Build a Big Desk - from Mother Earth News

Build Mother's Easy, Low-cost Big Desk

June/July 2005
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/2005-06-01/Build-Mothers-Easy-Low-cost-Big-Desk.aspx Story by Steve Maxwell. Illustrations by Len Churchill.

Enlarge Image The pattern for the curved sideboards: Draw a grid of 1-inch squares then use the reference lines to plot the shape of the curve. You also can enlarge this pattern on a copier until it is actual size, and then cut out the curve and mark it onto the sideboards.

You’d be surprised how easy it is to build this simple desk. For about $75 (even less if you use recycled materials), you get more than 15 square feet of desktop space plus an optional shelf underneath for computer equipment or extra books. And building a desk like this won’t take more than a weekend, even if you don’t have much carpentry experience.
There are three keys to building any kind of simple, inexpensive furniture, and this desk incorporates them all: a design that uses standard lumber sizes; joinery details that are easy to build, yet strong; and a finishing strategy that’s fast, fume-free and durable.

Start With the Top

Most lengths for the desk parts on the materials list are related to the size of the desktop you choose, and that’s why your first step is to acquire a hollow-core interior door. These inexpensive doors are large, flat, rigid and lightweight — perfect for use as a desktop. Our plan assumes a standard size of 80 by 32 inches.
If you want to use a different-sized desktop, follow these simple guidelines for adjusting the other parts’ lengths:
• Long skirts: 6 inches shorter than the desktop’s length
• Short skirts: 5 ½ inches shorter than the desktop’s width
• Side braces: same length as short skirts
• Desktop backboard: 3½ inches shorter than desktop’s length
• Desktop sideboards: 12 inches shorter than desktop’s width
Most interior doors are reasonably smooth, but the finished desktop will look better if you spend a little time sanding it anyway. This is especially true around the corners and edges. A few quarter sheets of 120-grit sandpaper folded into thirds work best for sanding by hand. The same kind of sandpaper in a palm sander speeds up the process and yields better results.

Assembling the Side Frames

Next, assemble the two frames that form the leg structure of the desk. Each one is made of two legs, one side brace and one short skirt assembled into four-sided frames with square corners. The plan shows how the top edges of the side braces are 8 inches above the bottom ends of the legs. Cut the parts you need and then sand them all before continuing. It’s amazing how much nicer the finished desk will look if you perform this extra step.
There are two tricks for putting together the side frames well. If the corners of your desktop are square (and they almost certainly will be), use the underside as an assembly guide. By lining up one leg and a short skirt with adjoining edges of the door, your side frames will turn out square, too. As a final check of squareness, measure the distance across diagonally opposite corners of these frames. If the distances are the same (within about one-eighth inch), then your side frames are sufficiently square. Use carpenters glue on all joints, then attach them with 1½-inch finishing nails (two per joint) before carefully setting the two side frames aside to dry. Let the glue dry overnight, then reinforce the joints by installing two No. 8 screws in each brace-to-leg joint and two 3-inch carriage bolts, washers and nuts in each short skirt-to-leg joint.

Almost Done

Your project doesn’t look much like a desk right now, but you’re almost there. Get some help to stand the two side frames upright, then temporarily nail on the two long skirts reusing two 1½-inch finishing nails hammered most of the way into the board where a pair of 6-inch carriage bolts will go later. Select bolt positions that won’t interfere with bolts you’ve already installed.
This assembly won’t be very strong yet, but it does allow the entire frame to stand while you adjust the legs so they’re plumb, and while you level the long skirts. When you’ve got everything right, remove one nail from a single corner joint, drill a bolt hole right through and then install a carriage bolt. Repeat the process until all four corners have four bolts each.
The desktop needn’t be rigidly fastened to the support frame. Simply put it in position with equal desktop overhang, then crawl underneath the table with a pencil and mark where the inside edges of the long and short skirts meet the underside of the desktop. Lift the desktop off, flip it over and screw strips of scrap wood to the bottom surface, aligned inside the pencil marks. These form cleats that prevent the desktop from sliding on its support frame when it’s back in place.

