Dan's Workshop Blog The Museum Of Old Techniques For almost every electronic device or oil driven machine there used to be a low-tech alternative that was powered by human muscles, water or wind. The Museum of Old Techniques aims to collect and study these historical alternatives to modern day machinery. Why, you may ask? To quote the Museum: "Evolution doesn't necessarily mean progress, what we consider to be primitive solutions are often not primitive at all". A somewhat related publication is Edward H. Knight's book contains not only early electric equipment and steam driven machinery, but also human and animal powered machines. Survival Podcast s MiniLathe and Little Workshop Classic manuals online The following 46 books include many classics for backyarders, homesteaders, small farms and tropical development, many of them hard to find, with direct links to the CD 3rd World online library for free downloading. They are in graphic pdf format, with files from 1 or 2 Mb to 60 Mb. , by Robert Berold et. al., Environmental and Development Agency, Johannesburg, South Africa. 41.7Mb pdf Teknologi Kampungan -- A Collection of Indigenous Indonesian Technologies, by Craig Thorburn, 1982, Volunteers in Asia, ISBN 0917704169. 6.4Mb pdf Village Technology Handbook, Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), 3rd edition 1988, Vita Publications, ISBN 0866192751, 441 p, 14Mb pdf Backyard Composting, by Helga Olkowski, Ecology Center, Berkeley, CA, USA, 1975, 21 pages, 8.5Mb pdf
lathes Machine Tool REFERENCE ARCHIVE - lathes.co.uk This material written by and the copyright of Tony Griffiths (© Tony Griffiths), 1998 - 2012. All rights reserved, worldwide. Material may not be copied nor reproduced in whole or part without written permission from the author This Archive of lathes and other machine tools is provided entirely free of charge; I do hope you find it both interesting and useful. Individual visitors during the last 12 calendar months = 3,910,980 (hits 73,073,678) Need more information? What’s new ? In response to many requests a complete copy of the Archive and web site is now available on a DVD with 3 Gig of data. TIP: to search lathes.co.uk using Google include the word "site:" e.g.
Common-Sense Compost Making - Contents This book describes a way of making compost, i.e. humus, which is simply, labour saving (no turning) and quick, both in ripening the compost and in getting results in the soil. It is adaptible to all conditions and to every size and type of garden, allotment or farm, the process being based on nature's own methods. Miss Bruce tells how to make use of the natural heat of disintegration, which liberates the vitality of the plants; how to retain that vitality within the heap, and how to quicken both the disintegration of plants and the energizing of humus by treating the heap with a simple activator. This is a herbal solution which contains in living plant form the chief elements necessary to plant life; formulae are given. From Vegetable Waste to Fertile Soil affirms a belief in the universality of Life, this Life being manifest in varying 'rhythms' in the mineral, vegetable, animal and human kingdoms. Table of Contents Foreword by L.F. Appendices 1. Bibliography How to use Q.R. by L.F.
Tools and jigs | Finely Strung Over the years, I’ve learnt a lot and picked up many good ideas from other people’s woodworking and instrument making websites. So, to return the favour, here’s a collection of shop-made tools and jigs and workpiece fixtures that I’ve found useful. Few, if any, of the things here were my idea originally, although I may have made modifications, and I’ve done my best to acknowledge the sources. Finger planesHolding and clamping awkwardly shaped piecesSharpening small or short bladesJig for a Dremmel for routing rosettes and soundholesFret bevelling fileCello clampsUsing rare earth magnets to tame a cello wolf noteDovetail markerDovetail viceRouter table for a Dremmel Finger planes Here are three photographs of cello and violin making planes that I’ve made. Dealing with tapered shapes It’s hard, if not impossible, to plane a taper on small pieces of wood on the bench top or held in a vice. I’ve since made a modification to my jig to incorporate this useful feature. Mixing filler and catalyst
Oil Press By Jeff Cox -- from Organic Gardening, April 1979, Rodale Press IN 2,500 SQUARE FEET, a family of four can grow each year enough sunflower seed to produce three gallons of homemade vegetable oil suitable for salads or cooking and 20 pounds of nutritious, dehulled seed -- with enough broken seeds left over to feed a winter's worth of birds.The problem, heretofore, with sunflower seeds was the difficulty of dehulling them at home, and the lack of a device for expressing oil from the seeds. About six months ago, we decided to change all that. The job was to find out who makes a sunflower seed dehuller or to devise one if none were manufactured. And to either locate a home-scale oilseed press or devise one. The winnowing machine operates on the age-old principle of blowing the chaff away from the heavy grain with a controlled current of air.The unit uses a household or shop-type vacuum cleaner for its air supply. Tools Required 1.
Backyard Workshop - Home Toggle Clamp Sanding Block I made this quick-release sanding block from four pieces of 1/2-in. -thick birch plywood. The top three pieces are glued together. All four pieces measure 2-1/2-in. wide by 7-in. long.