This picture shows the mini sawbuck I knocked up this morning. Sawbucks are functional contraptions designed to assist with sawing logs. Most are based on wooden X shapes, as this one is. Most are also taller than this one and use three Xs rather than two, which makes for more stability and supports longer logs. However, I’m normally working with shorter logs and the lack of height is also on purpose; I can put my foot on it to hold the wood in place and saw at a downward angle, using my weight for mechanical advantage.

It was knocked up with scraps of wood – an old pallet and a left over from the construction of my polytunnel (years ago). Between the two supports, I’m using a metal tube that came with the garden arch I recently put up. Its purpose was to drive holes in the ground for the arch but I won’t need to do that again. I had a drill bit of the right diameter and so I made the holes and it means I can fold it up for storage.

It isn’t perfect but it is meant to be a prototype. I’ll see how it works, what annoys me and where it starts to break and, if the general outcome is good, produce a more refined version with better quality components. Or perhaps it will last a good long time, in which case I’ll happily keep using it.

I’m also going to keep the photo as one of my 52photos project – it was taken with my iPad and is otherwise unaltered.