The Shed, Author at The Shed

The Shed September/October 2022 issue 104 on sale now

8 August 2022

The September/October 2022 issue of The Shed, No. 104, has something in it for every sheddie.
Our cover story this issue is on a couple of blokes who are collectors and restorers of stationary engines of all different types and sizes. Tom Gregory and Gary Norton have got the bug bad and both find it hard to go past a stationary engine of any era and any fuel type. Spending time with Tom and Gary as they describe their addiction to these soldiers of past years will surely convert many readers to the joys of stationary engine ownership.
“There is something endearing, almost comical, about the chugging, spinning, and belching machinations of vintage stationary engines.

Spinning wheel

20 July 2022

While we are rather spoilt these days for ready sources of energy, it was once a matter of harvesting what was available in the local environment. More often than not, what was available was a stream or river, and so the workshop was built on the riverbank and the harvesting was achieved by a water wheel.
I’ve always been rather taken by the concept of water wheels (and other mechanical devices that harvest energy from nature), and have been intending to make a small one of my own, even if it was just to be a garden ornamental feature.

As tough as steel

13 July 2022

The chemistry of steel determines why and how it should be tempered.
The potential hardness of a steel is determined by its carbon content. Adding small amounts of other elements to the mix can produce enormous improvements in strength, toughness, and
resistance to rust and the response of the steel to heat treatment.
Steels referred to as alloy steels have additional elements such as chromium, nickel, vanadium,
cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, silicon, and tungsten included.

Build a grandfather clock case

29 June 2022

I had always wanted to build a grandfather clock case and was given the incentive when a client gave me the a modern clock mechanism and a photocopy of a reproduction of an English Tall Case clock to follow. I had to increase the plan dimensions to fit the mechanism, ash wood was chosen and I ended up with 23 metres of approximately 200 x 25mm rough-sawn at an average length of 2.4 metres costing just under $300.
This is not the ideal style of clock case for anything other than an antique clock mechanism. In modern clock mechanisms, the pendulum swing (which should always be tested) needs a straight-waisted trunk style of clock. However, this project has been done to the requirements.

element14 – your global technology leader

27 June 2022

Future proof your business and make sure you are ready and fully equipped for all the challenges of tomorrow with global technology leader element14.
Specialising in high service distribution of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, production, maintenance, and repair, element14 draws on years of experience to support its broad customer base. Offering a tailor-made pathway to a range of services and products for everyone from hobbyists to engineers, maintenance engineers, and buyers, it has a track record of working with both leading brands and start-ups to develop new products.

Unpublished photos from our visit to the home shed of Stan the Builder

23 June 2022

With the Pacific Ocean rolling to shore just across the road from his shed at Wainui Beach, avid surfer and passionate sheddie, Stan Scott, is never too far from his two favourite places.
As far as careers in the building trades go Stan’s has been one out of the box, driven largely by his insatiable curiosity and his never-say-never attitude. Building he says, has taken him places he never dreamed of going. Stan is a familiar face to many Kiwi’s. He has built and presented on a raft of TV renovation shows; is the current brand ambassador for Mitre10 and has even managed a few how-to spreads for us at The Shed.
When he’s not busy planning, building, filming and fronting Mitre10’s web based DIY series’ or giving instore presentations across the country, Stan is home juggling his own building jobs with personal projects and family life.

The Shed July/August 2022 issue 103 on sale now

20 June 2022

Our cover article for this issue is on how to do lost wax casting. Lost wax casting is one of those workshop processes that are so very useful for replicating parts or just being creative. In this issue #103 of The Shed, we begin a three-part series showing how to do your own lost wax casting to cast bronze. Our teacher is David Reid and it is his own technique that he has perfected over 50 years of casting and teaching: the David Reid Technique. With only the absolute minimum of tools and products, everyone will be able to cast like a pro after following his step-by-step process.
Also in this issue; Making Japanese panels, make a classic wooden workbench, metal garden structures, model railways and much more.

Assorted nuts

2 June 2022

For our purposes, a nut is an internally threaded part which is rotated or screwed onto an externally threaded part such as a screw, bolt or stud. If you can pick it up in your hand and put it onto an externally threaded item and tighten it, it is a nut. There will be some exceptions to this which will become apparent.

