Shed report to Committee October - November 2019
General The shed is busy, with now over twenty members regularly attending.
Outside Projects
Bait tunnels for Brook Sanctuary This program has now slowed right down but we have ample stocks of the core flute should another production run be required.
Rodent trap tunnels for Brook Sanctuary
This program under John Martin is now complete.
Toy production Richard and Mark are still assembling wooden toys for Christmas.
Rimu table kitsets We still have stocks of these kits so we can produce more if required. Local Café coffee mug stands
We have Café coffee mug stands in stock and for sale.
Rabbit Hutch We received a really nice photograph of the hutch that John Martin built showing a very happy rabbit and equally happy rabbit owner.
Victory Community Centre The custom corner desk produced by Richard and Mark for the Victory Community Centre resulted in a most impressive morning tea delivered by the Centre members.
Atawhai Play Centre The mud kitchen for the Atawhai Play Centre under the control of Grant just needs some final design confirmation before construction starts.
Nelson Hospital (Physio Team) Knee sliders
This project is now well underway with new member Doug and Colin pushing it along.
Haulashore Island Rodent Eradication
John, Trent and Colin have now completed this project involving the building of sixty traps with funding being provided by the Port Company. The traps have been transported to Haulashore island and distributed around the island.
NCC rodent eradication program We have now priced up this trap project and should be able to start production very soon.
Plant box cover Grant is coordinating the building of a wire mesh raised garden cover and production should start soon.
Soroptimist Academic Gown Hire Racks
This project has now been completed by Colin and the first gowns were moved this week for NMIT’s graduation.
Concrete Mixer
The shed concrete mixer had its first hire out on the job assisting the Brook Sanctuary
The Jar holder
Adrian’s jar holder project continues to be refined and publicized and we should be able to complete a small production run very soon.
Bridge Street Early Learning Centre
The centre requires some MDF window frames to be replaced with solid timber versions as well as a shelf made from one of our Macrocarpa flitches. This job has been checked out by Wayne and will be completed in the New Year.
Wooden Folding Stools Mark Cox, Richard and Brian have produced a small production run of these ingenious pieces of furniture as there could well be a market for them out there.
Donation to SPCA Wayne measured up and supplied shelving (from the Respace donation) to The SPCA “op” shop.
Garage shelf fitting in Christchurch Wayne fitted some of the donated Respace shelving to his brother’s garage in Christchurch. (a long way to go to complete a Nelson/Whakatu Menzshed project!)
Outdoor seat at Nelson Hospital Grant is liaising with the Hospital on the detail of this possible project.
Projects (in-house)
The Builders Peg Production Project Sales of the pegs are quiet at the moment but Colin and Trent continue production to build up stocks. We must stress again that only Colin handles sales of the pegs as confusion could result regarding pricing if other members are involved.
Work Box The workbox is still currently at Mitre 10 Mega where the fund raising house is under construction. Fabrication area Trent has been dismantling various redundant electrical components in order that the copper content can be recycled.
Menzshed stickers and Stencils Colin has had some “Menzshed” stickers made and Wayne in conjunction with NMIT has had a steel stencil made both of which will be great to label our completed community projects. Donations
Respace MDF shelves Respace which is a wardrobe/storage cabinetry production company recently donated a large quantity of brand new 18mm MDF shelving.
Rimu Cupboard Unit Mark’s donated refurbished cupboard unit is still for sale.
Draw saw The large and impressive donated draw saw unfortunately is probably past its use by date so we will be disposing of it. This is a shame as Ken put a lot of effort into setting up and refurbishing this machine. Member’s projects
Boats Wooden boat restoration continues with Denis still making good progress on his vintage clinker rowing skiff (complete with camping shelter!). Ian’s dinghy has now reached the fiberglass skinning stage. Ron is under pressure to get onto the white bait. Gavin has now moved to Kaiapoi but his corner in the boat section is still set up as he will be visiting us on a regular
basis.
Wooden Toys for Christmas Mark Todd has produced a toy truck for a lucky grandchild.
Ash Table Mark Cox has made a superb small timber (ash) table.
Teak boat fittings New member Alan Little has been making some very attractive interior brackets and fittings for his boat.
Membership Membership is steadily increasing with twenty Sheddies regularly on the shed floor.
Gavin Cooke (our master boat builder) has now moved to Kaiapoi but will still be visiting us on a regular basis.
Peter Shelton our treasurer continues to have post operation knee problems and is still in hospital. Grant is in close contact with Peter’s wife Louise and arrangements will be made for members to help out with some garden tidying up at their home. Arthur………….? was back at the shed this month with the news that the reason for his absence was a heart attack! He has recovered well and was back machining a large quantity of macrocarpa. Ken Hearaty is taking it easy also recovering from a heart attack.
Social Wayne and John made their boats available for a Sheddie voyage departing on Friday the 22nd Nov and returning Monday the 25th. Whilst the old saying “What goes on voyage stays on voyage” applies. A brief report follows:- Skippers Wayne Logan and John Martin Crew Grant.Raven Denis Moriaty Ian.Carpenter Tashi Wallace Greg.West We intended to depart at 0500 hours to make the most of the day but as a 30 knot sou’wester was blowing we delayed the start until 0700 by which time it was still blowing but at least we could see! We spent the first night in Port Hardy, fished first thing the next day and then headed through Stephens Passage and on to Whareatea Bay for the second night. On Sunday we transited French Pass at slack water and continued on to the southern tip of D’urville for fishing before mooring up in Wairangi Bay in Croiselles Harbour for the night. On Monday we had a great sail out of Croiselles Harbour but the breeze faded out leaving us to motor sail home. Overall a great time away, great bonding, great food, great fishing and great sailing.
Sunday opening Sunday opening would appear to be going well and it is a great opportunity for members who work during the week to attend.
Safety
Machinery instruction/assessment Our new safety procedures based on the BCITO system are now rolling along well with more people added to the table saw list. We are hopeful that the other joinery shop machines will be completed early in the new year.
Safety signage A sign has been produced to remind members that they must not operate machinery or power tools unless at least two persons are present at the Shed.
Looking Ahead We are looking into other activities outside the shed and Peter was looking at working in with the Harbour Board regarding a site visit until his knee problems put a stop to that. A visit to the MDF plant is also being planned. We still have quite a lot of community projects in the pipeline so that side of our activities is very busy.