Desk enhancements

One of the beautiful things about this desk is how easily it can be folded flat and stored. Just lift the desktop off the skirt and remove one bolt from the long skirt side on each corner where the leg and skirt connect. This allows the remaining bolt to serve as a pivot point to fold the legs inward.
If you want, you can enhance the desk by adding a desktop backboard and sideboards. This three-sided frame helps to contain paperwork, stray pencils and books, but there’s a trade-off: A top frame limits the usefulness of the desk as a table.
If you opt for a desktop frame, begin by cutting the back and side pieces to length. Use Fig. C as a pattern to mark the curves on the sideboards. Follow the outline with a hand-held jigsaw or coping saw, then sand smooth.
Join the desktop’s backboard and sides together from underneath the desktop, using No. 8 wood screws, and glue the U-shaped frame to your desktop, using large clamps to hold the desktop and frame together. Scrape away any half-hard glue that squeezed out using the square corner of a metal ruler, putty knife or slot screwdriver.
An optional bottom shelf boosts the usefulness of the desk, and adding one is simple. Any three-fourths-inch plywood or solid lumber that extends from one side brace to the other will do just fine. But with a span of more than 6 feet, you’ll have to do something to keep the shelf from sagging under its load. Adding a 3-inch-wide skirt along the back and front edges of the shelf will further stiffen it.
Interior low-VOC (volatile organic compound) latex paint does a terrific job on this desk — it’s low-odor and fast- drying. You’ll get best results if you lightly sand the surface with 180-grit sandpaper after the first coat has completely dried.
And there you have it: a solid, spacious desk. Many variations of this project are possible, so don’t be afraid to try out your own ideas on this do-it-yourself desk.

Materials List

- One hollow-core door, 80" x 32" x 1 1/4"
- Four legs, 28" x 3 1/2" x 1 1/2"
- Two long skirts, 74" x 3 1/2" x 1 1/2"
- Two short skirts, 26 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 1 1/2"
- Two side braces, 26 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 3/4"
- One desktop backboard, 76 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 3/4"
- Two desktop sideboards, 20" x 5 1/2" x 3/4"
- Eight carriage bolts/flat washers/nuts, 3/8" x 3"
- Eight carriage bolts/flat washers/nuts, 3/8" x 6"
- Eight finishing nails, 1 1/2"
- 10 No. 8 flathead wood screws, 1 1/2"
The pattern for the curved sideboards: Draw a grid of 1-inch squares then use the reference lines to plot the shape of the curve. You also can enlarge this pattern on a copier until it is actual size, and then cut out the curve and mark it onto the sideboards.

Drying Your Clothes Outside - from Mother Earth News

The Convenient, Sturdy Outdoor Clothesline

June/July 2009
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/Convenient-Sturdy-Outdoor-Clothesline.aspx By Steve Maxwell

Enlarge Image Dry your clothes without spending a dime on electricity. ISTOCKPHOTO/MIKE FLIPPO PHOTOGRAPHY

A good outdoor clothesline offers several benefits. First, it helps save money by keeping your clothes out of the dryer. That means energy savings that are also great for the environment. Next, there are the aesthetic advantages: The fragrance of sun-dried clothes can’t be matched by perfumed anti-static sheets you toss into a dryer.
Almost 20 years ago, I built my first clothesline, and it worked well, even with all the laundry generated by our houseful of kids reared on cloth diapers. But since then, I’ve also noticed things about the design that could have been better — improvements I’ve worked into this plan.
If a clothesline is going to make a serious contribution to your household, it has to be large enough to handle a serious amount of laundry. That’s the reason my design includes three separate lines that run on pulleys. (One good source for pulleys is Lehman’s.) My original system had a trio of lines, but what I hadn’t counted on was the stress of supporting all that wet clothing on a windy day. My old clothesline never broke, but it did start to twist and bend after 10 years, so my updated version is made of alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) pressure-treated 8-by-8s, with 4-by-4 knee braces. Think that’s overkill? Don’t be fooled. After you tip the post up and attach lines, big wood is just right, both visually and structurally.
But 8-by-8s are expensive, so you could opt for 6-by-6s if the poles are short or if your design doesn’t include cross braces. You could also make use of thinner timber if you use guy wires tied to anchors in the ground. Got some rot-resistant trees you’d like to harvest for the project (cedar, black or honey locust, Osage orange, white oak, black walnut)? They will work, too, though joinery will be more challenging unless you saw the logs into beams first.
At my place, a pulley supporting one end of each line is fastened to my stone house, while the other ends of the lines are supported by pulleys on the timber frame post and crosspiece. Knee braces keep these parts square and rigid. You could also have both ends of the lines supported by posts if you’d rather not attach anything to your house.

