The Shed - Projects

The Shed, November/December 2019 issue no 87, in shops now

7 October 2019

The November/December 2019 Issue 87 of The Shed, has a real electronics feel about it but there is also a lot here to keep all sheddies informed, entertained and well-skilled up.
Our cover story is about the goal of a Christchurch boat builder, architect, designer, sailor, Quentin Roake, to find a way to build waka in large numbers. He wants to recreate the appearance and characteristics of traditional craft in a modern version that is portable, durable, and economical to manufacture. Quentin has made it his mission to put Maori waka back on the water by marrying traditional knowledge with today’s technology

Wa-ter rocket!

1 October 2019

A pretty simple water rocket launcher using a few high-pressure PVC plumbing pipes, air and a soft-drink bottle with water in it will provide plenty of DIY fun and show some basic physics.
I built one for my eight-year-old’s Cub Scout group and have had lots of requests from fathers asking how to make one.

On a scroll

24 September 2019

Once, while browsing through an old wrought-iron design catalogue, Kim (the son of blacksmiths Ian Nielsen & Son) came across a peacock design and decided it would make a great after-hours project. It turned into a much bigger job than he anticipated with the finished 3 metre by 2 metre gate taking around a ton of steel and about three months to make.

This quick fix Liquid Nails is impressive

19 September 2019

We thought you would find this video interesting to watch. It shows the impressive strength of Instant Hold Liquid Nails from Selleys – it’s a pretty quick fix.

Getting a handle on veneer

18 September 2019

This piece was originally designed as a bit of fun: a simple carcase construction with a handle detail that would provide me with a challenge while satisfying my passion for curvy, organic forms. I made the original version in maple with a bloodwood veneer. The contrast in timber and the handle detail made for a striking piece and I was commissioned to make another in cherry with birdseye maple veneer.

From scrap metal to cooking spit

12 September 2019

It’s not my original idea. I used to live in Tutukaka and we’d go on 4WD rallies and claybird shoots in the backblocks where there was no power. It was a lot of fun. One time a guy turned up with a battery-driven spit and the idea stayed in my mind. You could take it where there was no power – I always said I would design something one day that worked with no power.

How to make a knife video by Josh Timmins from Issue 86

4 September 2019

Meet the knifemaker from The Shed Issue 86 and watch how he makes a fully forged knife in his Whanganui shed

Carve a Tudor rose

4 September 2019

An aspiring woodcarver who builds on a solid foundation of knowledge and technique will soon be creating impressive carvings. To demonstrate basic knowledge and techniques, we are going to follow the carving of a Tudor rose.

Colour anodise that aluminium alloy

29 August 2019

Aluminium alloys have one critical failing, for all their good qualities of lightness, conductivity and strength. They corrode. One way to guard against corrosion is to create a hard oxide ﬁlm on an aluminium alloy by anodising

Trade profile – Kiwispan

18 August 2019

Shannon Jordan and Louise Simmons sold up in suburbia and bought a block of land in Ruakaka, Northland, three years ago. They planned to live in a caravan while planning and saving for their house. From this magazine’s point of view, they had their priorities right and decided to build a shed first.

Lathe stop prevents scrap

14 August 2019

I think most turners get frustrated with constantly having to stop the lathe and measure and re-measure the length along the bed as the work gets reduced.

The Shed, September/October 2019 Issue 86, on sale now

12 August 2019

In the October/ November Issue 86 of The Shed, we first head to Whanganui to meet blacksmith Josh Timmins.
Josh has his own way of making knives and axes and shows us how to make a Viking Knife starting with a piece of new steel right through to the finished product.
Then we head to…

Build your own LPG-powered forge video

7 August 2019

This brick forge is constructed from lightweight insulating firebrick. Known as a K26 brick it is available from Certec in Auckland.
These insulating fire bricks are rated to 1426°C and measure 230x115x75mm. They are commonly used to line foundry furnaces, forges, and kilns. These soft bricks can easily be cut to size with an ordinary wood saw, drilled to create burner openings, or routed to create channels.
Watch this video to see how we built this gas forge and an oil-powered version as well.
As featured in The Shed Issue 85

A silver butterfly takes wing

6 August 2019

If this design was being made in an art school, it would be stuck to a sheet of silver and the basic shapes cut from there. If a design was made this way in, say, 18 carat gold and the wing outlines (as here) made from 2.5mm thick metal, the outlay and waste material would be considerable from a 2.5mm-thick sheet of 18 carat gold plate. But we will make it like a professional craftsman who has to live in the real world where costs matter.

Making a word clock

30 July 2019

The Word Clock is a project created by Doug Jackson using Open Source (www.dougswordclock.com) and has been evolving into the product you see here.
It is based on an Atmel 168 processor chip as used in Arduino, is programmed using Arduino and ﬁtted into a custom-made printed circuit board (PCB).

Projects