Homemade Mosquito Repellant

I can't stand Off Spray. I'll say that up front. I've tried Avon Skin-So-Soft and while it may work, it's hard to find an Avon Lady anymore and it makes you smell like a girl.  If you're looking for something less toxic, this might be an alternative for you.  It uses natural stuff like cloves and almond oil and good old alcohol. It should keep away mosquitoes, flies and fleas.  You can even use it on your dog, but probably need to do it more like daily rather than like the monthly kind. If you are a bit unsure about using chemical repellants, though, this provides you an alternative.

Ingredients:

·       7 ounces of isopropyl alcohol

·       3½ ounces of whole cloves

·       3½ ounces of baby oil or similar (almond, sesame, chamomile, lavender, fennel etc)

Preparation:

1.     Marinate cloves in sealed jar with alcohol 4 days

2.     Stir twice daily during marinating process

3.     When marinating is complete, add baby oil

4.     Shake up and decant liquid into storage bottles with eyedroppers.

Use:

·       Place a few drops of the oil onto your arms and legs and gently rub into skin.  For pets gently rub into their fur where they can't lick it off (behind the head is good).

Mama’s Louisiana Cornbread Mix

Pre-Mix and Store

Ingredients:

• 5 cups plain yellow corn meal
•  4 cups plain white flour
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
•   2 tablespoons salt

Directions:

•  Mix the 5 dry ingredients together
•  Store in ziplock bag or sealed canister till ready to use

Preparation

(print these directions on a label and stick it on

the cornbread mix storage container)

1.     Preheat the oven to 375°

2.     Mix together 1½  cups cornbread mix with 1/3 to ½ cup shortening

3.     Add 1 egg, 2 tablespoons sour cream, ¾ cup milk.

4.     Stir in enough water to give the batter a cake-like texture.

5.     Pre-heat an 8-9 inch properly cured and seasoned cast iron skillet.

6.     Melt a tablespoon of Crisco butter-flavor shortening in the skillet.

7.     Sprinkle the bottom with a tablespoon of plain corn meal

8.     Pour batter into skillet

9.     Bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean

* Sheila King’s perfect-every-time homemade cornbread mix

Tuned Wind Chimes - A Soundtrack for Your Garden

If you've never had tuned wind chimes, try making your own.  It's a lot of fun.  Here's how.

Start by cutting a 6 inch round circle out of inch thick board.  Then cut a 3 1/4 inch circle out of the center.  Sand the "O" and the center disk.  You can even route the edges lightly to make it look prettier.

Now comes the fun part.  Go down to the Home Depot and go to the plumbing section.  Borrow a hammer and go around the store tapping on various kinds of pipe or tubing in various sizes and shapes, especially the metal tubing.  Also, try out tubing in other departments like electrical or home decor.  Find something that makes a beautiful sound when you strike it.

Get yourself about 8 feet or so of tubing depending on how ambitious you plant to be with your chimes.  Get more if you tune them because you WILL make mistakes. If you use a larger diameter tubing than an inch or so, you may need to make your "O" ring and center disk proportionally larger.

The most important thing at this point is to cut your tubing the right length. Use a band saw or saber saw with metal cutting blade. The first piece is something of a crap shoot.  Make it about 15 inches or so.  Drill a pair of holes opposite each other about a quarter inch from one end of the tube, then suspend it with fishing line.  Get the heavy 80 pound line if you don't want to replace it a lot.  Mono-filament deteriorates in sun and weather over time.

Now that you've strung your tube, strike it with a hammer or hard object and make it ring.  Set up a keyboard or other musical instrument next to it and try to find the note that comes closest to that of the tube.  It probably won't match exactly. Pick the note on the keyboard that's just higher than the tube when struck.  Now use your saw to shave off the end a little.  No more than an eight inch.  Restrike the tube and see if you're any closer to the note you want. Keep shaving till it's in tune with the instrument.

Now you need to pick out either a chord that includes that note or a line of music that includes that note.  I have a chime that, struck sequentially, plays the seven note opening line from the Harry Potter theme. It makes a wonderful sound on a breezy summer day.  If you want to do something like that, pick out the notes and then cut a tube to match each note. Just make sure one of the notes, preferably a low one, matches the tube you've already cut.  You may have to try the tune in several different keys to get the right one.

The first time you do this, as I said, have some extra tubing on hand because you will mess up.  Start with the low notes first because if you cut them too short, you can always recut for one of the higher notes.  When you are done, try again to cut one to match the low note.  Keep going till each tube matches a note in the tune or the chord you've chosen.