Materials and Tools

To build your own clothesline, begin by gathering materials. You’ll need a 16-foot 8-by-8 for the main post, an 8-foot-long 8-by-8 for the crosspiece, and one 12-foot-long 4-by-4 for the two knee braces. These standard lengths are longer than you’ll need, allowing you to cut exactly what’s required. For a lower clothesline that’s not accessed from a porch, for example, the main post can be shorter.
As for tools, you’ll need a hand-held circular saw, an electric drill, a 1-inch-wide chisel, a 16-ounce hammer or mallet, a carpenter’s framing square, a sharp handsaw and a socket wrench. You’ll also need some stout sawhorses. A chop saw is nice if you can get one, but not necessary. Would you like to add decorative details to your clothesline? A router spinning a large chamfer bit can add a lot of beauty in just a few minutes.

Start Building the Outdoor Clothesline

Measure and mark the location for the joint where the crosspiece will join the main post. A notch in the post supports the crosspiece (see photo below), and determining its height depends partly on the soil conditions in your yard. Ideally, the base of a clothesline extends at least 4 to 5 feet into the soil. In my case, bedrock was only 2 feet below the surface, so I added extra support around the post with a stone-filled wooden crib. Figure out how much of your post will sit below ground, and then add 5 to 7 feet to this figure to determine the location of the half lap joint for the crosspiece. (A half lap joint consists of a notch about halfway through each of the pieces being joined so they fit together sort of like Lincoln Logs.)
Regardless of how you’ll support the bottom end of your clothesline, measure and mark the location of a half lap joint on the main post that supports the crosspiece. Instead of measuring the width of the crosspiece with a tape measure, lay this part on top of the main post (make sure it’s square) and mark its width and location directly with a pencil.
Now it’s time to use your circular saw. Start by making two careful cuts, one on each waste side of the half lap zone at the full depth your saw will cut. Next, complete more cuts between these first two, spaced about a quarter of an inch apart. Remove the remaining waste with your chisel and mallet.
As the name suggests, the half lap notch needs to be half the thickness of the main post, and this presents a challenge. Most circular saws can’t cut deep enough to get to the center of an 8-by-8. You can use a handsaw or carefully wielded chain saw to continue the necessary cuts before chiseling the half laps to their full depth. Test fit the crosspiece and main post and adjust the joints as necessary for a good fit. Repeat the procedure to cut a notch in the crosspiece.

How to Make Your Clothesline Sturdy

Now it’s time to cut and fit the two knee braces (see the diagonal supports in the photo in the Image Gallery). While you could notch these parts into pockets cut in the crosspiece and main post, using half-inch carriage bolts (8 inches long) at each end does a great job, and they’re much easier to install. Temporarily assemble the main post and crosspiece now, nudging these parts one way or the other so they’re perfectly square with each other. To create greater strength, I cut the top ends of the knee braces to 50 degrees and the bottom ends to 40 degrees, though these numbers are just starting points. Big timbers are usually twisted, so you’ll probably need to fine-tune the angles on the knee braces for a good fit. Now cut one angled end on each knee brace, hold the parts in position, then mark and cut the other ends. An electric chop saw makes it easier to do this work accurately.
Perfect the fit of the knee braces against the crosspiece and main post, then drill holes for the carriage bolts and install them with a socket wrench. Finish up by angling the ends of the main post and crosspiece, then chamfering the edges of these parts with a router if you’d like a more finished look. Tip the assembly upright in the hole you’ve dug (I got some help from a neighbor with a loader tractor), have someone hold the post plumb, then fill in and pack down the soil around the post.
Attach pulleys to the crosspiece(s) and the wall, being careful to anchor pulleys to studs — not just the siding or sheathing — and string the line. I find it best to pay more for the high-grade, stainless steel cable that’s covered with plastic. Less expensive kinds are covered in plastic, too, but stainless steel doesn’t rust if the plastic cracks. I’ve also found that the stainless steel versions are stronger.
Now you’re ready to dry clothes without spending a dime on fossil-fuel-produced electricity!

