Lag screw or through bolt: what your beam is asking for
The one decision that gets made wrong most often, and the published numbers that settle it.
10 notes from the bench
Notes from the drill press
We wrote down the answers to the questions folks ask us before starting a backyard build.
Spacing on the beam: three published layouts, side by side
Nobody agrees on the inches. Here is what four sources actually say, and where they overlap.
What length bolt, and what to drill first
Pilot sizes, penetration, and the order of operations that keeps a bracket from cracking.
S hooks, quick links, and four hundredths of an inch
The smallest published number in the whole subject, and the reason it exists.
The squeak, and what it is telling you
Bearings, bushings, corrosion, and the difference between an annoying noise and a worn part.
Anchoring an A frame: stakes, augers, and when it has to be concrete
A frame rarely breaks. It walks, it rocks, and on one side it lifts. That is an anchoring problem, not a strength problem.
Tree or frame: reading a branch before you trust it
A frame arrives with a designed capacity. A tree gives you indirect signs and asks you to judge.
The parts, by name
A plain glossary, so a listing that says clevis pendulum stops being a guess.
Sheepskin insoles: sizing up, and cutting to fit
You can always cut an insole smaller. You cannot make one bigger, which decides the whole sizing question.
The press, and what happens after it
Eight inch or ten, corn or wheat, and the small habits that decide whether the dough comes off the plate.