Woodmaster recently announced a new three-sided molder. It's supposed to handle pieces up to 12 inches wide and make cuts up to 1.125 inches deep. The system starts at $3,995, but if you're building or remodeling your own home, consider the cost of tongue-and-groove flooring. You could also make trim for finish work.

Instead of buying trim from a big-box store, you could cut your own lumber locally and finish it with a system like this. Purchasing the machine with a few neighbors and friends would be a really efficient use of resources.

While you're visiting the Woodmaster site, check out the molding patterns page.

This is the third blog post from our guest blogger, Nevin Hawlman. If you are enjoying these blogs, please post a note in the comments section. —Mother

This personalized wooden toy train is the perfect Christmas (or other winter holiday) gift for a young child on your list.

These small parts are probably waiting in your scrap bin right now. And if the colors and grain vary, it will add personality to your labor of love.

Clamp and glue parts together — no nails or screws are used in the assembly, except for wheel axles. Wheels are half-inch slices of a broom handle or 1-inch dowel but they could be made from the plug removed when using a 1-inch hole saw.

If you want to use the alphabet, you might find the letters at a flea market or craft supply store. You can also download and print templates from this free site.

Trace them and cut them out with a coping saw or jig saw. 
Alphabet letters are glued into the chassis groove 'x' which is one-quarter inch deep and as wide as the letters you use. The engine and caboose chassis can be added to the 1-1/2-inch-wide chassis board and cut off before the groove is made. The smoke stack is glued into a half-inch hole.

You can also make log carriers, tankers, car carriers, coal hoppers, flat beds, cattle cars, etc. And if the axle holes in the wheels are slightly off-center, it will add a sound and vertical rocking motion to the moving train. Screw eyes and hooks are used to couple the cars.

This is the second post from our guest blogger, Nevin Hawlman. –Mother

Most gardeners or home owners have a favorite place where they enjoy sitting to delight in the view, or the antics of natures' creatures. Mine is a path shaded by towering lilac bushes. I often found myself lingering there to enjoy the mountainous Pennsylvania view and to coax songbirds to eat from my hand.

Often when I went for a bird treat, I returned with a treat for me. Then I got the idea that the 5 gallon bucket should be replaced by a real table. But I didn't welcome the idea of constantly cleaning bird tracks from the table. So the idea of my garden path folding table was born.

In an upcoming blog, we may provide plans for the garden tool shed in the background of the photo. But this week we'll build the unobtrusive bench and folding table, which embrace and enhance the path of wood chips.

When the table is lifted up it provides a great place to relax with issues of Mother Earth News and your favorite hot or cold beverage. The white plastic pipe fits in a socket to hold up the table. The table can be leveled quickly by opposing wedges in the hinge mechanism (see diagram), should wind and weather change its position.

Our bench and table are 4 feet long, but you can easily change this to suit your preferences.

Tools:

• Your saw of choice
• Drill with three-eights-inch drill bit
• 1- or 1 1/8-inch drill bit
• Adjustable wrench
• 'C' clamps
• Sander or sanding block
• Post hole digger
• Shovel
• Level (4-foot)

Procedure: Lets make the bench first; then we have a place to rest and contemplate the table plans.

• Crosscut two of the 2-by-4s to yield four 4-foot bench slats.
• Cut two 15-inch spreaders from a third eight-foot 2-by-4.
• Clamp a spreader 10 inches from the end of slat.
• Center and drill a three-eighths-inch hole through both pieces.
• Fasten them securely with a three-eighths-inch carriage bolt/washer/nut.
• Clamp and drill the other spreader on the other end of the slat.
• Repeat this procedure for the other three slats, being sure to keep the spreaders at right angles to the slats.
• Sand the edges and top surface to avoid splinters.
• Locate the chimney blocks parallel to each other, using the assembled spreaders to determine their distance between them. Make them plumb and level with their tops level with each other.

The Table is made the same as the bench, except only three slats are necessary.

• The table arms are fastened to the spreaders with three screws each.
• If the arms are cut somewhat shorter than the table height, the table will not hang to the ground.

A 1-inch or 1 1/8-inch pocket is drilled into the center of the Table bottom, to accommodate the plastic pipe. Drill it 1 inch deep. Instead of drilling this hole, a protruding screw would help keep the pipe in place, also.

• The post is made of two 2-by-4s bolted together using two three-eighths-inch carriage bolts/washers/nuts.
• Their length is determined by your soil type; sandy soil would require a longer post than clay soil would.
• One 2-by-4 is kept lower than the other to hold the Spacer, which is bolted to the rear 2-by-4 with a three-eighths-inch carriage bolts/washers/nut. This bolt is the pivot if the optional leveling wedges are used.
• Backfill the post assembly so it is plumb.
• Drill the arms and spacer to accommodate the two lag bolts/washers, loose enough to allow the table to move up and down freely.
• Center, drill and bolt the table spacer to the post.

Sand the table to remove potential splinters. Then get your favorite beverage and a copy of Mother Earth News, and give it the ultimate test. Blessings are many. Life is good.

If you have questions or comments, please post them below.

This week (and perhaps several other weeks in November) we have a guest blogger in the Do It Yourself department. The following was written by Nevin Hawlman, a homesteader in Pennsylvania. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. –Mother

This is the time of year when most people winterize their lawn mower — by putting it in the shed and forgetting about it. A few of us drain all the gasoline and run it until it stops to prevent varnish deposits from clogging the carburetor. We might even drain the oil while it is hot, and fill it with new oil. 

Here's an additional tip: Remove the spark plug and squirt a teaspoon of motor oil into the hole, pull the starter rope and replace the plug. This lubricates the piston and rings during storage. You should also remove the blade(s) and sharpen or replace them. And clean or replace the air filter. To prolong the battery's life (if it has a battery),  move the battery to a warm place during winter.

How many of us mouse-proof the mower to prevent those miserable mice from making a potentially dangerous nest of flammable materials under the engine shroud, right next to the hot exhaust pipe? A mouse nest can overheat and ruin your engine by blocking air from the air-cooling passages. Their excrement can also corrode metal parts and wires,
and they love to chew on the insulation.

A plastic garbage bag very securely wrapped around your mower engine and cables may stop mischievous mice. I've heard that a scattering of used cat litter may be a deterrent. I'm sure the cat would be! 

The greatest danger is from parking your hot mower in a shed and having it catch fire. If the gas tank catches fire, the danger escalates. So, if you see bits and pieces of leaves, feathers, cloth, insulation, snake skins, plastic, etc., sticking out from under the shroud of your mower engine, then it may be time to pop the shroud and check for hazardous debris.

If you got this far, you may want to go a little further; the amount of spark reaching the spark plug can be affected by rust on the flywheel magnets, indicated by the blue arrow in the photo. Insufficient spark causes hard starting and inefficient operation. A very fine emery cloth will brighten the magnets.

Washing your mower engine causes this rust, so it is best to clean the engine with compressed air and a rag. In addition, you may want to protect it from water over-spray with a garbage bag when you wash grass from under the mower deck. Running the engine for several minutes after washing it will force air through the shroud and dry the flywheel.

The white arrow in the photo points to the safety brake pad, which has left its mark around the flywheel. This may be caused by sand on the brake pad. It can easily be removed with a wire brush, after removing the brake assembly bolt (shown by the white arrow in the photo).

The blue 'M' indicates the magneto, which produces the spark for the spark plug. It's necessary to have it as close to the flywheel as possible without touching when the assemblies flex in mowing uneven terrain. The black arrow indicates one of two bolts to loosen very slightly as you adjust this clearance according to your owner's manual.