Green DIY: Own a Bench Grinder

I would guess that most people don't think of a bench grinder as a "green product", but it's probably the most environmentally and economically responsible tool I have in my shop.

A few years ago, I bought a small Ryobi bench grinder for $40 (I checked, they are still the same price), that has a work light attached. It has paid for itself over at least a dozen times. As soon as a bought it, I could believe I didn't get one years earlier.


My main uses:

Sharpen drill bits - much better than throwing them away or using them dull. I use it for both spiral (metal) and spade (wood) bits.

Sharpen knives, chisels, hoes, axes, shovels, lawnmower blades, scrapers, etc.

Fix broken screwdrivers by re-grinding the ends

Smoothing ends of metal pipe or bar that I have cut

Modifying hardware to fit (shorten bolts or metal plates)

Fixing the threads on stripped bolt ends

Cut chain and metal cable

Grinding / smoothing the edges of tile

If you consider extending the life of tools, plus trips to the store you don't have to make, plus the added safety in using sharp rather than dull implements, it's hard to argue against this having a good impact on the earth and your wallet.

I prefer Ryobi (good quality for DIY), but there are obviously a number of brands that work well. I bought my dad larger one from Harbor Freight a few years ago at Christmas, and its still going strong. It cost about $50.

Garden Shed #2 - Decostruction and Reuse

While I am working away inside the house, my 13 year-old son is making progress on the garden shed "move and improve" project.

The photo below shows the shed with two sides of ship lap siding removed. We are going to reuse it on the new shed, along with some board-and-batten to make it more interesting.



One of the common sense aspects of green building is reusing things, so you don't have to pay for them again. The lap siding is cedar, and really very high quality. My son is prying each piece off and then removing the nails. He seems to be getting about 90% yield out of this process. For the pieces that do break, I will likely cut them to a random single width, and put them on the eves.

Here are flat and side views of a piece.



To buy this new would be at least $2.50 a square foot. I estimate we will get about 220 sq. ft. out of this, or about $600 in material. I am paying my son about $100 to pull it off and clean it up - which is a great deal for both of us.

Notice in the pictures that the floor is 1x4 plank, not plywood. Some of these will become the battens, trim and shelving structure. The wall studs will be doubled-up and used as floor joists, since the walls will be taller on the new shed.

Here is the plan that allows doubled-up 2x4 as joists. They will sit on top of PT 4x6 beams (horizontal ones). Normal span tables don't list using 2x4's for joists, so I am taking the allowable 2x6 span and assuming pairs of 2x4 will provide at least the same support. There are no permits required for this garden shed, but I want to make sure it's well built either way.



The only pieces of the shed that will be discarded are the cedar roof singles. They are in pretty poor shape, with the lot of moss. I will save a could boxes of the clean ones for shims. We are also going to bigger windows, so these will probably be donated to the PDX Rebuilding Center.