Ranch Ramblins

Ouch!!  A sting from a normal sized scorpion can be very painful - I know this from personal experience.  But can you imagine encountering a foot-long scorpion?  I have come face-to-face with one of these giants, as evidenced by the following photograph.

I ran across this specimen (metallica hadrurus arizonensis) while visiting the Devil’s Rope Museum in McLean, Texas.  And if this one isn’t large enough to frighten you, how about a scorpion the size of a human being?  It must have existed, because I read about it on the Internet - specifically, here.

But back to the Devil’s Rope Museum,  which claims to be the largest barbed wire historic museum in the world, and is the topic of this post.   I visited this museum while passing through McLean, Texas, shortly before writing a  previous post  regarding my pathetic little collection of barbed wire and fencing tools. 

McLean, Texas (pop. 830) lies along the path of old Route 66, which I happened to be exploring this past Fall.  After a delightful lunch stop at the Red River Steakhouse  (a place with real cowboys and cowgirls seated at the tables, excellent rib eye steaks, and great fresh cobblers included with all meals), the Devil’s Rope Museum caught my eye as I was departing town.  Grabbing my camera, I headed inside to see what might be on display.

The museum offers a variety of exhibits related to barbed wire and fencing, as well as barbed wire art, such as the scorpion (as seen in the first photograph), and the woven wire hat, seen here.

This photograph shows one example of the portable wire fence fabrication machines the museum has on display.

In times past, many rural ranchers utilized the top wire of their barbed wire fencing to transmit electrical communications signals (telegraph, telephone, etc.) from point to point.  These ranchers soon became well-versed in the concept of electrical insulators, and began using any appropriate items or materials that might have been on hand at the moment, as seen in the preceding photo.

In those parts of the plains states where timber was in short supply, substitute materials would be found for the construction of fence posts.  The photo above shows a clever seat/hand drill device used to bore holes in stone fence posts - a daunting task, indeed!

This is an uncommon earth auger designed to be powered by a vehicle’s 12 volt electrical charging system.  Perhaps these tools will make a comeback as a result of $4.00/gallon gasoline.

This is just a small sample of the thousands of styles of barbed wire that the Devil’s Rope Museum has on display throughout the building.

Here are some of the various designs and sizes of fencing staples that are on display, along with an explanation of what the different types of staples are used for.

The museum hosts a nice size collection of branding irons and brands, including this example of early land grant brands.

Because the Devil’s Rope Museum is located along old Route 66, the facility includes a small, but nice exhibit pertaining to the Texas portion of Route 66.

On display within this section of the museum is this mock-up of a 1940’s era diner, with all of the appropriate appliances and accouterments.

You may remember reading my previous post about the Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.  If so, you may be interested to know that the cast model steer on display at the museum (seen above) is the steer that graced the original location of the Big Texan.  If you look back at that previous post, you will see that the current steer replica is vastly larger than this original one.

In addition to this small sampling of the exhibits at the Devil’s Rope Museum that I have depicted above, I also viewed a special photographic collection pertaining to the Dust Bowl era that afflicted the mid-west region in the 1930’s.  Seeing the disaster that took place, and the human devastation that resulted was a heart breaking experience.  Because I did not take photographs of the exhibit (for copyright reasons),  I have included  this link  to a website containing similar photographs.  It is well worth a click over to the site.

Back in September, 2007, I wrote a post entitled A Head Shed? , wherein I mused about finding a complete deer skull (including the racks) in one of our pastures.  I opined that the buck may have been taken down by a pack of coyotes, whereas several commentators posited that the deer may have been struck by a vehicle, or wounded by a hunter far from our property, eventually to wander over here to die.

Well, that post was back in September, 2007.  This past March (2008), while hiking along in the “back forty”, Gracie happened upon this buck skeleton (pictured above).  The bones were picked clean, and mostly scattered in the immediate area.

Since that second skeletal find in March, I have located two additional complete skulls on the property, bringing the grand total to four - all discovered within the past six months.

Considering that the closest paved road is about 2 miles distant from where these remains were found, I think it is highly improbable that all the deer were struck by a distant automobile and wandered, dazed and disoriented, onto our property to die.  One incident, perhaps - but four?  I doubt that vehicular mishaps explain my finds.

It seems strange to me that each of the skeletons I have found is a full grown buck.  I wonder if there is any significance to this, or is it just an improbable coincidence? 

Anyhow, no matter what the cause of the demise of these unfortunate Odocoileus virginianus, don’t you think this is an astonishingly bad toupee?

After months of absence from the blog-o-sphere due to a Wordpress installation that prevented the posting of photographs, a software update has now put me back in business, so to speak.  It’s catch-up time, so I will begin with photographs recently taken at the California Poppy Preserve, located in California’s high desert Antelope Valley.

