Haymaking is definitely one of my favorite things to do on my little farm. I have enjoyed it since I was young and I enjoy it even more now that I am doing it all by hand. Haymaking has helped me build a closer connection with the world around me. I hope to share a taste of this joy with you as well as sharing the method I use to make hay. The second part of haymaking, (drying the hay) starts after cutting the hay and is just as important as any of the steps in the haymaking process. 

by Jared Neibaur

There are many joys in country living and among the ones at the top of the list are those that include struggle and dedication. Near the top of my list is haymaking. I love every aspect of haymaking from tending and irrigating the field to feeding the animals and everything in between. This is a joy that I have carried with me since my youth where I used heavy equipment to cut, bale, haul, and feed hay on our family ranch. I have since learned some old-time techniques to scale things down to work on my little homestead where the large machinery doesn't make sense (my field is 0.4 acres). Though the work is more hands on, I have found that I enjoy it so much more. 

by Jared Neibaur

My ancestors used many different tricks to make things last. Replacements just were not available like they are today. They couldn't zip over to the hardware store and buy a new part. Most things were hand made to begin with, so there wasn't a replacement to be found unless they made it themselves. This is world in which this wire wrapping method was born and used. 

This technique wasn't only used on handles, I've seen it used on wagon tongues, floor joists, rafters, and other places. I've mainly seen it on wood but I have also seen it replace bolts on some wood to metal applications and so on. It really isn't the strongest or cleanest repair method that I have seen, but it works in a pinch. It is also a secret from a lost era. People are no longer able to fix things because they don't know how, modern circumstances no longer force this kind of creative thinking. I hope by sharing this method with you, I can save one more piece of history.