The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: plumseverywhere on October 27, 2012, 05:22:34 pm

Title: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: plumseverywhere on October 27, 2012, 05:22:34 pm
I love the stuff  ;D

so far we have used it...

for tying bales
mending hay nets
anchoring sheep hurdles
as a loop to shut the chicken run 'door'
skipping ropes (plaited)
how about you?  :)
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: Bionic on October 27, 2012, 05:43:36 pm
around the waist of my overalls
as a temporary fix to stop a fence post from falling down
to measure the pigs (OH didn't want to get a tape measure dirty)
Sally
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: ballingall on October 27, 2012, 05:51:47 pm
Weave 3 strands into a rope to make a goat collar!


Have also tied up an exhaust with binder twine


Beth
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: bangbang on October 27, 2012, 05:52:40 pm
Always have some in the back of van, sooooooo many uses!
last use.. tying up sticks I'd gathered in the forest for kindling!
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: jaykay on October 27, 2012, 05:58:37 pm
All of the above (except pigs and skipping  :D) plus:

a handle for a bucket
a belt for my trousers
to keep a door from opening too far, to let the breeze in but not the cats out
a loop to hold open the wide wooden gate on the drive
a major ingredient in my sheep race
a lead for the sheepdog
a way of hanging up the hazel tripods til I need them again next spring
many uses in the garage, including hanging up the extension leads and the jump lead
........

If all of a sudden, baler twine vanished, this spot (and most of my neighbours) would fall apart  :D It is a source of major consternation to me, and to my dad, if we ever find ourselves out and about in a tidy coat that has no 'string' in the pocket  ;)

Oops, two more posts while I was typing
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: nic99 on October 27, 2012, 06:01:46 pm
What a coincidence this thread came up, I have just this minute returned from using baling twine as a temporary latch on a kissing gate. There is a public footpath through one of our pig fields and Penelope, my kune kune gilt, is far too intelligent for her own good. Being the escape artist that she is, she has worked out how kissing gates work and has been escorted back to her rightful place 5 times today!
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: deepinthewoods on October 27, 2012, 06:29:37 pm
for tying up subcontracted lime renderers who decide after a bottle of whisky to go and ask the owner of the mansion he is working on, if it is ok to borrow one of the quads to get home as he is unable to stand up.
it is lucky i have had a good day today otherwise he would have found himself tied up with baling twine and down a mineshaft.,
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: Ina on October 27, 2012, 06:38:20 pm
for tying up subcontracted lime renderers who decide after a bottle of whisky to go and ask the owner of the mansion he is working on, if it is ok to borrow one of the quads to get home as he is unable to stand up.

Sure this is legal?  :-\

I tied up the exhaust on my old Micra several times to enable me to get to the garage...

And lambing pens are always constructed with baler twine!

Even now, years after I stopped working on a farm, I always have a bit in my rucksack. And a penknife, of course. That was about the first thing I learned in my apprenticeship: a proper farmer has two things in the pocket - baler twine and a knife. (Hanky optional.)
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: Sbom on October 27, 2012, 06:40:08 pm
We use it for most of the above but it is also useful if used in a see saw action to cut the string on other bales  ;D very handy if you can never find your knife   ::) oh and for tying up the boot of the car when you buy something that clearly doesn't fit in!
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: Anke on October 27, 2012, 06:46:30 pm
Some of the above plus using it for my climbing tomatoes and cucumbers in the polytunnel.
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: Ina on October 27, 2012, 06:49:25 pm
Ah yes - I tied up my (container) trees in a storm last year, because they kept falling over.
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: plumseverywhere on October 27, 2012, 06:51:16 pm
for tying up subcontracted lime renderers who decide after a bottle of whisky to go and ask the owner of the mansion he is working on, if it is ok to borrow one of the quads to get home as he is unable to stand up.
it is lucky i have had a good day today otherwise he would have found himself tied up with baling twine and down a mineshaft.,

Seriously?  :roflanim: sorry, its not funny. Honest. I'm not laughing...
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: Sbom on October 27, 2012, 06:53:12 pm
It also makes a fine string for a homemade bow and arrow set  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: little blue on October 27, 2012, 09:05:08 pm
belts, door openers/closures
plant ties
cat toys
bucket handles
tied round the handle of the wheelie bins, in a loop to hold the lids up (rubbish bin & feed bins)
round the torch, so you can hang it up

anything really... :)
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: SallyintNorth on October 27, 2012, 09:43:09 pm
Almost all of the above (tho' have never needed to dump drunken workmen down mineshaft) plus:

As well as the obligatory strings in pocket (yes always with penknife, feel naked without one now!), I also always have several pairs of strings hanging off the quad bike, ready for unexpected needs.  When we had our lodger, he was so tidy he was always taking them off and leaving me unable to close gates, mend fences, capture sheep...  ::)

Definitely the single most useful item on the farm  :D


(*)Never wrap a pull cord around your hand, especially if working with tractors or other powered machinery
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: bangbang on October 27, 2012, 09:57:26 pm
There has been several times I have found that they have been good for tripping me up!
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: gillsta on October 27, 2012, 10:09:47 pm
As a sporran belt. I am not fibbing either.  ;D
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: Lesley Silvester on October 27, 2012, 10:10:59 pm
Holding conservatory door open (plaited)
Tying bean poles together
Tying tomato plants up
Fastener for garden gate
Planning to knit a back door mat with some
Joining pallets together to make manure heaps
Ditto compost bin
Tying long hair back when I forget to do it before milking goat
Making temporary drawer handles

Oh and my ex once repaired his moccasin slippers by sewing the tops to the sides when the thread had broken.
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: Anke on October 27, 2012, 10:32:03 pm
There has been several times I have found that they have been good for tripping me up!
Yep, done that one too... always into the deepest puddle around...
Title: Re: 101 tried and tested uses for Baler Twine!
Post by: Mel Rice on October 27, 2012, 10:43:44 pm
I'm still working the way through a huge re-cycled pile of baler twine thoughtfully snipped right by the knot. It was left by the previous people who had dairy cows....weve been here 5 years and they sold the cows well before they sold-up so its quite old