When the conditions are favorable, springtime brings on a spectacular display of these orange wildflowers, drawing tourists and locals alike to witness the beauty of a desert in bloom.

The poppy fields stretch in all directions, creating a remarkable panorama at ground level.  I can only imagine what the poppy fields must look like from the air!

The delicate beauty of the California Poppy is indeed a sight to behold.  This Wikipedia article on the California Poppy contains much useful information.

I’ll leave you with this last photograph, while I try to figure out how to use this new version of Wordpress to post several months worth of backlogged material!

In my last post (Adirondack Loveseat Project) I promised to upload plans for the loveseat you see in the photograph above.  So here they are.

The plans presented here are an amalgam of ideas garnered from several sources, including woodworking books, Internet websites, and of course, my own experimentation.  I have completed several of these loveseats to date, so I can attest to the fact that these plans indeed work as advertised.

Here are some quick comments and suggestions before presenting the plans.

After building the first prototype and assuring myself that the plans were workable, I created a set of templates (using 1/8″ hardboard) seen in the photograph above.  Because of the templates, I can build additional loveseats relatively quickly, but it is not necessary to go through this step if you are only intending to build one loveseat.  The plans can be plotted out directly on the workpiece if you choose.  If you take this route, however, I would suggest that for the seat supports (3 in all) you complete one piece, then use that piece as a template for the remaining two parts, thereby ensuring that all three end up with matching profiles.

The lumber that I have chosen for this project is 5/4 x 6″ x 8′ pressure treated deck boards.  This material is durable, readily available at most lumberyards or home improvement centers, and inexpensive.  It is also laden with chemicals of various pedigree, so it is imperative to take precautions when working with this material, especially if working in an enclosed area.

Notice in the photograph above, beside the templates, are a pair of tight fitting safety glasses and a box of respirators.  If you work with pressure treated lumber, these are the minimum safety precautions you should take.  If you do work in a shop environment, you might consider doing more.

Because pressure treated lumber is a material I will be utilizing in my projects for the foreseeable future, I invested in a dust collection system, pictured above.  It requires a bit of ingenuity to set up, and an additional equipment expense, but what price can you place on your lungs, anyhow?

Now, on to the plans, as promised.

Adirondack Style Loveseat Plans 

(Clicking on thumbnail opens full-size window, which can then be printed.)

Parts List

1 - Upper Back Support

1-  Lower Back Support

3 - Seat Supports

2 - Arms

2 - Front Legs

2 - Back Legs

2 - Arm Brackets

9 - Seat Slats

4 - Back Slats (A)

4 - Back Slats (B)

4 - Back Slats (C)

#8 x 2″ deck screws

Construction Notes

A.  Cut all parts as per drawings.  A table saw is highly recommended, as many parts require rip cuts.  Because this project has many curved parts, a band saw is also helpful, but a saber (jig) saw will suffice.   The only curves that are dimensionally critical are the curves that occur on the upper and lower back supports.

Use a flexible piece of scrap material or a metal rule to lay out the curves in the back supports, bending this guide until it aligns with the points indicated in the plans, as you can see me demonstrating in the photograph above.  With this exception, all other curves in the plans are decorative only, so use your sense of artistry to lay these curves out by eyeball.

B.  If you have a router or router table (as in the photo above), you can use a 1/4″ ball-bearing roundover bit to ease the exposed edges of the slats and arms.  If no router is available, a power sander or hand-sanding can serve the same purpose.

C.  Sand surfaces of all parts.

D.  Drill and countersink all pilot holes, which are marked with an X in the drawings (to avoid splitting the lumber, I suggest drilling pilot holes in the mating pieces also before driving the screws).

E.  On each seat support, make a mark  5-3/4″ in from the front, on the bottom face of the support.  Make another mark 2″ in from the back, also on the bottom face of the support.  These marks will be used to align the front and back legs to the outer seat supports.

F.  Using the straight front edge of your workbench (or a straight board as a gauge), position one front leg over one seat support, aligning the bottom of the leg and the flat area of the seat support with the straight edge.  Position the front of the leg with the mark you made in step E (5-3/4″ in from the front), being certain that the leg is perpendicular to the straight edge.  To double check the accuracy of your positioning, the angle formed by the intersection of the front leg and the bottom of the seat support should be 75 degrees.  When you are sure the positioning is correct, screw the leg to the seat support using three #8 x 2″ deck screws.

G.  Repeat step F for the other front leg, remembering that this side is not identical, but a mirror image of the side completed in step F.

H.  Attach the right and left sides you have just created to the lower back support, screwing the lower back support into the notches at the tops of the seat supports.

