The Shed, November/December 2019 issue no 87, in shops now

The November/December 2019 Issue 87 of The Shed, has a real electronics feel about it but there is also a lot here to keep all sheddies informed, entertained and well-skilled up.
Our cover story is about the goal of a Christchurch boat builder, architect, designer, sailor, Quentin Roake, to find a way to build waka in large numbers. He wants to recreate the appearance and characteristics of traditional craft in a modern version that is portable, durable, and economical to manufacture. Quentin has made it his mission to put Maori waka back on the water by marrying traditional knowledge with today’s technology

The November/December 2019 Issue 87 of The Shed, has a real electronics feel about it but there is also a lot here to keep all sheddies informed and well-skilled up.

Our cover story is about the goal of a Christchurch boat builder, architect, designer, sailor, Quentin Roake, to find a way to build waka in large numbers. He wants to recreate the appearance and characteristics of traditional craft in a modern version that is portable, durable, and economical to manufacture. Quentin has made it his mission to put Maori waka back on the water by marrying traditional knowledge with today’s technology. His journey is a very uplifting tale.



Staying in Christchurch, two sheddies combine to build an electric skateboard that can hit speeds of 45k plus! Gavin Bath and Mark Beckett walk us through the step by step build of this pavement rocket ship.
We have Part Three in our How to weld series, this issue it’s how to TIG weld before we head off to the shed of a record breaking electric motorcycle builders, Eva Hakansson and Bill Dube. This couples’ need for speed has seen them build the record breaking KillaCycle which reached a speed of nearly 390 kph and now a new and faster beast is being constructed, the Green Envy.

This issue sees the commencement of a new series of brewing tips from Bryan Livingston of Brewers Coop fame, Part One is getting to know your hops and some great brewing tips to enhance your own brewing skills.



Coen Smit shows us how to make the humble coffee table something of a talking piece in your home and Enrico Miglino starts out on his new adventures by upcycling vintage tech items. He first completely restores them then changes or adds to their range of functions. Part One is upcycling a mid 20th century Milliampere Meter.

Ritchie Wilson reviews the excellent book EXACTLY How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World by Simon Winchester before heading to the local workshop of electronic collector and engineer, Tim Pattrick.

Murray Grimwood shares his glasshouse building knowledge in this issue’s Off the grid column and then Ian Parkes heads out to the industrial area of Penrose in Auckland to meet Grant and David Lindsay the owners of Kiwi tool making company Linbide. Many of us will have used their great wee tungsten scraper but they also make saw blades and more.
Mark Beckett has been very busy this issue and gets making some Christmas gifts on his trusty CNC router, Hugh McCulloch uses 3D printing to repair his trusty mobile landline phone and Bob Hulme gets making some fireworks just  cos… it’s that time of year.

We begin to close this issue with a visit to a very talented multi-tasker, Anna Bates. Anna lives out in the West Auckland bush where she creates unique pieces in her newly restored railway-hut shed in her back garden. Prepare here for shed envy.
As usual, Jude Woodside closes the magazine and shares with us his success and the limitations of his newly installed solar power panels that generate 3-phase power, on a good day, for his workshop shed.
To purchase a copy or to subscribe head to https://magstore.nz/

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Preserving the past – by the tonne

What do you do when your passion for collecting means you are accumulating objects that can be measured by the tonne?
One answer is to buy a big building and open it up to the public – Mike’s Museum in Eltham displays the extraordinary results of Mike Coil’s collection mania.
Two upper stories and a huge basement of an historic building in the small Taranaki town are bulging with the strangest things. A big collection of antique chainsaws, World War II objects, including an anti-aircraft searchlight and US submarine generator engine, steam boilers of all sizes – you name it – Mike’s collected it.
There’s also a great collection of historic tools and objects from New Zealand’s past.
Mike began collecting when he was a young fella. One of a family of 12, he was raised on Taranaki farms and he recalls when aged eight his father coming home from a stint at sea with a handful of coins.

Video of From Rust to Rrrroaarrr Part Four

In the first article, I wrote about nickel welding repairs to a broken cast iron engine cooling fin, magneto check, head repair, valve work and nickel plating the push rod cover tubes.
The second article was mainly about how I developed nickel and copper plating, with a little bit about kickstarter repair using nickel plate on a worn shaft and grinding teeth.
The third article, the start of frame painting, engine, clutch and gearbox assembly and installation, with magneto timing.
For this fourth episode, I had planned to write about how I rebuilt the electrical system, reupholstered the seat and renovated the fuel tank. There has been progress on each of these three things but little in the way of meeting targets.

A model life

If the phrase “small but perfectly formed” can be legitimately applied to a shed, then Bruce Geange’s Palmerston North workshop certainly fits the bill. In a space of about 2 by 5 metres he creates Lilliputian machines that mimic their full-sized cousins in everything but size. An exquisitely detailed D8 1940 bulldozer is 40 cm long and completely hand-built. Bruce says it took about 900 hours to complete and is completely functional.
Born in Taumarunui in 1935, the eldest of four boys, Bruce was raised on various farms in the Manawatu area, which may explain his predilection for tractor models. A life-long love of modelling started at the age of 11 when he received a No 1 Meccano set for Christmas. As finances permitted he began collecting Meccano, building up to a No 9 set after he began working.