To be an effective dry stone waller one needs to be an efficient materials manager. An abundance of stone must be gathered, transported, shifted and lifted before a wall comes to completion. Handling stone more than necessary wastes time, and more importantly, personal energy.
The lessons I’ve learned in managing stone have been valuable in other areas of life. Putting up firewood is a good example. Rather than stacking wood to season I scoop it up and drop it by the loader bucket-full into a wire cage. In less than an hour of machine time I can turn a 2-cord pile of fresh-split wood into neat, drying towers. With some roll-plastic on top to keep the rain off, the wood air-dries over the summer months and is ready to burn by autumn.
Each tower is made from two reinforcing sheets. “Resheets” are 5’x10’ sections of wire mesh, customarily used in concrete work. They’re held together with zip ties.
The lessons I’ve learned in managing stone have been valuable in other areas of life. Putting up firewood is a good example. Rather than stacking wood to season I scoop it up and drop it by the loader bucket-full into a wire cage. In less than an hour of machine time I can turn a 2-cord pile of fresh-split wood into neat, drying towers. With some roll-plastic on top to keep the rain off, the wood air-dries over the summer months and is ready to burn by autumn.
Each tower is made from two reinforcing sheets. “Resheets” are 5’x10’ sections of wire mesh, customarily used in concrete work. They’re held together with zip ties.
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