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Clothesline Options for Smaller Spaces

You can dry clothes without using any fossil fuels — even if you have a small backyard or live in an apartment. There are lots of options in addition to a permanent clothesline stretched between two posts.
Single-pole rotary clotheslines (see Image Gallery) fold up like an umbrella. Some models can be removed from the yard when not in use.
Retractable clotheslines attach to the outside wall of your house, and several lines are pulled out from a canister and attached to a pole or fence. After the clothes are dry, the lines roll up into the canister.
Folding-frame clotheslines (see Image Gallery) attach to a wall and fit tightly against it when not in use. To dry clothes, simply unfold the unit.
Drying racks can be used outside on a balcony or patio in good weather. You can also use them indoors, especially in winter when indoor air may be particularly dry.
— Troy Griepentrog

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Links to Gardening Web Sites

http://www.providentliving.org

Note: The following links are not to official Church publications, but are provided as additional resource material. www.garden.org This Web site offers gardening how-to advice from the experts, a pest control library, gardening articles, and free newsletters. The site also features a children’s gardening section, recipes, and garden research. www.gardenweb.com On this site, read what other gardeners are saying about common gardening topics in the garden forum, find answers to your gardening questions in the Q&A section, browse the glossary of botanical terms, and learn from a list of frequently asked questions. Here are some additional gardening Web sites: BBC Gardening Site Benson Institute Easy Balcony Gardening Food for Everyone Foundation FAQ Gardening Advice Organic Gardening Square Foot Gardening U.S. Dept of Agriculture – Home Gardening Section Additional Gardening Links

Job Search Tip Sheets

 https://www.ldsjobs.org/ers/ct/articles/job-search-tip-sheets?lang=eng

The job search tip sheets cover the basics of a successful job search. Job seekers, employment specialists, and priesthood and Relief Society leaders will benefit by becoming familiar with the information contained in this series of handouts.
Job Search Planning (8.5x11) (A4)
Having a plan for how to approach your job search will help you be more successful in finding new employment. This tip sheet will help you plan your time effectively.
Surviving Unemployment (8.5x11)
Experiencing unemployment can be difficult.  There are many things to think about. This tip sheet lists several things you can do to survive unemployment and be successful in your job search.
Power Statements (8.5x11) (A4)
To be effective you need to be able to communicate your strengths and accomplishments to employers and those in your network.  This tip sheet will help you develop concise, powerful statements that you can use in all of your job search efforts, including your résumé, interviews, networking, and following-up.
“Me in 30 Seconds” Statements (8.5x11) (A4)
Developing a concise statement about your skills and interests will give you confidence when meeting with employers or approaching individuals through networking. This tip sheet will help you develop an impressive way to introduce yourself to others.
Effective Networking (8.5x11) (A4)
Networking is the most effective way to find a job.  This tip sheet outlines who is in your network, how to add more people to your network, and how to manage your efforts to network with these individuals.
Interview Techniques (8.5x11) (A4)
Being well prepared for an interview will help you be confident and impress the interviewer(s).  This tip sheet will help you prepare to respond to basic interview questions with impressive answers  that will set you apart from the competition.
Writing a Résumé or CV (8.5x11) (A4)
Creating a résumé or curriculum vitae (CV) that communicates your strengths can be challenging. This tip sheet includes recommendations to help you stand out.
Written Communication (Cover Letters, Applications, Thank-You Letters) (8.5x11) (A4)
Aside from résumés or CVs, your job search will likely require you to write cover letters, complete applications, and send follow-up thank-you letters.  This tip sheet will help you know how to approach each of these types of written communication.
Effective Negotiating (8.5x11) (A4)
Accepting a job offer may give you the opportunity to negotiate salary, benefits, and other job details with an employer.  This tip sheet will help you know when to negotiate and will help you prepare to do so effectively.
Job Fair (8.5x11) (A4)
There are some things you can do to prepare in order to benefit the most from a job fair.  This tip sheet will help you gain the most from your job fair experiences.
Earning Your Daily Bread (8.5x11)
We each have the responsibility to provide for ourselves and our families.  This tip sheet outlines steps you can take to be self-reliant.

