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.
The real-life issue this all stemmed from was: “I wanted a dirtsurfer and I could not buy one in New Zealand. Therefore, I will have to design and make one myself.” At the same time, my students were able to record their technology practice and gain credits at NCEA Level 1.
BBQ season seems to come around faster and faster each year—not that it is a bad thing and sometimes I wonder if it ever really ends!
Each time I head out to the barbecue, it takes multiple trips to carry the meat, the vegetables, the implements, sauces and marinades, and obligatory chef’s beverage. Then there are never enough flat surfaces in the vicinity of the barbecue to keep everything organised.
A chair with low-slung and raked back, and wide arms perfect for holding a drink seems to epitomise long, lazy afternoons. This design was created in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state where New Yorkers would take their respite from the hot humid summers of the city. It is also commonly called the Cape Cod chair
Here’s a video made by Enrico as he updates a vintage rotary dial telephone making it an unconventional interface for a Raspberry Pi.
This phone offers countless possibilities limited only by your own creativity.
The design for this article is my everyday carry knife, a four-inch (100 mm) dropped hunter—an all-round knife whose blade is ample, large enough to skin that buck and small enough to carry all day without getting in the way.
The February/March Issue 89 of the shed is on sale nationwide from today.
Click on this link to get a fully illustrated run down on what’s in this issue.
Owning a campervan means you can take your house on holiday with you. The downside is you need to pack up your whole holiday site when you want to drive off and get some fish and chips for dinner. I considered towing a car behind the campervan but that was impractical. I use a scooter for commuting so the solution was obvious—put a scooter carrier on the campervan to give us an easy transport option on holiday.
Making a chest of drawers that is also an instrument proves a challenging project for New Plymouth’s Eldon Peters.
Here’s a video of this project by Enrico Miglino from Issue 88 of The Shed.
Currently, every issue has an upcycling project on classic and vintage technology.
Nothing vertical beats the excitement of opening a kiln and seeing the effect of naked flame on your creations. Gas kilns produce glaze finishes that are often unexpectedly beautiful but commercial gas kilns are usually expensive and bulky.
It’s a hassle to clean out my workshop vacuum cleaner bag. Metal swarf tends to clip itself onto the fabric and I spend a lot of time picking off the bits individually.
Question: How to pick up small swarf in the workshop without sharp metal or other rubbish going into the vacuum cleaner bag?
Harley Coombe didn’t want a steel shed. “I’m a wooden shed man,” he says. “It’s easier to modify and hang stuff on the walls.”
Issue 89 of The Shed has a great mix of projects and sheddie talents to enjoy.
Nigel Young records the build of a mega-sized spit roast BBQ. Built by the team at the Halswell Menzshed as a fundraising project, this big trailer-mounted gas-burning beast of a cooker can take a full-sized pig for those big gatherings or fund-raising projects.
A video of Harry aboard his flying fox went viral and the story was viewed more than 164,000 times on the New Zealand Herald’s Facebook page, prompting hundreds of comments full of admiration for the “real Kiwi man”. Reporters trudged to his door and the phone rang red hot with people wanting his opinions on everything from sanity to the secret to happiness.
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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