Since the fifties, as a kid on a bike, I have been fascinated with junk... junk that can be used, repaired, or best yet, repurposed. A project that relies uopn store- bought materials is not nearly as worthy as a project that is built from salvaged materials. This concept is closely related to the personal trait of being "cheap" but also the the more practical matter of "necessity". Of course if you spend all your time being cheap, you don't have enough time to go out and make real money, and then "necessity" governs even more of your decisions!
Now that I am "retired", the affliction has only become worse. I tinker and fiddle with stuff all day and into the
night, from carving oval wooden bowls to building and operating a foundry. Browse down the links below to see the fun I
have had... and welcome to...
September 2013: Like most everything I do, this site is a work- in- progress. Might I suggest a visit to my son's site; he is doing crazy things, and he finishes them with style... Go to btilden.com!
I like to tinker with lots of things, but I look to woodworking to help me through retirement. this picture is of a spalted maple table I made for my daughter; click it to see what else I build.
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My yard- art cow has brought me more fame than most everything else I have done. It sits at the end of my driveway and has become a sort of landmark. My neighbor wishes that he had the photo concession for it; on busy weekends many people stop and take pictures of it, or pose their kids in front of it. Click the picture for details.
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2009: I have a friend who has an impressive tinkerwerks in his back yard. All the pipes and tanks that comprised his biodiesel cooker fascinated me, and I knew I had to create one of my own. Click the pictures below to see what I did.
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2011: My son and I recently completed an aluminum foundry, and more details will be forthcoming. From salvage yard scrap, we built everything we need to turn a transmission housing into useful part. Click the picture below to see what we built.
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2001: I set out to build a small cabin back in our woods. The design quickly morphed into a miniature house, and now it is a weekend rental cottage. Click the picture below for the whole story and more pictures.
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1982: For much of the eighties, we had a market garden. The first thing we needed was a tractor; click the picture to see a Farmsun110
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2005:GoneFlyin' is a book that I wrote and published several years ago. It is a collection of eighty stories that were inspired by my experiences as a flight instructor, airplane mechanic, freight pilot, and by pleasant jaunts in my own airplane. It is not an adventure book, nor is it a technical book. It is a book of pleasant muses, comfortable feelings, and and of challenges met with satisfaction. Pilots like the book because it puts their feelings into words. Surprisingly, "Little old ladies" like the book because of its sense of romantic grace. Don't take my word for it though, click the picture and go to goneflyin.com where you can read more!
2010: We sort of wanted chickens again, and she wanted something "that looks like a gypsy cart". Click the picture to see what happened.
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