I.  Screw the remaining seat support to the center of the lower back support.

J.  With the chair assembly on a flat surface, use a square to position the back legs square to each seat support.  Align the rear of the back legs with the mark you made in step E (2″ in from the back).  Note that, unlike the front legs, which are attached to the outside of the seat supports, the back legs attach to the inside of the seat supports.  Clamp the legs, then screw them to the seat support.

K.  Attach the two arm brackets to the outside of the front legs, flush with the top of the leg, using two #8 x 2″ deck screws for each bracket.

L.  Position the arms on top of the arm brackets, with the notch on each arm fitting snugly against the back leg.  Attach the arms to the front legs, using #8 x 2″ deck screws.  Level each arm by measuring the distance from the arm to the floor at the front of the chair, and use that measurement to position the back of the arm relative to the back leg.  Clamp, and secure with two #8 x 2″ deck screws on each arm.

M.  Position the upper back support on top of the back legs, being sure the inner edge of the support is flush with the inner edges of the legs.  Secure with #8 x 2″ deck screws.

N.  Position one back slat (A) on the outermost edge of the curves in the upper and lower back supports, with the bottom edge flush with the bottom of the lower back support.  You will notice that because the upper and lower curves are not identical in radius, the bottom of the slat will not sit flush against the surface of the lower back support. 

The solution to this problem is to create a notch in the bottoms of back slats A and B, as shown in the photograph above, using a rasp or by sanding.  The slats will now sit flush against both the upper and lower back supports.  Clamp a back slat A to each outer edge, and fasten top and bottom with #8 x 2″ deck screws.  Position the remaining slats, being sure to space them equally apart at both the tops and bottoms.  Secure with #8 x 2″ deck screws.

O.  Place a seat slat against the back slats, at the rear of the loveseat.  Fasten with three #8 x 2″ deck screws.  Place another seat slat flush with the bottom edges of the seat supports, at the front of the loveseat.  Fasten with three #8 x 2″ deck screws.

P.  Fasten the remaining seven seat slats to the seat supports, spacing the slats evenly along the supports.  Fasten each seat slat with three #8 x 2″ deck screws.

Q.  Apply any finish or water sealer of choice, allow to thoroughly dry, and enjoy your new super-comfy Adirondack style loveseat.

You may recall a previous post wherein I declared a goal of erecting 100 bluebird nesting boxes around our property.  The progress on that project has been satisfactory.  To date, I have built 65 nesting boxes:  50 have been erected along our trails, 3 were given to others, and 12 remain in my shop, awaiting my ambition to pound more t-posts into the ground.

Since then, I have taken a short break from building nesting boxes in order to complete a couple of other quick projects.  First, there was the benchtable, the subject of my last post.  And now, I have just finished this Adirondack style love seat.

Well, it really isn’t finished, because to truly be called finished, I must apply some kind of finish to the love seat - then it will be, quite literally,  finished.  But it’s close enough.

I intended to build this love seat from plans obtained from a book Retta purchased some time ago.  After buying the necessary materials for the project, the next step was the preparation of the templates I would use to produce uniform, accurate parts.  It turns out the author of the book, or the editor, or both, did not check the construction plans for accuracy and/or completeness.  It soon became apparent that many critical dimensions and cutting angles were omitted from the plans.

Determined to build this love seat, I pressed forward, figuring (correctly, as it turned out) the worst that could happen would be a little wasted time and lumber.  The photograph above shows the contoured seat bottom assembly that had to be built, but because the plans offered little assistance, a lot of guess work (and wasted lumber) went into building this part of the seat.

The love seat is made from 1″ stock (5/4 x 6″ pressure treated deck boards), and feels quite sturdy.  It is designed with a series of three seat supports and substantial bracing, as you can see from the picture above.

The reason I decided to build this seat, even though the plans were deficient, was that the design promised to be extremely comfortable, with the contoured seat bottom that I mention before, as well as the contoured seat back, which is evident in the photograph above.

Even though I spent a lot of extra time, and wasted some lumber experimenting in order to get the seat angles just right, the project turned out to be well worth the effort.  This is one of those pieces that, once seated, you just don’t want to get up out of, due to it’s very comfortable design.  Now that I have a working sample in front of me, I will build accurate templates, so that I can build several at a time and scatter them around the property (along with all the bluebird nesting boxes and benchtables

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In commenting on the Benchtable post, Karl suggested that I upload plans for the benchtable, so that they may spread throughout the Ozarks.  As it happens, I recently ran across a wonderful little drafting board while at Grizzly Industrial  in Springfield, Missouri.

Now, once I brush up on my mechanical drafting skills, I’ll try to figure out how to post the plans on-line for those who may wish to build something in their spare time.