kellan_the_tabby | rafterrific

I abjectly apologize for the post title.

When I left off the rafters looked like the top picture, with the ends not meeting in the middle. It is best when they meet in the middle. But how is this done?

I was gonna patch them together with more hunks of 2×4 but then I thought, nah, & I got 14 of these:

A flat, rectangular piece of metal, maybe four by six inches, with holes pierced in it for nails. Or screws.

Clip em in place, get things lined up, drill a pilot hole & screw em together.

The metal piece is clamped in place along one end of a rafter, with half of it extending beyond the end & another rafter showing behind it.

Some of the rafters required percussive adjustment before fitting together properly, but I have extensive experience with hitting things with a hammer.

Et voila!

The rafters, but this time each pair of rafter halves is held together with one of those metal thingers.

I went outside wearing a flannel, a fuzzy vest, & a pair of fingerless gloves, but pretty soon I was back down to a tank top. Well. Plus pants & all. It stays warm in the tinker’s wagon with the roof on!

I also applied another purchase:

It's ... look, it's bright yellow, is locked with a pair of keys, & has a bent steel rod with a flanged ball on the end.

It’s not a chastity toy. Close, though!

It's locked to the end of the tinker's wagon hitch, & I bet you're really relieved.

Now it will be MUCH harder to steal my tinker’s wagon.

All of this was well timed, as witness the sky when I came back in:

The horizon, above which the sky is not the usual new Mexico blue, but rather ominous looking clouds in a wide variety of greys.

It’s not snowing yet, but it’s gonna be. They’re calling for 4-8 inches tomorrow. Good thing I got my shopping done!

This was posted originally to my Patreon, a little over a week ago.

If you want to see these posts sooner, & not incidentally help support me & my cats in our travels & such, the way to do that is to sign up as one of my Patrons for as little as a buck a month.

I’d REALLY like that.

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!