I’ve had this tenon cutter attachment for years, just started using it. I just cut down an old wild plum tree and am going to make a garden chair out of plum wood. Fun! I got this from Lee Valley, a great source of carpentry tools.
I recently got the Makita drill — not battery driven, but with cord — from Jackson’s Hardware in San Rafael. It would have been cheaper from Amazon, but at Jackson’s, I get expert human advice. I use Amazon a lot, but also skirt them often. There are other factors to consider when buying stuff other than what’s cheapest.
Our newly-formed Shelter film crew has started making short videos. With producer Em-J Staples and cameraman and film editor Evan Kahn. Listed in in order of production here:
This is a pilot for a series of shows on DIY TV by Michael “Bug” Deakin and his crew of recyclers from Heritage Salvage in Petaluma, California.
Bug says: “All across America, century-old structures are falling down and forgotten — but I believe these buildings deserve a second chance.”
Here’s a 40-second sneak preview of the pilot, which airs this Sunday:
Also, if you’re ever in Petaluma, stop by Heritage at 1473 Petaluma Blvd. They have 300,000 board feet of used lumber, a ton of table-top slabs cut from large trees, some beautiful wide t&g flooring milled from windfall Maple trees, etc. Check their stock out at: https://heritagesalvage.com
Our new book Small Homes: The Right Size is now available at independent bookstores, and Amazon — as well as from us: www.shelterpub.com/building/small-homes
Shameless Commerce Dept. This is, I think, the best building book we’ve ever done. (Yes, I’m sure I’ve said this before, but it keeps reoccurring to me.) Shelter is everyone’s favorite; it captured the times, it inspired thousands of homes. Builders of the Pacific Coast is in some ways, my best book. It’s an odyssey of discovery where the reader rides shotgun with me over a 2-year period. Cohesive and focused.
BUT Small Homes is so useful to so many people in this era of astronomical home prices and rents, that I think it’s hugely important. It offers alternatives to people looking for rentals on Craigslist or homes on Zillow. Here are 65 very different homes, of different materials, in different parts of the world. The idea, as with all our building books is to use your hands to create your own shelter.
Two things I’ve discovered about this book (after seeing the finished product):
There are a lot of homes out in middle America – Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, more so than in any of our other books.
It sparkles. Largely due to Rick’s considerable Photoshop skills, a motley assortment of photos from contributors have been rendered in colorful detail. I was stunned when I saw the first book off the press. The photos draw you in.
I’m doing an author appearance at the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute on January 29, 2017. It’s a reception at 5PM that day, where authors meet booksellers. I’ll be talking about our forthcoming book, Small Homes: The Right Size, and handing out copies of Tiny Homes. https://www.bookweb.org/wi2017/winter-institute
I’m going there a few days early to explore around the Twin Cities. Any advice on things to do there?
And, as of about a half hour ago, it looks like after the event, I’ll drive the next day to Grand Marais and visit folks at the North House Folk School, and do some kind of presentation there.
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I’m gonna get together a state of the state at our publishing company and of what I’ve been doing lately, now that the book is off to the printers. I’ve cut down a lot on my posts in the last year, what with now using Instagram, and finishing my 1st book in 3 years, but I have a bit of posting to do soon. Stay tuned.
A little touch like the curved overhang braces can add so much.