Build a Reserve

Gradually build a financial reserve, and use it for emergencies only. If you save a little money regularly, you will be surprised how much accumulates over time.


President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught: “Set your houses in order. If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts” ("To the Boys and to the Men," Ensign, Nov. 1998, 54).

Potatoes

Elk Grove Park Ward

Provident Living Food Class

Potatoes

May 22nd, Tuesday

7:00 pm

At Maggie Scott’s house
 

  

Becoming Self-Reliant

lds.org - self-reliance-resources.html#/teaching


Parents have a sacred responsibility to look after the physical and spiritual welfare of their children. As children grow older, they become more responsible for their own welfare. Parents should teach them basic principles of welfare, helping them prepare to be self-reliant and provide for their own families in the future. Parents can also give children opportunities to help care for the poor and the needy.
All of the following counsel applies directly to adult members of the Church. Much of this counsel also applies to young men or young women, even if they still depend largely on their parents.
The responsibility for our social, emotional, spiritual, physical, and economic well-being rests first on ourselves, second on our family, and third on the Church. Under the inspiration of the Lord and through our own labors, we should supply ourselves and our family with the spiritual and temporal necessities of life.
We are better able to take care of ourselves and our family when we are self-reliant. We are prepared to endure times of adversity without becoming dependent on others.
We can become self-reliant by (1) taking advantage of educational opportunities; (2) practicing sound principles of nutrition and hygiene; (3) preparing for and obtaining suitable employment; (4) storing a supply of food and clothing to the extent the law allows; (5) managing our resources wisely, including paying tithes and offerings and avoiding debt; and (6) developing spiritual, emotional, and social strength.
In order to become self-reliant, we must be willing to work. The Lord has commanded us to work (see Genesis 3:19;D&C 42:42). Honorable work is a basic source of happiness, self-worth, and prosperity.
If we are ever temporarily unable to meet our basic needs through our own efforts or the support of family members, the Church may be able to help us. In these situations, the Church often provides life-sustaining resources to help us and our family become self-reliant again.

Caring for the Poor and the Needy

The Lord has always commanded His people to care for the poor and the needy. He said,
"Ye must visit the poor and the needy and administer to their relief" (D&C 44:6). He also commanded, "Remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple" (D&C 52:40).
We can care for the poor and the needy in many ways. One important way is through fasting and contributing fast offerings, which the bishop or branch president uses to assist ward or branch members who suffer from poverty, illness, or other hardships. We can also give of our time and share our talents. We can serve the homeless, the disabled, widows, and others in our neighborhood and community.
In addition to giving local and individual care for those in need, the Church reaches out worldwide to people, no matter their faith, who suffer the effects of natural disasters, poverty, disease, and other crises. The Church provides life-sustaining resources to help families and individuals recover and work toward self-reliance. Donations to the Church's Perpetual Education Fund provide the means for disadvantaged Latter-day Saints to further their education. Church-service missionaries volunteer their time and resources to improve literacy, promote health, and provide training.

Community Garden - from the Church News

Community Garden Helps Stake, Families Grow Together

  By Jason Swensen, Church News staff writer

• 13 April 2012

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Article Highlights

• The members of the Las Vegas Nevada Sandstone Stake have played a major partnering role in the Provident Community Garden, which opened last month and is located in a suburban area of northern Las Vegas.
• The recently completed first phase of the Provident Community Garden includes 90 10-foot by 4-foot (3m by 1m) garden boxes. Each box is cared for by individual families.
• To be given a box of their own, families and individuals must pay a small fee and participate in three gardening and provident living courses taught at local LDS meetinghouses.

