BudDIY Podcast

Running a bull dozer for the first time can be an interesting experience. Especially with only 5 minutes of "training".

That is what happened this last week for me to level out my driveway/parking lot in order to put down some fresh gravel.

This week I talk about the lessons learned using a bull dozer in a trial by fire manner. As well discussing the "in office" things I did since I felt sick for the first part of the week.

This weeks episode is a topic round table and a list of problems from this week.

In this weeks episode I discuss the importance of paste wax, tool maintenance. I hit on my top 5 podcasts and why I like them, from a listener question. And wrap it up with some chickens

There is also a bit of a larger segment where I talk about some of the problems I had this week, and how I am working to solve them. Some weeks are just more productive than others.

How do you use a wood router? I know I didn't know how.

In fact I started using one just by adding a bit and turning it on to have fun. I started not knowing anything about how it works, I was totally safe.

Now that I am ready to jump into the next level of woodworking skill, and I ordered stuff to fix my 3 hp router I need to actually figure out how they work.

To that end this episode is all about the theory of using a router that I learned with several hours of research, it is a summary to refer back to at any point if I forget something. Hopefully it helps others as well.

The loft bed is done, but there is no way to get up to it.

In this episode I discuss the build and construction of the combination dresser and stairs that I have built. This was a fun project as it was fairly large and put my skills to the test.

The project didn't go perfect, but I was able to get it done while still looking great. So I want to walk through the process and talk about some of the "how", and a few of the mistakes. Also talking a bit about some preventative measures I could have taken.

Looking back and analyzing the last year is great, and in fact we did that.

However, looking forward and figuring out what you want to do in the future is just as important. If not more important. And making sure it aligns with long term goals.

2021 is going to present some interesting challenges. Especially since I plan to up my content creation this year.

I also plan to attempt to make money from this thing called woodworking and teaching. We will see how that goes.

Give this episode a listen if you are curious what is in store for 2021.

Was 2020 a wild ride for you?

Overall 2020 was a pretty interesting year in a lot of ways. For me and my family it was productive, and I am super thankful for that.

As is the tradition at the end of the year I take this episode to look back at successes failures, and a few other random things that happened this year. It is a great start to a reflection to setup for next weeks episode.

Even when successful you can do have things go wrong. However, it is what you do with those failures that really help to to setup in skills.

The best thing you can do when you get done with a projects is to stop and think through the work. While thinking through everything think about all of the steps, what went good? and what went bad?

In this episode I discuss each of the things that I came across that went wrong, and my attempt at how to rectify those problems. Or if I don't have a solution what I plan to do to figure one out. Fortunately, or unfortunately, some of these problems are just a purchase away. Others are woodworking skill development

Building a large project can be hard. This week I built almost an entire loft bed from start to finish. I also learned a lot along the way, and there was a lot to learn.

I think one of the biggest problems in building projects that are outside of your skill level is lack of planning, and lack of confidence that you can do it. I know I am guilty of these same things.

However, on this project while I knew it was above my skill level in several areas. I also had skills in a lot of it to tackle the project, and it was a, mostly, great experience.

Listen to this weeks episode where I talk about the experience, and the things I learned.

Deer hunting can be an interesting experience especially when you have no experience. I know before my trip I knew next to nothing about deer hunting.

After going on my trip I knew a little bit more, but had some memories and experiences to learn from. I'll just say the trip had some cold moments, and moments where I had to question what I was doing.

In this episode I walk through my days of hunting, and some of the experiences I took away from it. It wasn't the greatest of trips, but I definitely learned a few things.

You tend to do a lot of projects working with wood as a DIYer. To be honest I never thought about the joinery that I might use doing those projects.

I never thought about the strength of the joints. Nor did I think about how to cut the joints, or even that you can do joinery that looks nice.

However, as I do more and more "furniture" building I find myself bringing those same skills into my homestead projects, and wanting them to look nicer and last longer.

So in this episode I decided to talk about 3 types of joinery, plus a bonus one, that I think all DIYers should learn and have in their pocket.