The Auckland Blade Show is back for 2022

24 May 2022

The Auckland Blade Show is back, bigger and better than ever.
Come along to the Ellerslie Event Centre on the 24th and 25th of September to get your hands on the finest custom blades in the country. With over 30 makers exhibiting, we have hunting knives, kitchen knives, and even swords and axes.

Hexagon head bolt or cheese head screw?

16 May 2022

There are so many types and kinds of bolts and screws that when you ask for the one you need, it is best if you understand the characteristics of the particular fastener. Then you can ask exactly for what you want. These characteristics are:
* Head type;
* Size;
* Thread form;
* Tensile strength;
* Finish.

How to steam bend wood

5 May 2022

This project to make a stool was developed as a way of introducing students to a number of basic
wood-bending and shaping techniques, whilst also giving experience in several useful applications of the router.
The stool consists of two legs in the form of continuous steam-bent hoops or arches, which are housed into matching radiused slots at either end of a curved seat. The legs are stiffened by the addition of smaller arches that fit between them and the centre underside of the seat. For the purposes of this article, I am going to focus on the steam-bending aspect involving the legs as that is the technique that woodworkers seem the most reluctant to try.

Getting up to speed

27 April 2022

As sheddies, we are known to cobble together machines from whatever we have at hand. More often than not these items are less than ideal and a motor of some sort may run at a different speed to what we need. If we are looking to make a spindle moulder, belt sander, garden chipper, wind generator, compressor or similar item then it is likely that some sort of gearing will be necessary to give the right RPM at the business end.
Calculating the sizes of gears, sprockets or pulleys is a relatively simple exercise.

Hi-Q Components has it all tied up

11 April 2022

If you’re looking for plastic cable ties and mounts, and cable management components, it’s hard to beat Hi-Q Components’ comprehensive range, which covers just about anything you’ll need for the job in hand.
Its selection of plastic fixings and fastenings includes standard strap-type cable ties, from 75mm x 2.4mm to 1500mm x 9mm; as a bonus, many sizes are available in weather-resistant black nylon for outdoor use. Hi-Q also has specialist ties covered, with stock including HVAC duct straps, heavy duty for hydraulic hoses, releasable, screw mount, marker, push mount, double loop mounting, hanking, and beaded ties. As well as cable ties, Hi-Q offers a great selection of cable tie mounts, such as quick and easy self-adhesive tie mounts, and push and lock clip mounts for through-hole panel mounting.

The Shed May/June 2022 issue 102 on sale now

11 April 2022

Forging ahead
There are great sheds, amazing sheds, and incredible sheds, but there are also sheds that you could call the ‘king of sheds’.
One such shed is the workshop of West Auckland’s Rudi Buchanan Strewe. In his shed, Rudi turns his hand to blacksmithing, engineering, tool restoration, building hot rods, sculpturing, and so much more. We had such a great time when we visited Rudi and watched him at work.
“The corrugated-iron shed is a deliberate nod to the past. Stepping inside is like entering an early 1900s blacksmith’s forge: clay floors and open beams, antique technology, vintage hand tools, and the faint smell of burnt coal. It is brand new but feels as if it has always been here. Thirty-eight-year-old Rudi embodies a pioneering spirit of discovery and Number-eight wire ingenuity. Whether it is restoring or repurposing old machinery, maintaining his hot rod and his neighbour’s motorbikes, or creating his one-off art pieces, Rudi is always tinkering.”

Making your own campervan

7 April 2022

Converting an ordinary van into a campervan is a project I have been talking about for some time.
As a retired technical teacher, I felt I had the necessary skills, and when a 2005 Kia Pregio van in excellent condition became available I decided to take the plunge.
The van is a 2.7 litre diesel, manual, with 26,000 km on the clock and a cargo space of 2.8 metres x 1.65 metres. My plan was to fit the space with two beds, one on each side. They can be expanded to a full-width bed using the foam backs of the seats supported on shortboards between the sides of the seats.

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