In Issue 81 of The Shed, Des Thomson showed us how to solve the problem of sweeping up metal waste and nails from your workshop or shed. In this video, Des discusses the build, then displays the sweeper and its uses.
That original version of this project used 3 mm light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and no printed circuit board. Because of its size, it was tricky to wire and not so easy for a novice to construct. But the version of the project being followed here has been updated and adapted for easy construction.
When I came to select an old gas bottle for this project, the most likely candidate proved to be full of gas. Far too much gas to vent so having committed to making the forge I opted for the second-best option and bought a new bottle. At only $45 it wasn’t a huge outlay although I know that many of you will be shaking your heads at my frivolous wastefulness.
Buying a new bottle has one very handy up side: there is no volatile gas in the bottle. If there was then certain precautions are absolutely essential.
I have almost always used recycled rimu for my chairs as it is easy to obtain and relatively cheap to buy. It seems to last for ever and once the finish has weathered a little it has that rustic look.
Buying recycled rimu from second-hand building supply dealers has the advantage that you can get it when you want it, you can pick and choose the actual sticks you buy and it comes de-nailed.
The frame is braced by angle-iron cross members and has a sturdy, ply wooden deck. It’s best to use not less than 5-ply 12 mm minimum — in this case we have used 7-ply 17 mm. With minor variations, I have built a standard 1200 mm x 1800 mm (6ft by 4ft ) domestic trailer with a solid frame of rectangular hollow section (RHS) mild steel.
A crucial step in building this trailer is to get the axle stub straight, otherwise your tyres will chop up as they run. I use a jig of angle iron to get this straight. But I can show how to do it for home workshop, simply by holding the axle stub firmly against the bottom and one side of the box section axle to ensure it is square. There must be good welds on the axle stub.
As the saying goes, there are only two certainties; death and taxes. While we can do little about the latter, we can at least be prepared for the former. That is the motivation behind the group that gathers every Wednesday in a former warehouse in Rotorua
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As a designer and motorcyclist, I had the idea of building an electric motorbike for a long time. The opportunity arose when I was in my final year of an honours degree in industrial design at Victoria University. I rode a 1987 Honda VFR400 to my lectures and the bike started having engine problems. I pulled out all combustion-related components and sold them. By the time I had a plan for an electric motorbike laid out I was part-way through a post-graduate diploma in Computer Aided Design (CAD) at Christchurch Polytechnic.
Great news for Australian Shed magazine readers, The Shed is now on sale again in all Australian states at all good newsagents.
A linisher is near the top of the list of the most-used tools in the workshop, whether for deburring steel to stop cuts in the hands, or sharpening tools and drills. There are few projects where it doesn’t get used. They seem to be expensive for what they are, and can easily be made for a fraction of the purchase price. The budget using new parts for this project is around $400.
In Issue 80 of The Shed, Des Thomson gave a step by step guide on how to build a workshop dust extractor system from an old vacuum and a few bits of metal. In this video he demonstrates his mobile unit for housing the finished extractor set up.
My daughter in Christchurch emailed that she would like a cubby house for her three young children. They had recently moved into their new house and there was a 1.5 x 5 metre garden strip adjacent to the fence in the back yard. I had read Rod Kane’s excellent article in the August/ September 2013 issue of The Shed on building a playhouse and thought at the time what a fun project that would be, so the planets were in alignment.
When we met Des Thomson and his expanding motorhome pod in Issue 76 of The Shed, we were very impressed with his workshop dust extractor. Happily for us all, Des has found the time to share with us how he builds these machines using and an old vacuum and the minimum of parts. Follow his step by step build of a workshop dust extractor in this Issue 80 of The Shed.
Right so now that your back from your warm sunny Pacific Island holiday—taken to recover from making the benchtop and frame—it’s time to get working on the vice. What we have on our hands is a beautiful little project of reasonable complexity that demands accuracy, uses both hand and machine-skills and is incredibly satisfying both when making it and using it.
The Shed magazine is eclectic, informed, and always fascinating. Aimed at those with a few tools and perhaps a few clues: this is the magazine for real sheddies.
Packed with ideas, projects, advice, and peeks into other people’s sheds providing inspiration, ideas, and techniques, or just for the sheer enjoyment of the sheddie’s endless inventiveness, The Shed is the project enthusiast’s bible.
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