Michael Heggen 💯🐸 ❌👑
@michaelheggen.bsky.social
Farmer, forester, sawyer, builder, fencer, horseman, juggler, husband, mentor, tabletop gamer, feminist, Oregonian, LGBTQ+ ally, reader, lifelong learner, neuro-divergent nerd (no particular order).
Resident of Oregon's 6th Congressional district (OR-6).
Resident of Oregon's 6th Congressional district (OR-6).
Okay, so not a solid layer of basalt. Still pretty impressive, though.
December 17, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Okay, so not a solid layer of basalt. Still pretty impressive, though.
And it’s growing in a basalt flow?! Holy cow.
December 16, 2025 at 6:59 AM
And it’s growing in a basalt flow?! Holy cow.
That is… so… very purple.
December 15, 2025 at 2:15 AM
That is… so… very purple.
Disclaimer: This should not be taken as a treatise on building shearlegs. Consult a competent expert and/or a reputable reference work before attempting—especially if there is potential risk to human life.
December 8, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Disclaimer: This should not be taken as a treatise on building shearlegs. Consult a competent expert and/or a reputable reference work before attempting—especially if there is potential risk to human life.
Here's the link to Part 7:
bsky.app/profile/mich...
bsky.app/profile/mich...
December 8, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Here's the link to Part 7:
bsky.app/profile/mich...
bsky.app/profile/mich...
For the west side shearlegs, we dug two holes about ten feet apart, a foot deep, and just a bit bigger around than the butt ends of the logs.
My buddy Mark showed us how to lash the tops of the logs. See alt text for captions.
Classic scouting fieldcraft!
All for today. Gotta go feed the horses.
My buddy Mark showed us how to lash the tops of the logs. See alt text for captions.
Classic scouting fieldcraft!
All for today. Gotta go feed the horses.
December 8, 2025 at 12:27 AM
For the west side shearlegs, we dug two holes about ten feet apart, a foot deep, and just a bit bigger around than the butt ends of the logs.
My buddy Mark showed us how to lash the tops of the logs. See alt text for captions.
Classic scouting fieldcraft!
All for today. Gotta go feed the horses.
My buddy Mark showed us how to lash the tops of the logs. See alt text for captions.
Classic scouting fieldcraft!
All for today. Gotta go feed the horses.
Here is a working sketch that I made at the time of what we would be building. We will be referring to this sketch multiple times in this story.
For now, just consider it as an overview. See alt text.
For now, just consider it as an overview. See alt text.
December 8, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Here is a working sketch that I made at the time of what we would be building. We will be referring to this sketch multiple times in this story.
For now, just consider it as an overview. See alt text.
For now, just consider it as an overview. See alt text.
Next we determined where to set the western shearlegs. Ideally, our skyline would have been directly in line with the bridge. However, the trees suitable for anchoring the skyline were not where we needed them, so we had to set the skyline at about 15 degrees off the line of the bridge.
December 8, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Next we determined where to set the western shearlegs. Ideally, our skyline would have been directly in line with the bridge. However, the trees suitable for anchoring the skyline were not where we needed them, so we had to set the skyline at about 15 degrees off the line of the bridge.
We now had four straight, tight-grained Douglas-fir logs weighing 350-500 pounds apiece.
Using hand tools, we cleared a narrow trail down to the bridge site. Six of us (as I recall) spent most of a day with ropes and lifting straps dragging the logs the 150 yards through brush to the bridge site.
Using hand tools, we cleared a narrow trail down to the bridge site. Six of us (as I recall) spent most of a day with ropes and lifting straps dragging the logs the 150 yards through brush to the bridge site.
December 8, 2025 at 12:27 AM
We now had four straight, tight-grained Douglas-fir logs weighing 350-500 pounds apiece.
Using hand tools, we cleared a narrow trail down to the bridge site. Six of us (as I recall) spent most of a day with ropes and lifting straps dragging the logs the 150 yards through brush to the bridge site.
Using hand tools, we cleared a narrow trail down to the bridge site. Six of us (as I recall) spent most of a day with ropes and lifting straps dragging the logs the 150 yards through brush to the bridge site.
That meant that they would have closely spaced growth rings and few knots—just what we needed.
We chose trees that were beefier than we needed, felled them, found the point at which they were five inches in diameter, made a cut, then measured down the trunk from there 34 feet and made a second cut.
We chose trees that were beefier than we needed, felled them, found the point at which they were five inches in diameter, made a cut, then measured down the trunk from there 34 feet and made a second cut.
December 8, 2025 at 12:27 AM
That meant that they would have closely spaced growth rings and few knots—just what we needed.
We chose trees that were beefier than we needed, felled them, found the point at which they were five inches in diameter, made a cut, then measured down the trunk from there 34 feet and made a second cut.
We chose trees that were beefier than we needed, felled them, found the point at which they were five inches in diameter, made a cut, then measured down the trunk from there 34 feet and made a second cut.
We poked around in the woods until we found four likely contenders in a stand of natural (not planted) second-growth Douglas-firs about 150 yards west of the bridge site.
These trees grew up partly shaded by their ancestors and siblings, so they lost their lower branches early due to low light.
These trees grew up partly shaded by their ancestors and siblings, so they lost their lower branches early due to low light.
