Momentum is slowly building at the new farm. The trusty Kubota compact tractor is on site, there to help out wherever it can. Today, we just about finished the demolition in the barn, which included a small room on the upper level (pounded together with a million 3″ nails), and a stall area in the lower level that looked good maybe for goats. Below, Michael uses a sawzall (reciprocating saw) to cut things up. The sawzall is my favorite power tool of the moment. With a heavy duty demo blade, it sails through wood and nails no problem (you can see the stall poles sawed just above where they’re set in concrete). Sometimes, you have to tear down in order to build—with the right tools, that can be fun. We’re moving along—the new seedling room is on its way!
I’d say momentum for sure, especially tackling it now in the cold and snow. With your dedication, I’m sure it will give you a strong start in its first growing season.
I burnt out two sawzall knock-offs cutting logging truck tires for our tire garden. Finally I bought a heavy duty Milwaukee and haven’t looked back.
Good luck in the new endeavor.
I haven’t checked in in awhile and you guys have had some exciting changes. It is good to have projects to work on!
Speaking of cool power tools, thought you might like this: http://www.kregtool.com
I haven’t tried it yet, but it sure looks cool.
Love the blog, love the farm.
Art: Yep! I generally try to buy decent quality tools, but the better brands and contractor-grade stuff is so crazy expensive, considering I don’t use any one tool that much. This sawzall is a Mastercraft Maxximum, the upper line of the house brand of our local hardware megastore chain (Canadian Tire). It did fine, but in its first use, the adjustable shoe mechanism broke, so I can’t move the shoe. If I can return it for a refund, I’m going to get a Milwaukee 6509, not top of the line, but a bit more expensive than others and well-recommended. At least for tools that do a lot of work, like reciprocating saws and circular saws, it’s definitely worth doing a little research and paying for the best you can afford, even if you don’t use ’em that much.
beck: Thanks! That looks great! I messed around with dowel joints building my plant racks, and then ended up adding metal brackets to brace the corners. That alone would’ve paid for a jig kit. Cool!