Now cut pairs of small holes for the monofilament line, 3/4 inch apart, with each pair evenly spaced around the "O" ring. If the tune or chord you chose has four, six, or seven notes, you'll need to figure 1/4, 1/6, or 1/7 of the distance round the ring to set your pairs of holes. String fishing line, through the holes you drilled near the tops of the tubes, then loop them through the pairs of holes in the "O" ring and tie them off.

Now drill 3 eighth inch holes evenly spaced in the "O" ring.  Tie keeper knots in three foot long pieces of cord, thread them bottom up through the "O" ring and tie them together to a hook about six inches above the "O" ring.  Tie a cord to the hook and drop it down the center of the "O".  Drill a hole in the 3 1/4 inch round disk and thread it onto the cord.  The disk should hang about a third of the way from the bottom of the shortest tube.  Tie a keeper knot and then tie a flat thin piece of wood at the bottom below the tubes.  It can be any shape you want, but light enough for the wind to blow it around and cause the disk to clang off the sides of the tubes and heavy enough to move the clapper disk.

Now all you need to do is hang it somewhere you can get a breeze and listen to the music.  Minor chords are really nice for that ethereal kind of sound.  Major or major seventh cords make for a cheerier sound.  Piddle around with the placement of the notes to match how the disk tends to swing and you can have the chimes almost play a tune.

If you would like to do the tube cutting mathematically, there is an in-depth article that tells you all you need to know to figure tube lengths mathematically at Chuck's Chimes.  And boy howdy is Chuck thorough. If you can handle college algebra you should be able to keep up and theoretically you could cut any tune you wanted out of any pipe you'd like and only have to cut once. He also tells you where on the tube to drill the holes to suspend it.  Apparently there are nodes along the length that provide the best tone if you hang the pipes at that point.

Take your time and have fun with this project.  Keep track of tube types and lengths from successful projects so you can repeat the set.  Soon you'll be making wind chimes that are so beautiful all your family members will want you to make them for Christmas.

Then, again you may want to tell everyone you got them from a flea market in Kentucky so you don't have to ever go through all that work again.  Depends on whether you enjoy building chimes or not.

Tom

If you're interested Chuck's Chimes also has this really great Wind Chime Tubing Length Calculator for tuning to a four note chord.  Very nice.

Building the Banjo Coffin Case

Guaranteed to get you looks when you walk in with your banjo in this unusual case!

I was looking for a case for my long-neck banjo and a friend suggested this nifty, if somewhat disturbing, homemade design. The guys you jam with will love it - at least those that aren't totally creeped out. Banjos lend themselves to the traditional six-sided pine box style coffin shape. It's not hard to do and the effect is really cool in a Twilight Zone kind of way.

Materials You'll Need:

Sheet of 1/4 to 1/2 inch A/B-grade plywood*
2x2 x2' long board
Piano hinges
Foam liner material2 Strap hinges or piano hinges.
6 brass handles (for effect)
Wood glue/Gorilla Glue
Wood putty
Craft Glue
Plush fabric

Tools You'll Need:

Drill & bits
Circular saw or table saw
Miter box and saw or radial arm saw (better)

Straightedge, chalk line marker reel
Tape measure
Router

Making the Pattern

To lay out the pattern, just lay your banjo on top of the plywood and measure and mark the coffin shape shown at the right. Leave a little room for bracing and padding - an inch or so will do including the thickness of the sides and any extra padding you have in mind. If you plan to fly with this case, I'd advise 3 or 4 inches of padding all round. Airlines have an irrational hatred of banjos for some reason. Banjos don't survive air travel well. These how-to's assume a modicum of native intelligence, so I'll leave the exact dimensions of the top and bottom pattern to your own inspired guesswork.


Top and Bottom

The top and bottom will overhang the sides. Once you have the top and bottom cut, Sand them smooth, round or bevel the top and bottom edges with a router. Top and bottom will be the "A" grade side of the plywood since that's the side that will show. Measure the side pieces. Cut sides deep enough to accommodate the thickness of the banjo and leave room for padding the top and bottom. You'll be glad for the padding, if not for the weight..; Cut them 3 too inches long.Trust me you'll need the extra length.

The Sides:

The sides are the trickiest parts because the ends of the sides are going to have to be cut at just the right angle to mate up with the other sides. HINT: There are no 45 degree angles in this puppy. This is where a rectangular box begins to look like a much better idea, but if you can just soldier on through with your trusty speed square or your kids protractor, it's darn well worth the trouble. Test fit each side piece as you go to make sure the side angles match up. You CAN use math to figure the angles, but given my difficulty cutting an exact 35 degree angle with a table saw, I start with an approximate angle and then shave it down a bit at a time till the angles of the two sides match as cleanly as can be disguised with wood putty. Once the sides are all in place, go around and place piano hinges where the ends butt together. If the plywood is less than 3/8 inch thick, you'll probably have to bolt the hinges. Put the round bolt head on the outside and the nut on the inside. Saw off any extra thread. The nuts will be covered by padding when you're done. The hinges will give you good strong joints - you'll need them to support the banjo.

