The Shed - Projects

The Shed, May/June 2019 issue no 84, in shops now

15 April 2019

In the May/June 2019 Issue 84 of The Shed we share the amazing skills on one Daniel Strekier who built himself his own extraordinary bicycle… almost entirely out of wood!
It really is something to behold and you just have to sit back and admire the skills that went into making this incredible piece of usable art.
Jude Woodside sits down with Brent Sandow and gets all the background on this, NZ’s most accomplished knifemaker, who shares his inspirations and skills with us.

Build a rocking horse

11 April 2019

I made the prototype of this rocking horse more than 15 years ago not having the recipient present to measure against I approximated the sizes. It was a good ﬁt…for me, but sadly not for a potential junior jockey. The next model I attempted was suitably scaled to a more appropriate size and with a few reﬁnements is presented here

Totally transparent

4 April 2019

Chance is a fine thing. When Myke Bakker’s mother decided to do a leadlight course when he was a high school student and brought the tools home, she unwittingly set on course a chain of events that would influence the direction of her son’s life.
“I was fascinated by the whole process and started mucking around,” says Myke. “I made my first leadlight when I was 17.”
Fourteen years later, Myke is still intrigued by the many possibilities of working with glass and he’s made a career out of it in the process. He is one of a small team who work at Sauvarins Coloured Glass Studio in Auckland’s Penrose specialising in all things glass.

New Kiwi TV show – Start me up

3 April 2019

Start me up is the world’s first car show based on the phenomenon of “cold starting” – an online craze where cars that haven’t run for years or more – typically decades have their engines fired up or “cold stated”.
Screening now on TVNZ On Demand and soon on the Duke channel. Click ‘Read more” to get the full rundown on the show.

A summer 2019, sheddie’s tale

26 March 2019

Back in the early ‘70s, an Auckland bloke gets hold of a 25 hp Sea Horse Johnson outboard motor – it’s knackered but it has potential.
He takes it all to pieces, orders all the bits to get it up and running again then wraps it up, bits and all, in a New Zealand Herald newspaper and packs it in a box, presumably as a rainy day project. For reference, the outboard is from 1970 and the Herald is from December 1975.

A racy go kart

24 March 2019

First off, we had to come up with a basic design under the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) rule, keeping in mind the fact that the kids are getting older and harder on the gear. So I decided that easily replaced components were a key at this stage. Number One son is only going to get taller and no doubt half the neighbourhood would want to have a crack at setting the fastest lap around the street, so we had to include an adjustable one-size-ﬁts-all seat in the design.

Fire in the beer can

14 March 2019

The cans energy drinks come in are a tad on the small side for this project. Scribe a line completely around each can 30 mm up from the base. Cut along this line with an ordinary pair of scissors. The idea is that the bottom section of one can forms the base of your stove.

Shed 83 on sale throughout Australia today

10 March 2019

The Shed Issue 83 on sale today throughout Australia. Find your nearest stockist here.
https://www.theshedmag.co.nz/home/2018/9/5/find-your-local-australian-the-shed-retailer

Wooden toys – make a Flintstones’ Car

4 March 2019

The toys are made from kiln dried, pine, kindly donated. PVA glue holds everything together. I avoid metal hooks or eyes, which may be unscrewed or cause injury. The toys are undercoated, painted with acrylic paint and finished with a coat of Polycrylic ™which gives a gloss finish for cleaning. I find the Resene™ test pots a worthwhile ‘investment’.

A home-made Kontiki built from scratch

27 February 2019

Over the years I’ve tried sails, kites, giant bags, kayaks and surfboards to get hooks out where the fish are. After watching torpedos on the beach, I find it is now obvious that there really is only one way and it requires 12 volts and a motor.
Of course every challenge is only really about what you can learn in the process, so I set about building a kontiki torpedo and winch from scratch for as little as I could. I had to enlarge my capabilities especially in aluminium casting, plastics forming and in electronics.

Calling all agricultural innovations

25 February 2019

Entries are open for the Fieldays Innovations Awards, a unique chance for agricultural innovators to test their ideas, gather information, launch products, and make connections.
Award categories include the Prototype Grassroots, for new innovations, the Prototype Established, which recognises product development, Launch NZ, which is for innovations ready to go to market, and International for launching innovations globally

Build a small steam engine – part two

21 February 2019

Although daunting at ﬁrst, it is fairly logical if tackled a small step at a time. The use of a lathe is desirable but with a little lateral thinking it would be possible to make it without one.
First the cylinder is made from a short length of 12 mm round brass rod. Mount this in the three-jaw chuck of your lathe and face off one end. When turning brass it is necessary to grind the tool with a negative rake (see diagram). Brass is extremely brittle and the point of a tool bit with a positive rake would bite and snap off, being thinner and weaker.

The Shed, March/April issue no 83 on sale now

18 February 2019

In the March/April 2019 Issue 83 of The Shed we get stuck into that huge home job that, when you do yourself, can save you thousands of dollars – house painting.
We talk to to the paint and filling product manufacturers to get all the latest technical info and arm you with advice on how best to undertake this very important part of home maintenance. With the current paints, technology and fillers you will learn techniques and methods that may amaze you.

Building a small steam engine – part one

13 February 2019

Originally devised as a plaything for young boys, they quickly became the sort of toy that a lad was only allowed to play with on special occasions. They returned for a brief period of popularity during the 1960s and 1970s but even then were more adornments for a bookcase rather than well-used toys. This was probably due to the exorbitant cost of the product rather than any regard for safety.

Make a king-single wooden bed

1 February 2019

I have used a lot of beech for furniture over the years but sadly the quality of what I can now obtain has deteriorated. I now need to spend considerable time selecting the timber at the supplier’s yard. The staff are always accommodating and let me pick through the racks as I gradually load my trailer. The cost of the beech plus the pine for the bottom slats was around $450.

Projects