December 8, 2025 at 12:27 AM
We poked around in the woods until we found four likely contenders in a stand of natural (not planted) second-growth Douglas-firs about 150 yards west of the bridge site.
These trees grew up partly shaded by their ancestors and siblings, so they lost their lower branches early due to low light.
These trees grew up partly shaded by their ancestors and siblings, so they lost their lower branches early due to low light.
I, too, have known some cats like this.
December 7, 2025 at 9:46 PM
I, too, have known some cats like this.
Chick-a-dee-dee-dee!
December 7, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Chick-a-dee-dee-dee!
Our native trailing blackberries are like that. Small, low-growing, polite plants—for the most part (although they do like to catch the toes of yer boots when ya walk through them).
It’s just the invasives that are… rude. :-)
It’s just the invasives that are… rude. :-)
December 7, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Our native trailing blackberries are like that. Small, low-growing, polite plants—for the most part (although they do like to catch the toes of yer boots when ya walk through them).
It’s just the invasives that are… rude. :-)
It’s just the invasives that are… rude. :-)
A few years before we bought our place, the blackberries covered parts of the farmhouse. We found a few dead runners up in the attic where there had poked their way through little gaps in the siding.
December 7, 2025 at 5:25 PM
A few years before we bought our place, the blackberries covered parts of the farmhouse. We found a few dead runners up in the attic where there had poked their way through little gaps in the siding.
Like misplaced tools.
Or a small car, in the case of Himalayan blackberries.
Or a small car, in the case of Himalayan blackberries.
December 6, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Like misplaced tools.
Or a small car, in the case of Himalayan blackberries.
Or a small car, in the case of Himalayan blackberries.
I am in season 3 of Homeland. Great television!
December 4, 2025 at 7:43 AM
I am in season 3 of Homeland. Great television!
Meta-gaming is a force to be reckoned with.
I have become hypersensitive to the presence of Chekov’s _____ in television and film. I loves me some writing that is not mired in such spoonfeeding.
I have become hypersensitive to the presence of Chekov’s _____ in television and film. I loves me some writing that is not mired in such spoonfeeding.
December 2, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Meta-gaming is a force to be reckoned with.
I have become hypersensitive to the presence of Chekov’s _____ in television and film. I loves me some writing that is not mired in such spoonfeeding.
I have become hypersensitive to the presence of Chekov’s _____ in television and film. I loves me some writing that is not mired in such spoonfeeding.
We went a couple of steps up from Harbor Freight, but yeah.
And funny that you should mention that, because a previous project with my buddy Mark was a pulley/leverage machine for dumping manure into a compost bin that we dubbed the Trebushit. It was effectively the reverse of a trebuchet. :-)
And funny that you should mention that, because a previous project with my buddy Mark was a pulley/leverage machine for dumping manure into a compost bin that we dubbed the Trebushit. It was effectively the reverse of a trebuchet. :-)
December 2, 2025 at 1:26 AM
We went a couple of steps up from Harbor Freight, but yeah.
And funny that you should mention that, because a previous project with my buddy Mark was a pulley/leverage machine for dumping manure into a compost bin that we dubbed the Trebushit. It was effectively the reverse of a trebuchet. :-)
And funny that you should mention that, because a previous project with my buddy Mark was a pulley/leverage machine for dumping manure into a compost bin that we dubbed the Trebushit. It was effectively the reverse of a trebuchet. :-)
🧵 How We Built Our Bridge, part 6
Link to Part 5:
bsky.app/profile/mich...
Here's a perspective view of the main span design, showing ten wooden arches tied together. Details in alt text.
For smaller versions, 2-4 arches are used. We needed more for our design weight.
Link to Part 5:
bsky.app/profile/mich...
Here's a perspective view of the main span design, showing ten wooden arches tied together. Details in alt text.
For smaller versions, 2-4 arches are used. We needed more for our design weight.
December 1, 2025 at 4:59 PM
It turns out that 135-ish feet of 3/8" swaged wire rope does indeed have a non-trivial amount of catenary sag—even with nearly 12,000 lbs. of tension.
But that telling will have to wait until the next chapter, because now I have to go feed the horses.
But that telling will have to wait until the next chapter, because now I have to go feed the horses.
November 30, 2025 at 11:17 PM
It turns out that 135-ish feet of 3/8" swaged wire rope does indeed have a non-trivial amount of catenary sag—even with nearly 12,000 lbs. of tension.
But that telling will have to wait until the next chapter, because now I have to go feed the horses.
But that telling will have to wait until the next chapter, because now I have to go feed the horses.
Because you need to know how tall to make the shearlegs. You just need a vague idea of how much sag you will have so that your skyline will be high enough to move the load.
Unfortunately, we didn't take catenary sag into account because we thought it would be trivial on this short of a span.
Unfortunately, we didn't take catenary sag into account because we thought it would be trivial on this short of a span.
November 30, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Because you need to know how tall to make the shearlegs. You just need a vague idea of how much sag you will have so that your skyline will be high enough to move the load.
Unfortunately, we didn't take catenary sag into account because we thought it would be trivial on this short of a span.
Unfortunately, we didn't take catenary sag into account because we thought it would be trivial on this short of a span.