The Bottom

Lay the side frame on top of the box bottom and glue it into place. Before the glue dries, attach the bottom of the box to the sides using small thin screws every 4 to 6 inches. Predrill the holes to prevent the sides from splitting.Make sure you drill straight into the sides and not into the empty box. Once the bottom is screwed on, wipe off any glue that got squeezed out and let the glue dry.

Center Brace

Flip the box over so the open side is up.  Measure across the

the center of the inside of the box. Be sure to leave enough room at the "head" of the box for the banjo pot to fit inside.  Cut a 2x2 the width of the box, glue it to the bottom and screw it in place from either end. This brace will stiffen the center of the box and, when padded, supports the neck of the banjo just above the pot. Next test fit the lid to make sure the edges line up.  You may have to trim it a bit to make it fit snugly.  If you want to stain and varnish or paint the case, you can do it now and then apply the liner and hardware. If so, skip to the end and then come back to the next section.

Padding

Cut out two layers of block foam rubber or other padding material to fit in the two spaces at the bottom of the box. You can use a single piece and just lay it over the center brace.  If you'd like the brace more closely padded, simply take a strip of foam, lay it over the top of the brace and staple it down to the bottom of the box.  Next test fit the banjo on top of the foam and then place foam blocks at the strategic points indicated in the diagram.  This will keep the banjo from rattling around inside the box.  If you want to be even more slick, cut another piece of foam sheet to fit the inside of the box, then lay the banjo on it, draw the outline of the banjo onto the foam, then cut out the shape of the banjo.  Next lay the foam in the box and the banjo will sit in the cutout hole.  Cut another piece of foam the size of the inside of the box. Make it a half inch smaller all around.  Glue this piece to the bottom of the lid.  Make sure the lid will fit easily down over the bottom with the foam in place.  If you're going to line the box, leave a little extra room for the lid to fit down over the banjo.  At this stage of things is where you carve secret compartments in the foam for hiding capos, extra strings and emergency longnecks (Dr. Pepper longnecks, of course).  The foam keeps bottles nice and cold for a long time.

Lining

To give the interior a plush finish, buy a bunch of plush fabric in a color you like.  Get a big spray can of craft fabric glue.  Get the kind that doesn't melt foam rubber, but sticks to it and to fabric.  Cut pieces of the plush fabric to fit over the foam and up against the sides of the box.  Spray with craft glue, then press the fabric into place. You can cut and trim to disguise wrinkles and awkward fits.  Really hairy plush fabric is especially forgiving.  For the hole where the pot fits in place (if you did it that way), just let the fabric sag down into the hole. You may have to cut some wedges out around the hole to make the fabric fit.  I usually cut the pieces a little large so you can trim them down with an Exacto knife as you go. Cover the inside of the box with the lining and you're done with the inside.

Attaching the Lid

Set the lid on top and attach three hinges to one long side.  DO NOT DO LIKE I DID AND ATTACH IT TO TWO SIDES SO THE BOX WON'T OPEN (see diagram for placement of hinges and latches). The latches attach to two sides to insure the box closes securely.  You'll have to look around for the proper hinges.  I like shiny brass ones.  If you're on a budget you can install one handle as shown.  If you want to make it look really authentic, though, put three brass handles on each side. 


Finishing the Coffin

If you were good about sanding everything, you should be ready to finish the coffin.  Some people like to finish the coffin before all the hardware is in place. Either way I like to stain it with a wipe on stain and then cover it with a water resistant varnish or polyurethane clear coat.  Marine spar varnish is my favorite for giving it a nice shiny funereal look. Simply wipe on the stain you chose, wipe it off after it sits for a half minute or so depending on how dark you want the stain to be.  Let it sit and dry and then paint with thin coats of clearcoat.. Seven thin coats will look 7 times better than one thick coat with lumpy spots in it.  Give it a light sand with very fine wet sandpaper between varnish coats. 

All Done:

When you're done, load up your banjo and head for a nice jam session somewhere.  If you put six brass handles on it, get five friends to help you carry your banjo in pallbearer style. Always good for getting a reaction from the more genteel in the crowd.  Enjoy your new banjo case.


* Depending on how heavy you want it to be.  Go with the lighter wood if you don't want to risk a hernia carrying the thing. Banjos are heavy all by themselves.

