Cool Sustainability Tips

OK so these tips may not be cool as in hip, styling , or happening, but these tips may help you stay cool this summer, especially if (like me) you lack air conditioning in your home.

The simple close line.  Hang your stuff out to dry on a line instead of using the dryer.  You will save on energy and not generate heat running the dryer.  Best location for a close line is out side in area that gets lots of sun (and a breeze would be fantastic).  If you cannot find a space like that no worries.  Just about any place will work, so long as the humidity is not to high (close line in a sauna not so good).

LED light bulbs and LED fixtures.  New LED bulbs are amazing the bulbs last for a long time so you won't be spending money on replacements frequently and fewer replacements mean less waste.  Yes they cost more initially but reports indicate you can recoup the cost in energy saving in two years.  They also produce virtually no heat helping to keep your home cool.

Use a barbecue (grill for my American readers).  Gas cooking is more efficient then electric cooking so you can save energy, and cooking outside won't heat up your home.

Hope these simple sustainability tips help you stay cool this summer, these tips are good all year so try them out.  More sustainability tips and ideas to come so stay tuned.

Cheers
Hans Christopher

A Bright Idea

Sorry for the obvious pun title for this post.  I have recently been making some improvements to the shop.  One of the easiest things so far has been the addition of a drafting lamp to the bench (the bench top for your information is now completely flattened and being used regularly).

A simple upgrade that has huge benefits.  The lamp makes seeing scribe and pencil lines much easier.  Working in a basement with almost no natural light makes seeing things difficult so this lamp should make life here better.  Only thing I may change about the lamp is the bulb.  I plan to switch all my lighting to L.E.D. lighting.  More energy efficient and better colour rendition makes them a great alternative to usual fluorescent and incandescent lights.

Now is also a good time to inform people that begin in a few weeks I shall be attending Rosewood Studio in Perth Ontario for 12 weeks to improve my woodworking skills.  I hope to blog much of my time there so follow along.

Cheers

Hans Christopher

Helping Out The Family and The Enviroment

Recycling is a great thing.  It can be hard to do, but is incredibly rewarding.  Recently I built some cabinets and a work bench for my Dad out of recycled material.

A majority of the material came from my neighbour who was cleaning out his garage.  He had a whole whack of plywood and other sheet goods he no longer wanted.  He walked down to my house one day and simply asked if I wanted any stuff totally for free and I said sure even though at that time I had no plans for any of it.

Low and behold I had promised my dad some things for his birthday to help him work in the garage where he tinkers with motorcycles, and these materials would help out perfectly.

So after the school semester had finished off I began work on the two cabinets and the work bench.

The cabinets are very simply built.  Rabbets glue and pins to hold all the pieces together and doors built using glue and pocket screws.  This was the first time I had used my kreg pocket screw jig and it is a beauty to use; it sets-up quickly and works fuss free.  The rails and styles of the doors had grooves cut in them to accept the panel which was 1/4 inch mdf I had laying around from a previous project.

The workbench is a torsion box top (first time ever building a torsion box) with simple plywood L-shaped legs and a simple shelf.

So now my dad has a place to work and a place to store stuff.  Hopefully this will keep him out of my space and away from my stuff.

Cheers
Hans Christopher

P.S. Sorry dad for the delay in getting the stuff built.