In 2018, I discovered a Canadian work glove manufacturer that I’m surprised I hadn’t found before. I use work gloves almost every day, but never thought much about glove design until I came across a British Columbia, Canada company called…
In this week’s video episode, see a simple routed profile that makes any deck look way better; watch two wrong ways of adjusting a router to cut the bullnose profile; see how to make a perfect deck board bullnose edge
In this 4 minute video, watch Steve as he fixes a century-old cedar rail fence in the backwoods of Manitoulin; offers some thoughts on the responsibility of keeping farm land going; spends time doing some hard-but-fun outdoor work
Sometimes it’s the little things in life that determine success or failure, and experiences that one of my sons and I had with a brand new Chinese motorcycle in 2010 is a case in point. Joseph was 12 back then and…
In this video (7 1/4 minutes) see how Steve mixes an outdoor wood finish that only needs to be applied once; applying Ecowood Treatment on a whole shed takes less than 10 minutes; the darkening effect of the treatment unfolds over hours, days and months
Watch me prepare steel legs for the 42×80 foot Calhoun fabric structure I’m putting up at my place. This is one in a series of videos about this big project.
Sometimes the smallest things in life can make a big difference. Steve’s 20+ year struggle with failing lilacs tells the story.
A subscriber asked me: “What’s the best way to get wood out of the round firewood piles you’ve written about? Do you just reverse the building operation? Does the tarp get crusted with snow and ice? I really love the…
I spend time each year working on fences and clearing encroaching brush, and thought you’d like to see what my fields look like from above. Click above for an aerial video tour of our pastures, the forest that surrounds them,…
A few of autumns ago I climbed onto a small, deteriorating roof of a shed that I hadn’t walked on for 30 years. This activity got me thinking about how buildings can be anchors for our lives and guide posts…
There are several benefits to living a self-sustaining life, and fresh, homegrown foods are one of them. Get it right and things like excessive waste or running short on certain foods will become a thing of the past. With mindful planning…
In this week’s video episode, see THE kind of deck building saw to buy if you can only get one; a simple tip for cutting with a hand-held circular saw; why a miter saw is a great tool for deck building; a cordless tablesaw in action and more