Trego's Mountain Ear

"Serving North Lincoln County"

Tag: DIY

  • Poor Maintenance is Just Another Form of Debt

    I’m working at remodeling the old service station. The most interesting thing is that the repairs aren’t a whole lot different than what I read my old high school (now the middle school) needs – and the comments on that read like it would be cheaper and easier just to tear it down and start anew.

    My first task was replacing the roof – once the leaks were repaired, other work could proceed. Like the old high school, we’ll be adding another frame to the inside wall – simply enough, the insulation of 1966 hasn’t been adequate for a long time. Framing in a second, internal wall will give seven inches for insulation . The copper tubing used for plumbing will be replaced by pex. Deferring maintenance – whether a building or a piece of equipment – just means you’ll be paying more later.

    Someone early in the building’s history removed a load bearing wall. We put it back in, within a couple of inches of the original. The sheetrock cracks disappeared as the 20 ton hydraulic jack took out the sag – it shows where the work should have been done years ago – but it’s OK, the repairs are coming along.

    Once we get the old store part fixed, the challenge will be getting the old logging camp cookshack moved a bit toward the south, and, if we can, getting a solid foundation under it. I’ve got the idea that the cookshack and bunkhouse were used in railroad logging down along the Kootenai until about 1936, and that Don Boslaugh brought them up to Trego to work in the impact with Westwood Acres 30 years later. There’s too much history in the old logging camp buildings not to do a little bit of restoration. Again, deferred maintenance is a debt that has to be paid sooner or later.

  • My Cheap, Accurate Pistol

    I’m not much of a collector.  A collector has a theme to the collection.  John McBride’s collection included American Military firearms.  I’m not sure how a collector would describe my TT Olympia – it’s a Chinese copy of the Walther that beat out the Colt Woodsman at the 1936 Olympics.  Somehow mine isn’t marked with anything to say ‘made in China’ – but it is.  It’s also well finished, and, since my cataract surgery a few years ago, shoots well for me again.

    It’s an example of how things connect in the gun world.  I never found a Woodsman for sale at the right price when I wanted one – not that I couldn’t stretch a budget to include one, but that they’re more costly than I can justify for my purposes.  So is the Walther.  Instead, my Chinese knock-off was more accurate than pricey – so I kept it.  It came in cheap cardboard and styrofoam, like this: 

    The Chinese builders did a nice job – good trigger pull, and must be at least close to the pre-war German workmanship.  Admitted, the wood in the grips would never have made it into either Walther or Colt’s factory – the grips are downright ugly – but they do fit my hand well.  Bolting the weight on does control the minimal recoil of a 22 cartridge – and it’s set up to be used with one hand.  The right hand – it doesn’t fit the left.

    When Walther got too busy with World War II, Hammerli (in Switzerland) picked up the design and produced slightly improved versions.  As the Olympic competition got tougher, the basic design went to America and became the basis of the Smith and Wesson model 41.  And mine is the Chinese knock-off that directly copies the 1936 Walther.  As you can see, good looking grips didn’t seem to be a Chinese priority.  

    So what do I actually have?  A cheap, accurate, well built pistol that just barely made it into the United States before Clinton cut off importation.  Then it briefly sold well in Canada before the Trudeau government shut off sales.  I have no idea where it might be sold today, or where parts might be available.  The TT Olympia’s barrel is just under 5 inches long, it feeds just about any 22 shells I load, and, while sight acquisition is a little slow, is amazingly accurate.

    I’ve written about cheaply made poor quality guns.  This little pistol was cheap, well made, and accurate.  I’ll keep using it -though the barrel weight will stay in the drawer.  And I expect it will still be working fine when it goes to the next generation.

  • Paper from Grass Clippings

    Paper from Grass Clippings

    It’s actually possible to make paper from a wide variety of things. Humans have been making paper, or things like paper for a very long time -two thousand years or so. Paper originally was made of old rags, not wood pulp.

    Making paper by hand is perfectly doable, if a bit tedious. The process is essentially the same, no matter the material. Dry, cut, cook (simmer, really), blend, and then use a screen to pull out some of the paper pulp. Dry.

    The cooking process is done to break down the fibers, often with chemical assistance. That said, it isn’t strictly necessary, though chemical additives might reduces the blending time. Blending thoroughly is important.

    It doesn’t have to be pure grass clippings- in fact, for the first time making paper, recycling old paper scraps is the easiest. That said, paper making seems to be possible with most forms of fibers- I once had students do so with packing peanuts.

    Air drying generally works fine, though modern paper mills will use heat of some sort for the drying. Homemade paper doesn’t have the additives that make it shiny, easy to write on, or long lasting. It also typically lacks the clay that can be used to make a firmer paper.

    I’ll admit that paper making falls into the category of things I classify as both neat, and not worth the effort of doing a second time.

  • Clothes from Stinging Nettle

    Clothes from Stinging Nettle

    It is, in fact, possible to make cloth out of nettles. Nettles can be harvested for their fiber, just like flax. In many ways, they are superior to flax. Nettles can grow in places that cannot grow cotton, and were once widely used for textiles.

    Nettle was commonly used historically, though use declined with the rise of cotton. In fact, the German military actually used nettle for their uniforms in WWI due to a shortage of cotton.

    Unlike cotton the seeds are not the part of the plant that provides the fiber. Instead, the fiber is provided by the long stem (the stinging leaves are not used). Like flax, removal of extra bits of step is initially done by allowing the unwanted portions to rot, and then removing an excess. Unlike flax, nettle is a perennial and does not need to be reseeded each year. The thread spun from nettle can be used alone, or in combination with other materials.

    Nettle fiber forms a stronger cloth, which unlike linen increases in strength when wet. Additionally, the fiber contains a hollow interior which makes it a superior insulating fabric, better for staying warm but still breathable. Finely spun variants were sometimes called Nordic Silk.