Oh, I think I see what you were thinking. But I don't have a barn. I have a small 7X13 foot backyard chicken coop that is shaped like a barn and painted barnyard red with white trim. So, that swing in the backyard is one of the biggest things I have there.My first ever 100% salvaged materials project
Yesterday I mentioned that I had found and pulled a bunch of 2X8's from my salvaged wood pile and was planning on making another outdoor bench with the lumber. Well, I built it today and here is a picture of the end result...
View attachment 3576036
Here is the YouTube link for how to build this bench, for anybody interested. I think it's worth another link in case you missed the earlier post.
Not only was the salvaged wood free, but I used 3-inch wood screws I took out of some pallets last year and reused those pallet screws on this bench. So, this was truly a 100% salvaged build at zero cost to me.
The wood looks OK in this picture next to all those flowers, but I am thinking about getting some wood putty stuff to fill in a few holes and cracks in the wood, sand it down real good, and paint it the same color as the cedar timber swing I am working on. The idea is that I will be putting this bench out by the fire ring.
For those who are interested, again, this bench is pretty darn easy to make and is about as solid as you can imagine. At 4 feet long, you can easily put on 3 adults or about half a dozen little kids.
Well, that's what I was doing today. Later...
Dead end on free pressure washer needed repairs....
I'm just so disappointed that the junk we have to buy today basically becomes disposable with the first malfunction. No parts, no tech support, and no instructional on how to maintain or repair this equipment. Even the original company is gone and bought out by someone else.
I like making pallet projects for a number of reason. First of all, I am reusing a material that otherwise would end up directly into our landfills. Secondly, if I build something, and later it breaks or needs to be replaced, I can do it myself since I originally made it on my own. Third, since I get the wood for free, I don't mind making something and if it's not useful or I no longer want it, I don't mind tearing it apart for use elsewhere. Fourth, sometimes I make a pallet wood project "proof of concept idea" and if it works out, then I might decide to upgrade the project with better quality wood or metal.
A couple days ago, I mentioned that I picked up a pressure washer for free at our local church charity Thrift Shop.
View attachment 3576687
When I got it home, it worked fine for a few minutes, then shuts down and takes about 10 minutes to reset. I downloaded an owner's manual and in the troubleshooting section they say the pump is clogged and to contact tech support for further instructions. Well, I sent tech support an email a few days ago - no response. Not even an automated reply saying they got the message. Today, I called the company. Evidently, Campbell Hausfeld was bought out by another company, and the new company does not have any support for this washer. No parts, no instructions, nothing.
Well, shucks. I guess I'll just have to live with using it for a few minutes at a time and letting it rest for 10 minutes or so before another go around. I have been using it to prep the wood on my cedar timber swing to get it ready for painting. I was hoping that it would work good enough to pressure spray off lots of my pallet wood. When it works, it's pretty good. Just have to space out the cleaning on a project to allow for the downtime between the pump resetting itself.
Well, I picked this unit up for free, so I'm not out any money, but you would think that some documentation on cleaning the pump would be a basic instructional surviving on the internet. But, so far, I've had no luck with Google or YouTube searches.
The last step of any of my pallet wood is to dump the bits and pieces, or broken boards, into a fire ring to burn out stumps. Better to use it as burning fuel for that than to haul it off to the landfill
Love it!
Yesterday I mentioned that I had found and pulled a bunch of 2X8's from my salvaged wood pile and was planning on making another outdoor bench with the lumber. Well, I built it today and here is a picture of the end result...
View attachment 3576036
Here is the YouTube link for how to build this bench, for anybody interested. I think it's worth another link in case you missed the earlier post.
Not only was the salvaged wood free, but I used 3-inch wood screws I took out of some pallets last year and reused those pallet screws on this bench. So, this was truly a 100% salvaged build at zero cost to me.
The wood looks OK in this picture next to all those flowers, but I am thinking about getting some wood putty stuff to fill in a few holes and cracks in the wood, sand it down real good, and paint it the same color as the cedar timber swing I am working on. The idea is that I will be putting this bench out by the fire ring.
For those who are interested, again, this bench is pretty darn easy to make and is about as solid as you can imagine. At 4 feet long, you can easily put on 3 adults or about half a dozen little kids.
Well, that's what I was doing today. Later...
Good luck in herding your hens into any enclosure they don't necessarily want to go into. Maybe you could have some kind of temporary panels setup as a funnel to direct the chickens into the cart. Kind of like you see how cowboys herd cattle into those runs that lead up into their trailers. If/when I need to "herd" my chickens, I use a full sized lawn rake with a large plastic head to help extend my reach and get the chickens moving in the direction where I want them to go.
BTW, I love reading your adventures and seeing the pictures of your work. Keep it up!
I'm thinking something like a pair of eye-bolts on each panel end, and a drop through rod. Still thinking. And trying to make it cheap.Check out some lift off hinges, something like these...
View attachment 3576986
View attachment 3576987
With hinges like those, you could break down the panels and stack them up for transport. When you bring them where you want, you could make the panels into just about any shape you want. For temporary use, I don't think you would need any T-Posts or stuff like that.
Here is a screen shot from Amazon...
View attachment 3576990
Anyways, that type of hinge allows you to make your chicken run panels modular and you can add/subtract panels to your run as you want.
If I can think of anything else, I'll post it later. But right now, that is what comes to mind.
I do like your idea of carting them around in your wagon and dropping them off wherever you want. Getting them out will be easy. I think some kind of temporary panels funneling them back into the carrier might be needed. Excellent pallet wood project, I'm sure.
My idea is cheap: Zip ties. Half of my run is held together with zip ties. @gtaus had a better idea with the hinges.
That's how our dog gate shuts. It's worked for 4 dogs, for 29 years.