Lakeside Kayak/Canoe Rack

If you’re like most canoeing enthusiasts, your starting to collect a pile of them in the yard.  If you live by the lake, you’ve probably got your canoes and those of several friends.  Instead of leaving them piled up against the garage where snakes can nest in them, check out this easy to build canoe rack.  This requires a few basic tools and some concrete, lumber, bolts and screws and a couple of hours.


Materials List:

Two 9 foot telephone poles or 4x4 posts
Six 6 foot pressure treated 2x6’s (2x4’s will work)
Six 6 inch long ½ inch carriage bolts with washers
Eighteen small 2 inch lag screws
Nine screw in eye bolts
Four bags of pre-mix concrete
Twelve 18 inch long metal straps with holes in the ends.

Setting the posts:

Find a nice spot with plenty of room around it.  You’ll need lots of space to maneuver canoes onto the rack without stumbling over things or bumping into garage walls.  Dig two 3 foot deep post holes eight feet apart.  Set your posts in them so they stick up about 6 feet above the ground.  Mix up your concrete in a wheelbarrow and pour it into each of the holes around the base of the posts. 

While the concrete is still wet, prop the posts up so they are vertical.  You can do that by propping them up with boards and temporarily nailing them in place.  Don’t drive the nails all the way in, because you’re going to want to pull them out when the concrete sets.

Once the posts are set, mark them at 2 foot intervals from the ground to the top of the post.  This will mark the top of the crossmembers you’re going to bolt into place.  The lowest member will be two foot from the ground.  The highest will be even with the top of the post.

Drill holes in the center of each six foot 2x6.  I used 8 foot 2x4’s for mine, but I’ve never really needed the extra width.  If I had it to do again, I’d use 6 foot 2x6’s for the firmer support.  Mine rocks a bit when loading and unloading. 

Clamp the cross member in place, drill a hole to match into the post.  Unclamp the cross member and finish drilling the hole through the post.  Reclamp the cross member and bolt it to the post.  Once you’ve got all the cross members in place, set them horizontal with a T-square and then add a couple of long galvanized screws to hold them firmly in place.

This still won’t be enough to keep the crossmembers from wobbling when you plop a heavy canoe on them.  On the side of the post where the cross member is bolted, lag screw the ends of two of the metal straps  into the post about 14 or 15 inches below the top of the cross member.  Next bolt the other ends of the metal straps to the back of the cross member on both sides to form a “V”.  This will give you good support without taking up so much space it scrapes against the hulls of your boats.

Now screw eye bolts into the ends of each cross member on the horizontal face.  Don’t stick them up or out from the ends as they will catch on the gunwhales of your canoe.  I know from bitter personal experience.  Put one eye bolt at the center of the crossmember or into the vertical post itself if you don’t want to drill any more holes in the cross members.  These eye bolts provide handy tie-down points.

When you put the canoes on the rack, always, at the very least, drop a bungee cord over the top to hold them down.  You’d be surprised what sort of lift a stiff breeze gives to a canoe hull.  You don’t want to wake up the morning after a thunderstorm and find canoes on the garage roof.  The eye bolts make it easy to keep your boats tied down.

This design is compact and versatile.  I’ve got kayaks, canoes, sail boards and the mast for my catamaran stored on mine.  It took me about 2 hours total to put it all together not counting the time it took the concrete to set. 

(c) 2009 by Tom King - All rights reserved

All images copyright 2009 by Tom King

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Building a Home Made Canoe Trailer

Got a youth group you'd like to take down river? Dreaming of float parties on the Mighty Mississippi (or the Not-So-Mighty Brushy Creek)? Maybe you'd just like to paddle the little darlin's out into the swamp and lose 'em. All you need to get them there is a bunch of canoes. The best way to carry a bunch of canoes is on a canoe trailer. Canoe trailers can be kind of expensive, but if you've got an old boat trailer (and who in the South doesn't), then a solid knowledge of welding, some steel, plywood and some imagination can help you build a very nice, easy-to-use trailer upon which to carry your canoe and kayak collection to the river.

First thing you need to do is wash down the old trailer, check the brakes, running lights and generally make sure it meets legal requirements. To register it, you may have to get what's called a builder's title. The county tax assessor's office will be glad to help you with that and charge you a nice registration fee to boot.

Check the tires for wear and proper inflation. Old boat trailers are easy to find around lakeside communities. You can sometimes get them for a song. If you're doing this for your youth group, ask them to donate it. Never hurts to ask. Look for one with as wide a wheelbase as possible. Just make sure the trailer is roadworthy before you start welding things together. Strip off any unnecessary parts like hull rollers and winches that will get in the way of construction.

