Josh Volk - Build Your Own Farm Tools: Equipment & Systems for the Small-Scale Farm & Market Garden

Dedicated to the kids of all ages who take their toys apart and try to put them back together again.

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Edited by Deborah Burns and Mia Lumsden

Art direction and book design by Erin Dawson

Indexed by Samantha Miller

Cover photography by Shawn Linehan, except author by Josh Volk

Cover and interior illustrations by Michael Gellatly, except Ilona Sherratt Storey Publishing, LLC,

Be sure to read all the instructions thoroughly before undertaking any of the projects in this book and follow all of the safety guidelines summarized in .

Text 2021 by Josh Volk

Ebook production by Kristy L. MacWilliams

Ebook version 1.0

August 3, 2021

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Introduction

In this day and age you can buy a staggering array of tools for seemingly every purpose, so why would you want to create your ownespecially when you can simply order what you need and have it delivered to your doorstep? On the farm we collect tools of all sizes and shapes to make our work easier, and many of us have toolboxes full of simple tools (like screwdrivers and wrenches) we use to fix the more complex tools (like carts and irrigation systems). A lot of us also use the tools we already have to build new tools and customize old ones because, despite appearances, you cant really buy a tool that fits every individual need. Its also rewarding to make useful things with our own hands; I always appreciate using the tools Ive built for myself more than the ones Ive purchased.

I love tools. I love learning how to use tools, I love modifying tools to make them work better for my own needs, and I love creating new tools. The tools I prefer are in some ways a reflection of my personality and the way I like to work. They are simple, functional, and efficient. For me, form follows function, and while my tool designs may have some small aesthetic flourishes, those flourishes never take away from the tools essential functions or add significantly to its cost.

This book features a collection of tools that Ive built for use on my own farm and on friends farms. All of the 19 projects that follow are tools that have seen extensive use and whose designs have worked well for me and for my farmer friends. These tools are all designed around commonly available materials and can be built with commonly available tools on the farm.

The book starts with a chapter on the basic tools and materials youll need to create the new tools that make up the rest of the book. Each building project includes a list of the supplies youll need and step-by-step instructions. Each project also features notes about how I use the tool as a part of a system on the farm. Without this context, its not always obvious why a tool works.

I also provide notes on design considerations for modifying or customizing the tools, or perhaps making future improvements. These notes on use and design are meant to encourage you to modify these designs to better meet your farms needs. In addition, the notes help explain some of the whys behind the designs. In many cases these notes point out design features that I came to after trying other methods that were less successful.

Not all of these tools are completely my own designs. In fact, none of the tools truly are mine, in the sense that they were all inspired by tools that Ive seen on farms or in other places. In some cases, I remember where the idea for a tool came from; in other cases, Ive been using a tool for so long or its morphed so much that I cant fully trace its origins. These designs are mine, however, in the sense that Ive figured out my own ways to construct them and use them.

I hope that you will build these tools and find them usefuland that youll modify them, if needed, to better suit your own needs. I also hope that youll see some of these tools, realize theyre not useful in your particular situation, but still maybe note the ways in which they are put together and be able to apply those design features to your own future tool designs. The information in Chapter 1, the appendix, and the tips and design notes scattered throughout the book are all there to help you with tweaks, modifications, and ground-up design. The way we all learn to build better tools is by first observing existing designs, then interacting with them, and then trying new methods.

When we use a tool, we learn about what we like and dislike about it; that should inspire experimentation with modifying existing tools and designing new ones. From a learning perspective, the aspects of a tool that dont work for you are just as important as those that do. As you read through the following pages, I encourage you to be willing to make your own mistakes and learn from them as much as you do the directions youll find here.

Its not necessary to have a dedicated shop space to start building or modifying tools, but at some point having a shop makes it easier to get started on a project because you dont have to pull tools from the back of a closet and set up a work surface every time you want to build something or tinker. Ive found that, over time, items such as basic fasteners, extra bits of wood and metal, and random raw materials for future projects start to collect and need a place to live, and that space is usually a dedicated shop.

Im a fan of starting small and keeping things relatively simple. I avoid buying specialized tools that I dont absolutely need and will use only for a single foreseeable project, even if theyre a good deal. On the other hand, I have a few tools that I use consistently and recommend for every small-farm shop. If you dont have them already, you dont need to go out and buy them all at once, but when you do need them, theyre worth purchasing.