Shed report to Committee December – January 2020
General After the summer holiday period we are now winding up to full strength with between fifteen and twenty members attending.
Outside Projects
Rodent trap tunnels for Brook Sanctuary This project is on hold at this stage but we are geared up to resume production at any time should there be demand. Toy production The toys that Richard and Mark were building have been distributed to needy folk 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. Atawhai Play Centre The mud kitchen for the Atawhai Play Centre under the control of Grant has now been finalized and Robert is entrusted with the construction and coordination side of the operation.
Nelson Hospital (Physio Team) Knee sliders Doug and Colin have completed and delivered this excellent project. We made some alterations to the original design with the final version looking very professional. NCC rodent eradication program This trap project is now well under way with the first batch of fifty completed and orders for a further hundred in the pipeline. Colin deserves full credit for the design and implementation of the production line as he constantly finds more efficient and accurate ways to produce them. Colin has also advertised them on Facebook resulting in further orders from the general public. Many members have pitched in to help production including Graeme Robertson who has emerged as the mesh screen master. This project is a great example of the rapport and cooperation that exists between the “Shed” and Nelson City Council. The Jar holder Colin has now completed a small production run of Adrian’s jar holder but as Adrian is away at present we will await Adrian’s return before we move on to stage two.
Bridge Street Early Learning Centre
The Centre required some MDF window frames to be replaced with solid timber versions as well as a shelf made from one of our Macrocarpa flitches. The flitch has been epoxy coated and delivered by Wayne.
The solid timber window frames have been machined by Richard and will be installed over a weekend when the Centre is free of children.
Wooden Folding Stools This project by Mark Cox, Richard and Brian is now complete and we have stocks of parts to produce more units if required. Outdoor seat at Nelson Hospital This small but complex project is now well underway with Mark having completed full scale drawings and patterns in conjunction with Sam our summer part time member from Maine.
Boathouse storage system We are building a 2.1 x 2.1 x .6 storage unit for the Boathouse. Hugh Morgan of the joinery department at NMIT kindly allowed us to use NMIT’s sophisticated cutting equipment so that all of the components could be precut to a very high degree of accuracy prior to assembly. This project should be completed by the end of February. The workload was well spread on this project with Colin, Wayne and Richard completing the initial investigations followed up by Tashi and Rudi on the preliminary construction.
Maurice Gee chair refurbishment Maurice Gee (once described as “one of the finest writers at work, not only in New Zealand but in the English-speaking world”) had a chair dedicated to him by the Top of the South branch of the NZ Society of Authors. Over the years the chair which was situated on the banks of the Matai River has deteriorated somewhat and is currently being refurbished at the shed. John Bunting has made a start on this worthwhile project. Another excellent example of the links between the NCC and the Shed.
Lecturn Senior Nett required an adjustable lecturn and we just happened to have in stock a number of adjustable Sky dish brackets. Using a combination of Richard’s woodworking skills and Colin’s engineering skills we had a great “upcycling” result. A minor warranty/development issue was attended to after delivery and all was well.
Projects (in-house)
The Builders Peg Production Project Sales of the pegs are still quiet at the moment but Colin has some ideas to boost sales.
Work Box The workbox is still currently at Mitre 10 Mega where the fund raising house was built. Menzshed stickers and Stencils Our Nelson/Whakatu stencil (which was kindly produced by Peter Pennial at NMIT) is now being put to full use as every one of our rat traps goes out with our name on them.
Band saw motor change Mike has sourced a replacement motor for the band saw and Wayne and John Elkington have been given the task of completing the changeover in Mike’s absence. John has the necessary skills electrically wise so it is great to have his ability in this area to back up Mike.
Air compressor refurbish Mike has been refurbishing an old donated air compressor requiring some critical parts and this is now ready for reassembly. In Mike’s absence John and Wayne hope to have this unit up and running in time to paint the Boathouse project.
Bench modifications Robert continues to find ingenious ways to improve the quality of our mobile work benches. Donations Rimu Cupboard Unit Mark’s donated refurbished cupboard unit is still for sale. Book Case Unit This unit is from Wharehouse Stationary, is brand new and for sale. 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 won’t have his boat ready for white baiting for some as he was seriously injured in a house fire late last year. Ron has been back to the shed in recent times but is very much on light duties.
Milk bottle Holders New member Peter has produced a number of wooden milk bottle holders. Wooden Toys Mark Phillips is still in production with toys and other small wooden projects.
Teak boat fittings Alan Little has now completed his teak boat fittings Stainless steel stairway rail ends Arthur had his first introduction to the toolroom lathe from Wayne so that he could machine some macrocarpa end plugs to fit into a stainless steel stair rail. The end result was very elegant!
Fob watch spindle Tashie, like Arthur was introduced to the tool room lathe to machine a very small spindle for a fob watch. The lathe is not really small enough for such a job but some progress was made.
Additional lathe use Tamal, Wayne and Kevin Roughton have completed machining projects.
CNC machine The CNC (computer numerical control) router has been returned to owner Tamal Krsna Membership There have been no new members over the Christmas break but as the New Year settles in we anticipate the usual steady increase in membership. Great to see our two heart attack “stented” members Ken and Arthur back at the shed.
Ron has been dropping in to the shed now that he is on the way to recovery after suffering serious burns in a house fire. Peter continues to improve after knee surgery went badly wrong and tries to get to the shed for a coffee whenever he can. Social We had a very successful end of year Christmas barbeque with Denis arranging for us to borrow the Mitre 10 mobile bbq, Denis also made up the shopping list, Wayne did the shopping, Doug was the chef and Ian returned the trailer. It was great to see partners and friends in attendance and a nice way to end the year. Sunday opening Sunday opening is very low key at present and we still need to consider what the ideal number of opening hours should be.
Safety
Machinery instruction/assessment Our new safety procedures based on the BCITO system are in place with potential users of the table saw all assessed. Our next push will be to ensure the planer/thicknesser and compound saw users are assessed.
Safety signage The sign to remind members that they may not operate machines when on their own at the shed is being acknowledged. Looking Ahead There would appear to be interest among members for more social activities ie visits etc so we could perhaps set up a small social committee to investigate this side of our activities.
