The Shed January/February 2021 Issue 94, on sale now

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The Shed January/February 2021 Issue 94, on sale now

There’s a real Triumph in the issue of The Shed and a twin-engined one at that as well as the bonus of our annual The Shed 2021 wall calendar.
Our cover story this issue is about a central South Island marine engineer sheddie who really is living the dream. A love of classic cars and motorbikes has seen this marine engineer buy a working garage to store and restore his own collection as well as operate it as an everyday mechanical repair garage for local customers.

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Vertigo CNC turns dreams into reality

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Vertigo CNC turns dreams into reality

Vertigo CNC routers are proudly New Zealand–designed-and-developed, and they’re locally manufactured too, in Christchurch. The mid-size desktop Vertigo MX2-N, which has a working area of 1200 x 600 x 120mm, delivers accuracy, utilizing lead screws and stepper motor control, at an affordable price.
It offers flexibility in part size and material choice, working with plywood, wood, plastics, aluminium, and other non-ferrous metals, and there’s a Facebook community of more than 600 users for this desktop router. The Vertigo MX2-N CNC has an RRP of $6995, incl. GST. or $47.00 per week on finance. For more information, visit vertigocnc.com, or see Vertigo’s YouTube channel, or visit Facebook.com/vertigocnc.

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This  is the nail

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This  is the nail

Merry Christmas to all our Shed magazine readers and website fans. The Shed is taking a few weeks’ break from posting content but we are hard at it prepping the next issue of the magazine whilst we grab a bit of summer R&R.
Have a great summer holiday and enjoy that extra time now available to you for your special projects. However, before you get stuck into any home maintenance projects, have a quick read of this poem by one of our Shed favourite writers, Rod Kane. You may just decide to have a beer instead.

This is the nail
..that sparked all my fears
Of maintenance imperative, painting, repairs
The portico leaked, just a rusty old nail
But it wasn’t just one, the whole roof was a fail
So up there I goes and a…

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Metal life saver

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Metal life saver

Autosol Rust Ex is a powerful, industrial-strength corrosion and stain remover that is quick and easy to use — it’s as simple as wiping on and rubbing off for standout results. It quickly removes rust, tarnishing, discolouration, oxidation, and even bluing, and will give metal surfaces a new lease of life. See hobeca.co.nz for more information.

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Fractul (or Lichtenberg) wood burners are not safe, do not build or use

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Fractul (or Lichtenberg) wood burners are not safe, do not build or use

WorkSafe NZ has contacted The Shed and advised us of two recent deaths of New Zealanders using a Lichtenberg wood burner. They have advised us that these electrical devices are not safe to use and are dangerous.
Do not build or use one of these machines under any circumstances as they are unsafe and can cause fatal injuries.
See this information on the Worksafe website https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/about-us/news-and-media/fractal-burning/

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Rain, rain come again

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Rain, rain come again

Imagine filling a 300-litre tank with rainwater in an hour* …
Twist is a compact rainwater diverter that makes the most of the free rainwater collected on your roof by connecting your downpipe to a small tank, giving you free water for gardening, cleaning, topping up aquariums, ponds or pools, or as an emergency supply.

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Ultimate outdoor entertaining

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Ultimate outdoor entertaining

Create the ultimate outdoor entertaining area, uniquely tailored to your needs, with a Gasmate Avenir 6 or 4 gas barbecue and modules. Made from 304 commercial grade stainless steel, the Avenir range looks great and is built to last, with high-output stainless steel burners, a rear ceramic rotisserie burner, and a side burner catering to budding chefs.

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Burning bright

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Burning bright

Making a brazier is one of those things that I am sure every sheddie has at the back of their minds to create one day. It’s just that, as we know, “one day” takes its time arriving.
I have to admit that I am no exception to that rule. Even when the component parts presented themselves to me it took a while before I found the time to put into the project. Six truck brake drums that had outlived their useful life were the starting point, donated by the owner of a fleet who only asked that one of the braziers be made for him.

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A night at the speedway

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A night at the speedway

The allusion to knights and jousting is apt. Like knights in armour, the drivers especially of the sprint cars have very restricted vision. They can peer through the grille in front and can see a bit to the left but their right-hand vision is blocked by a wing and within the confines of the cockpit—with helmet and neck brace in place—they have very little opportunity to turn their heads. To make things worse, other cars are flinging up dust and mud that also helps to clog their vision.