Steady labor, a positive attitude, and faith in God can yield the sweetest of fruits. Such a harvest is being enjoyed by scores of folks from all backgrounds at the Provident Community Garden located in a suburban area of northern Las Vegas.
The members of the Las Vegas Nevada Sandstone Stake have played a major partnering role in the garden, which opened last month. Working with folks from the city’s business and religious community, the Sandstone stake has been pivotal in the garden’s development—and they’ve made several new friends along the way.
“We have truly seen the hand of the Lord through this garden,” said Paul Moffat, a member of the Sandstone stake high council who also serves as the president of the garden’s governing board.
In just over a month, the Provident Community Garden has become the city’s largest raised garden grow box community. The “gardeners” include dozens of member families and the mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn C. Goodman.
The recently completed first phase of the Provident Community Garden includes 90 10-feet by 4-feet (3m by 1m) garden boxes. Each box is cared for by individual families. Additionally, there are five 82-feet by 6-feet (25m by 2m) community boxes that are being cared for by a small army of volunteers.
In all, more than 500 people have participated in the first phase of the project, with additional phases being planned. The Provident Community Garden has been made possible through the generosity of business and private donors from the community—and plenty of volunteers who put in time each week to teach and work alongside novice gardeners from the Sandstone stake and their neighbors.
As he stood at the edge of a community box that framed meticulous rows of young corn, Brother Moffat spoke of the sacred benefits of the garden that stretch far beyond strawberries and tomatoes. For one, all participants are learning key principles of provident living. To be given a box of their own, families and individuals must pay a small fee and participate in three gardening and provident living courses taught at local LDS meetinghouses.
“It’s also a place for people to come together,” said Bobie Ellsworth, a member of the stake’s El Camino Ward, as she tended to her radishes and tomatillo plants.
Linda Schlauder is an admitted newcomer to gardening. But she has come to appreciate the lessons that can be learned working shoulder-to-shoulder with her family and friends. “We have already had family home evening lessons about the law of the harvest and about listening the counsel of the prophet,” she said.
Gardeners such as Sister Schlauder are also learning the lessons of delayed gratification as they plant and care for tiny seeds with the hope of a tasty reward that will come only after a season of labor and patience. “I love the feeling of families coming out to the garden together and seeing something grow ... and I can’t wait to taste our tomatoes,” she said.
Don Fabbi is a master gardener who puts in several hours each week teaching the gardening classes, answering questions, and sharing practical tips. Most of his relatives are Latter-day Saints. Mr. Fabbi is not. But the 84-year-old grandfather is a popular and familiar figure at the Provident Community Garden. “When you’re retired you want to have a reason to get up in the morning,” he said with a smile.
The community garden, he added, is teaching dozens of families about provident living and emergency preparedness even as they enjoy a crop of fresh produce. “And the social aspect of this garden is invaluable,” said Mr. Fabbi.
Local leaders from the Sandstone stake said the lessons being learned while laboring in the community garden are as meaningful as any they could share over the pulpit. As president of the stake Relief Society, Keri Lords said the garden has proven to be a blessing in the lives of many sisters “who have really been converted on a different level.”
Many women in the stake, she said, will share their bumper harvest with their neighbors and friends.
Gardening in this famously dry corner of southern Nevada is a new experience for many members here, said Monte Cristo Ward bishop Keith McDonald. Countless gospel principles, he said, can be taught when families come together and take ownership of a garden. “The scriptures are replete with examples of seeds and growing and nurturing.”
Las Vegas residents Mike and Kate Bailey, who are not LDS, are eagerly anticipating their harvest of the tomatoes, strawberries, lettuce, squash, and onions that are shooting up in their garden box.
“But I’ve enjoyed the people here the most,” said Mrs. Bailey. “People are always stopping by and saying hello.”
Despite being raised “in the heart of Manhattan,” Mayor Goodman admitted to long harboring a secret desire to farm. Her wishes have been realized as she and her family have joined in the gardening effort. She has high praise for Brother Moffat and the others who have stepped forward to truly make the garden a “community garden.”
While navigating his wheelbarrow between a labyrinth of garden boxes, Harry Hoogland of the stake high council peered across rows of fertile gardens and grinned. People, he said, are growing and developing right alongside their delicate crops.
“I love the influence this garden is having on families,” he said. “We’re seeing families growing together.”