Projects

Go your own way: Have fun making your own coffin

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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Electric motorbike build

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.

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Make your own linisher

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.

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Child’s play: How to make a cubby

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.

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The Shed Issue 80, September/October 2018

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.

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Making a Classic Work Bench: Part Two – Making the Tail Vice

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. 

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Video of master birdhouse builder Steven Price

When builder Steven Price suffered a severe neck injury at work he turned the accident into an opportunity. The Whanganui sheddie no longer mounts scaffolding; instead he designs and constructs much smaller buildings. Enjoy this video and see Steven creating and discussing his work using totara and kauri to make stunningly unique birdhouse creations in his garden and shed.

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Let the sun run your pump

I suppose all waterfalls are solar- powered – the sunshine evaporates the water which turns into clouds, becoming rain which pours down into waterfalls. So the publisher’s challenge to make a small solar- powered pump for Greg’s sculpture seemed not too difficult. 

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Making a leather knife sheath

While you can make a knife sheath from any type of heavy leather, vegetable tanned leather, or russet as it is commonly known, will make the best sheath. Most leather for clothing and upholstery is chemically tanned by the chrome method whereas vegetable tanned leather is tanned with oak and various other species of tree barks that tanners have found to be suitable in producing good leathers.

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Installing a Kitchen

Kitchens are the heart of a house, the control room around which everything revolves, and a room that gets a lot of use, more so than any other. It’s also a workplace where meals are prepared and often consumed. It’s a hard traffic area that sees a lot of action. Kitchen styles are constantly changing and traditionally there has been a trade off between functionality and design within a set budget.

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The Shed Issue 79, July/August 2018

In The Shed Issue 79, July/August 2018, we head to Wellington to document Shea Stackhouse making a small knife from Damascus steel, fondly known as a Puukka (that’s Finnish for small knife). While we are there we hang around to meet some knife fans who receive knife making advice from Shea at one of his regular knifemaking classes.

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Time for A Spherical Clock

Here is a step by step guide to making a stylish 36mm small clock, inserted into a 50mm sphere and placed on a tapered stand which you can make easily with your woodturning lathe.
Enjoy making these clocks to sell or just for the pleasure of pursuing a hobby. For this clock, the author used pohutukawa for its density of colour and rich finish.

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