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Hold your grip

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Hold your grip

Injection moulding is ideal for manufacturing grips with unique contours and patterns that are difficult or impossible to achieve using other grip-processing technologies.
GripWorks’ very popular line of ‘Hunt Wilde’ injection-moulded FPVC grips come in a variety of styles, with local distributor Hi-Q Components stocking plain straight, ribbed nubbed, contoured bump, straight ribbed, tapered flanged, flanged rib-finned, and honey comb options. Perfect for the likes of outdoor power equipment, lawn and garden tools, sporting goods, bicycles, maintenance equipment, and much more, the GripWorks Hunt Wilde range is designed to fit standard bar sizes and diameters, including: ½-inch, ³/₄-inch, ⁷/₈-inch, 1-inch, 1¹/₄-inch.
See the Hi-Q Components website to order online or for more information, email sales@hiq.co.nz or call 0800 800 293.

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A satisfying lidded box

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A satisfying lidded box

The size and shape of the lidded box is limited only by the size of wood you have, and your imagination. Keep in mind that the size of the lid must please the design of the box as a whole. I usually strive to make the size of the lid approximately one-third of the total box size.

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The Shed Issue 93 now on sale in Australia

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The Shed Issue 93 now on sale in Australia

Well, it took a bit longer to arrive than usual but at last, the November/December 2020 Issue 93 of The Shed is on sale across Australia from today, Thursday 19 November.
The COVID 19 pandemic has played havoc with international freight shipping so its later than usual arriving in Sydney for distribution around the country. Australian subscribers will start receiving their copies from this week as well.

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Make your own mortar water feature

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Make your own mortar water feature

As far as Do-It-Yourself art goes, I believe this is probably the best value for money, extremely satisfying, not to mention therapeutic, and it can last for years outside or can be passed down through the generations. I now enjoy doing this for its own sake, too. When you come home tired from work, it can be very relaxing to pour a mould of mortar in a box, or using one you prepared previously, to just start shaping and sculpting.

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Making a die nut

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Making a die nut

A die nut is created with interrupted sections of thread around its internal diameter. Die nuts are simply screwed onto the threaded part. As they are wound down, they cut away any of the screw thread that is bruised (bent over) or out of line. A die nut cuts irregularities and scrapes off the dirt from the thread it is being used on so needs cutting edges, which are formed by the cut-away places.

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Polish query ‘Autosolved’

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Polish query ‘Autosolved’

If you haven’t heard of Autosol, you can thank us later.
This revolutionary, ammonia-free product is the go-to cleaner and polish for uncoated aluminium surfaces. It leaves a clean sheen without scratching or hazing. The distributors say users describe it as “a product that does everything the advertising says it does”, “my go-to polish for aluminium”, and “perfect for alloy wheel rejuvenation”. It is available in a 75ml tube with screw caps from automotive, engineering, and hardware stores across New Zealand.

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The Best of The Shed 2 is coming soon

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The Best of The Shed 2 is coming soon

Here is something to keep an eye out for, the Best of The Shed 2 is coming soon. Another best-of compilation from our first 15 years of the magazine with 16 great projects for you to have a crack at. This 192-page publication will be for sale at your favourite magazine store from mid-November or you can purchase directly from us on our online shop

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Sharpen up your blades

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Sharpen up your blades

When honing a cutting edge on a steel blade, you are progressively over three or four stages reducing the size of the scratches on the two faces which meet up to make the sharp point.
The much-vaunted “mirror” edge simply refers to the stage where we cannot easily see the scratches with the naked eye and hence it looks smooth and shiny. This process, therefore, requires several sharpening stones with finer and finer surfaces (325 grit, then 1200 grit, then 6000 grit).

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How to make jandals

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How to make jandals

First, we need a pattern for the sole. For yourself, stand on a suitable-sized piece of paper and have someone draw around your foot. It’s best to do so while you stand erect to give the maximum silhouette of your foot. The person marking must hold the pen perpendicular and be careful not to slant the pen under the arch of the foot or the heel.

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Electric bikes - taking care of business

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Electric bikes - taking care of business

Let’s face it e-bikes are everywhere and they are here to stay. If the thought of extra complications and potential breakdowns are putting you off buying one then you’re not alone. Would you like an e-bike that you can build and maintain yourself?
Something that goes better than most, is easy to service and diagnose with readily available parts and plenty of support is becoming a priority for a lot of people looking for an e-bike that won’t end up as landfill in a few years’ time.

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