Learning New Skills Like Welding and Woodworking

As I have grown older I have been expanding my skill base and knowledge of how to do different things. In the last few years I have tackled some projects that I had always wanted to do and never had the time. I have learned to build wood boats that are light, fast and beautiful. Every time my wife and I take them somewhere everyone wants to know where we got them. It gives me a great feeling of pride to tell people that I hand built them. I have been learning new skills with woodworking tools and other hand tools. I recently built parts for some bee traps and put frames together for the inside of my bee hives. A new deer and birding blind at the place are the direct result of some of these skills. I have made homemade Canadian bacon and other cured meats along with sausage and corned venison this last season. I have started raising laying hens and now have all natural fresh eggs to eat on a regular basis. With implements for our new-to-us tractor I have plowed and harrowed food plots, grated some of the ranch roads and moved dirt to support the ramps into our barn. My wife and I recently trenched about two hundred feet with the single blade mold board plow and hand shovels to lay electric wire to two water wells.

This last project is as a result of me pricing small metal buildings and seeing the lack of quality in some of the small building kits we checked out. I decided to build a metal well house myself with colors to match our new barn. My brother is helping me with the project and teaching me to cut metal and weld. I purchased a small flux wire welder from Harbor Freight for under $100.00 and it is performing very well on this project. We have measured and cut all the steel for the frame with a metal bladed chop saw and welded them into a sturdy steel frame with the little welder. It is a lot of work but is coming along as we will only be able to put about 4 hours a week into the project. I will keep you posted as to how it comes along. I am already thinking of building some all-metal loafing sheds and pens for livestock when we get moved out to the country. Get out and learn something new or teach a skill you know to someone else, it will help your mind. Wild Ed

Feel free to click on Post a Comment and leave a comment or read the comments of others. Thanks, Ed