Next you're going to build two canoe supports with cross trees upon which to strap down your boats. You'll need two measurements.

First, measure the depth of your canoe from gunwhale to keel. Allow 3-4 inches more for maneuver room for each canoe. If you're doing a 6 boat trailer, then it will be 3 boats high. Figure the depth of two boats plus 6-8 inches, plus however far the upright will stick down to where it will be welded to the frame.

Next, measure all your boats to determine how wide and how long they are. Compare the measurements to the trailer to determine how wide to make your crosstrees. Be sure, if you've got 3 foot wide canoes that not only do you make the cross trees 6 feet wide, but add another 6 inches for the upright support and a couple of tie down eyebolts on the end of the cross tree.

Once you know how long your uprights and cross trees are, you can buy the steel - 2/4's for uprights and 2x2's for cross trees. Have them cut to the length you want. You'll need 2 uprights and the same number of cross trees as you have boats. A six canoe trailer will need 6 cross trees.

Next, measure the distance between the front and rear vertical 2 x 4 tube steel supports. mark a piece of 2 x 2 tube steel to form the lengthwise cross-member (or members if you elect to add a second lower one as shown).

Cut the steel once it is all marked. If you don't have the equipment, you can get everything cut at a local welding shop. Tell the steel cutter what you're doing with it. Sometimes a second pair of eyes can spot trouble before it gets made into a permanent mistake. You can't uncut steel. Lay out the cross trees and clamp them in place on the two uprights. Mark where the two angle braces (if you use them) and the lengthwise cross-members attach. Test fit the pieces in the places they go. Make sure everything lines up before you weld it together. Correct any problems, measurements or alignments. Don't forget the gusset plates. Carry the trailer and clamped pieces to the welder or weld them up yourself if you have the skill. Because the trailer is made of steel, it will be heavier than an aluminum or factory-made trailer. A good recommendation is limiting it to six places. An eight-place trailer may be a little top heavy when fully loaded and could strain the boat trailer.

Weld the two uprights in position as shown in the picture. The uprights should divide each canoe into approximately thirds. Get a good welder to do the job if you aren't one. The welds have to be very very solid. Next weld the cross trees to the uprights. The top one can be welded on top of the upright. Weld gusset plates to the joints between the cross trees and uprights to provide extra support. Measure twice, cut once. Have your welder check your work to make sure everything lines up properly.

Have the welder attach eye-bolts to the ends of each cross member to provide handy tie-down points.

Measure the distance between the front cross member and the trailer hitch. Allow at least 1/3 the length of your longest canoe (6 feet for an 18-foot canoe) plus another couple of feet to allow the vehicle to turn without the canoes digging into the back of the vehicle. If your trailer hitch is too short, you'll have to cut it off and extend it to an adequate length. Your welder can do that easily when he's welding the pieces together.

If you welded well, you shouldn't need any angle braces, but use your own judgment. Now measure and cut two marine-grade plywood sheets to construct a box bottom, sides and lid that will fit into the space over the wheels within the frame. Drill 4 1/2-inch holes in the frame, two on each end, to bolt the box in place. Screw the pieces of the bottom of the box and sides together and fit the box into the space in the trailer frame.


Screw the lid to it's hinges and hasp as shown in the picture. You'll probably want to lock the box while the trailer is left unattended. Some people make the box vertical because you don't have to unload a canoe to open it if you put the door on the end. The problem with that is that when you're driving on narrow roads or it's windy, the wind blows sideways against the broad expanse of plywood and against the big light canoes and can make your trailer dance around dangerously. For safety, lay the box flat. It's not that hard to unload the bottom canoe to get to paddles and life jackets.


When the uprights and cross trees are welded in place, paint the trailer with primer, then a good paint for metal in whatever color you choose. Brighter colors help people to see you when approaching from the rear.

Materials List: 

1. Used boat trailer
2. Six tube steel cross-members - 6 to 8 foot, 2 x 2 inch (consult with your steel supplier to recommend the proper thickness of the pipe walls)
3. Two tube steel uprights - 6 to 8 foot, 2 x 4 inch
4. Two tube steel lengthwise cross-members - 8 to 10 feet long (depends on trailer length)
5. 1/8-inch steel plate large enough to cut six 5-inch sided triangles
6. Four steel strips - 1.5 feet long 1/2 inch wide x 1/4 inch thick (optional) Two marine-grade 1/2 inch 4 x 8 plywood sheets >
7. Welding machine and supplies
8. Grinder and disk assortment
9. Clamps
10. Two or three large hinges and hasp
11. 1/2" bolts with nuts and washers, 3 to 4 inches long