February 14, 2021

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

February 14, 2021/ The Shed

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.

December 20, 2020

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

December 20, 2020/ The Shed

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/

November 02, 2020

The Best of The Shed 2 is coming soon

November 02, 2020/ The Shed

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

October 04, 2020

Show your shed to the world

October 04, 2020/ The Shed

Our 2021 The Shed Calendar will be accompanying the January February 2021 Issue 94 of the magazine, on sale November 30.
We are calling for readers to send us a photo of their shed to feature in the calendar and get bragging rights over your mates for all of next year!
Head to our Facebook page for more details and to enter. Competition closes October 4. Good luck.

October 04, 2020

The Shed November/December 2020 Issue 93, is on sale now

October 04, 2020/ The Shed

We showcase the metal-shaping and coachbuilding skills of Rod Tempero Motor Body Builders Ltd from Oamaru in The Shed Issue No. 93. The company’s world-famous and internationally sought-after car-building talents make it one of this country’s finest coachbuilders. We head to the mainland to meet Rod and his team and do our best to dig out as many metal-shaping and car-building secrets as we can.

September 28, 2020

A dead accurate optical punch

September 28, 2020/ The Shed

An optical punch consists of a brass body with two holes through it, one for use, the other for storage, because there are two rods. One rod is the punch, the other a vertical magnifying glass made of a plastic rod. You look down the viewing rod at a dot marked on its base. You then move the whole apparatus around until you can see the point where you want to put a punch mark. Holding the brass body, you remove the plastic rod and drop the steel punch back into the same hole, then hit it. Result: a perfect, vertically punched mark, precisely on the spot.

September 16, 2020

Shed 92 on sale across Australia today

September 16, 2020/ The Shed

For all our Australian readers the wait is over to grab the latest issue of the magazine. The September/October, Issue 92, hits the shops all across the country from today 17 September.

September 07, 2020

Is it a beer keg? No, it’s a hangi

September 07, 2020/ The Shed

It’s not every day that you come across a blindingly brilliant and deceptively simple use for a piece of gear that you just knew would come in handy one day.
When sheddie Stan Scott showed me his prototype portable beer keg hangi, I knew it was something that the world needed right now… like world peace.

August 26, 2020

Video of the weird and wonderful world of Andrew Hall

August 26, 2020/ The Shed

A visit to Andrew Hall’s shed — a single garage in suburban Henderson, West Auckland — is a portal into another dimension. In this realm, a sense of humour is essential.
For the past two decades, Andrew has been working full time at turning society’s cast-offs into three-dimensional cartoon gargoyles, aliens, monsters, and effigies of mirth.

July 20, 2020

Make a simple vacuum former

July 20, 2020/ The Shed

A vacuum former is a very handy piece of equipment to have around the home workshop.
It works quite simply: heated plastic is sucked rapidly and strongly over a pattern or formed shape. As soon as the plastic has set again, it retains the shape.

June 29, 2020

Making a ring roller

June 29, 2020/ The Shed

The solution was to use the offcuts and a cheap bottle jack to make a set of rollers that can bend the material into wide arcs. Since I had to buy the $39 jack, the budget was well and truly blown. But this ring roller will be useful for future projects.

June 24, 2020

Simple hydroponics nutrient solution

June 24, 2020/ The Shed

Hydroponics is all about growing without soil. In many ways, this simplifies the lot of the gardener, but it gives them added responsibility for providing plants with the right level of nutrients.
As water with nutrients tastes, feels, and looks much the same as plain water, a testing instrument called an “EC meter” or “CF meter” is used.

June 21, 2020

The Shed May/June Issue 90 on sale today throughout Australia

June 21, 2020/ The Shed

The Shed Issue 90 is finally in shops across Australia from today.
The COVID 19 virus disrupted all shipping so this issue of The Shed is over six weeks late to arrive in stores. Our apologies for that delay but we hope you find the wait was actually worth it. Check out the fully illustrated content rundown for this magazine.

June 15, 2020

The Shed July/August 2020 Issue 91, on sale now

June 15, 2020/ The Shed

The July/August 2020 issue of The Shed, No. 91, has got something in it for every sheddie.
Even though there is something of a nautical theme to this issue, our cover story is on building a very powerful, vertical, hydraulic log splitter. Bill Stevenson from Christchurch walks us through the construction of his trailer-mounted log-splitting machine that was started prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, worked on during, and completed immediately after. A great effort.

May 21, 2020

Make useful trammels

May 21, 2020/ The Shed

A trammel is a really useful item to have when you need to mark a curve onto sheet metal, plywood, MDF, plasterboard, or even a paved surface when painting lines for a netball court.
Sure, you can use a pencil and a piece of string but there can be a variation due to the angle that the pencil is held and differing tensions on the string. A trammel will easily produce an accurate arc.

May 06, 2020

Pipe bender that curves flats

May 06, 2020/ The Shed

But a pipe bender has no other use and that is too bad because it is a large expensive tool.
I wondered if the heavy 12-ton bottle jack could be used for some other purpose. Once I had inspected it, it seemed reasonable to modify the bender so that it could be used to bend ﬂats as well as pipe.

April 30, 2020

The Shed May/June 2020, Issue 90, is on sale now

April 30, 2020/ The Shed

Issue 90 of The Shed has a treat for lovers of fast off-road action. We visit the shed of Cowper Trucks who make world-beating 800hp 4x4 off-road race vehicles. Built strong, tough, and powerful from a shed outside Whanganui, this is automotive engineering at its best.

April 28, 2020

Video demonstration of the new Benchtop Nova Drill Press

April 28, 2020/ The Shed

In The Shed Issue 90 we showcased this new product designed by a Kiwi company and proving to be a huge success internationally.
In this video, Grant Oxenbridge of Carbatec New Zealand gives a demonstration of the features of the new home workshop Nova.

April 27, 2020

Video of Ray Woodhouse, artist and sculptor from Raetihi

April 27, 2020/ The Shed

From his shed on the Central Plateau in the North Island, Ray Woodhouse creates totally unique pieces that are more than sculpture and more than a lamp. They would be a truly special addition to any space you choose to place them in.
An artist who we featured in Shed 82, only started this type of work when he retired. Ray has a working shed than many sheddies will envy.

April 14, 2020

Video of John Hickey, vine and manuka furniture maker

April 14, 2020/ The Shed

In Issue 89 of The Shed we featured the work of John Hickey.
John created a career and a business for himself making unique furniture following a workshop injury which resulted in him losing the lower half of his left leg.
John is an inspirational sheddie.

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