is nothing more than enclosing a volume of space to create a micro-climate for human activity. You can call...
Three Raised Bed Designs
By Joe Mooney
Issue #150 • November/December, 2014
When it comes to gardening, almost anything can be used to create a raised bed. Tires, blocks, rocks, and scrap lumber are just a few of the most...
Build a 6500-gallon concrete water tank for $1500
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #101 • September/October, 2006
When I bought 10 dry barren "affordable" acres back in 1981 I got what I paid for: No electricity, no septic system, no well, and no water. What...
How to build a good fence for your homestead
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How to build a good fence for your homestead
By Charles Sanders
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By Charles Sanders
Issue #103 • January/February, 2007
One of the basic fixtures on a homestead is fencing. Fences are used to keep animals in, or...
Build A Hybrid Go-Kart For Kids For $150
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Website Exclusive • May, 2010
Grandma Clara used to delight in telling us the story of our Dad's first complete sentence at age 2 when he received a toy car for Christmas: "It's...
Make your own lumber with a chainsaw mill
By Jacqueline Tresl
Issue #39 • May/June, 1996
Milling a board with a chainsaw lumber-maker.
Figure1: The pieces.
Beams, joists and walls were made with a chainsaw mill.
Figure 2: The frame.
Figure 3: The surface to which the chainsaw...
Build your own portable forge
By Corcceigh Green
Issue #51 • May/June, 1998
Looking for a handy summer project while building skills, supplies, and knowledge to put away for a rainy future? Here's one to consider: try making your own forge....
Getting logs
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Website Exclusive • March, 2004
Online Exclusive April 2003
Attention: Would-be loggers. There have been changes in policy at the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. I have just found...
Build a log crib
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #69 • May/June, 2001
Baby Zane is probably the only newborn in Hollywood sleeping in a log crib made by his grandmother in Oregon, but it was inevitable.
The finished log crib.
Dorothy uses...
Small engine maintenance for women
By Michelle Richards
Issue #24 • November/December, 1993
How many small engines do you have on your homestead? I counted mine the other day and came up with eight. These engines help me live a simple...
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...
The poor man’s ceramic knife sharpener
By Rick Brannan
Issue #87 • May/June, 2004
There are few things more frustrating and dangerous than working with a dull knife. In my quest for a sharp knife, I have purchased many different styles of...
Make your own effective fishing tackle while you save money and recycle scrap
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #44 • March/April, 1997
My long time friend Hearold Ruby passed away. Death came as sort of a reprieve. He'd been terribly sick and utterly miserable for years and he was...































