Shed report to Committee February/March 2019
General
The shed is in good shape with everyone busy and there is a pleasant, relaxed, positive feeling to the place.
Projects (Outside)
Bait tunnels for Brook Sanctuary; Production still continues on this project with the production/assembly jigs allowing any member with spare time to continue production. Trent has been doing a great job on this project so as long as the plywood and core flute keep coming we will pump them out. Just right now there appears to be a shortage of core flute so if anyone out there knows of a source (perhaps from the Real Estate Industry) that would be great.
Rodent trap tunnels for Brook Sanctuary; The Rodent trap project has now passed through the prototype stage and members under the guidance of John Martin are producing the traps.
Angel Boxes; We recently supplied an Angel box but regular production of these is somewhat unsure at this stage.
Iron Duke Sea Scout Group boat refurbishment; This project under coordinator Peter McGowan and Gavin is a very worthwhile community project and the fiberglass “clinker” cutter repair has now been completed whilst the Sunburst dinghies still have more work to complete on them. Peter has full time work at the moment and so is putting in the hours on the weekend.
Hospice Tree Plaque project; This project is still on track with Reg as coordinator and various prototypes have been produced. There has been a delay on the project however as the actual layout of the tree planting area is not completed at this stage.
Marsden Valley Park Community Notice Board Project; This project under Mark Cox, ably assisted by temporary member Sam Broaddus (from Maine USA) is now complete.
Outdoor seating at Nelson Intermediate School; This project is now under way and progressing well.
Table refurbishment for Salvation Army; A rectangular dining table had the original damaged surface repaired, sanded and re oiled by Ian and is now back on display and for sale.
Another table for the Salvation Army, (this time a round one) has had the legs re-inforced, re-built and re-glued by Richard.
Toy production; As membership increases it becomes increasingly important for members to have a focus and work to do. Production jobs such as the traps and pegs are ideal. Another idea being put forward is to produce a range of wooden toys and to this end Grant and Robert are investigating possibilities.
Projects (in-house)
Work Box ;This joint project with Mitre10 Mega under the guidance of Denis is now completed. The electrical system, alarm system, final tool installation and sign writing have just been completed and the box is ready to be deployed.
Metal Lathe; Willem continues to complete jobs on the metal lathe and is currently repairing and modifying one of our compound drop saws and machining a smoke stack for a model locomotive enthusiast.
Trailer Donation; Our trailer is now getting plenty of use and with the new jockey wheel donated by Shane is really easy to manoeuver. (great for tired old backs!)
Action Engineering (Power hacksaw); Action engineering kindly donated a large heavy duty power hacksaw but we had to admit that it was somewhat larger than we needed and so we reluctantly returned it.
Metal band saw donation; The lightweight metal cutting band saw on the other hand has proved perfect for our purposes and Colin has completed some comprehensive modifications that have improved its efficiency no end.
Woodworking band saw; We recently purchased a secondhand high quality “Tanner” band saw and this has been fully refurbished and commissioned by Mike. It is proving to be an excellent efficient machine.
Steel framed timber racks; Colin and Wayne have now completed the last of the steel timber racks and they are being put to good use.
Raised gardens; John Martin has a proposal to put in raised gardens, the produce of which could well go to needy members of the local community. This proposal will go to the next committee meeting.
Rubbish removal; Rubbish removal has now well sorted. We have a second bin and Colin gets up with the sparrows on Tuesday morning to ensure collection.
Potton Burton Publishing office furniture donation; After having just used and sold much of the donated office furniture from the Crowe Howarth donation we were approached by Potton Burton publishing who are relocating their distribution centre to Auckland. Grant, Colin, Denis and Wayne dismantled and transported a considerable quantity of valuable shelving and quality desks back to the shed using our new trailer towed by Wayne’s ute. At the time of writing it would appear that there is already interest in these units for resale.
Bench redesign; Kevin Roughton’s donated bench has been modified to better suit Willems requirements.
Mire 10 Mega Timber Donation; We had just sorted and racked the donated timber from Ruby Bay Joinery and Denis happened to be in the right place at the right time. Basically Murry at Mitre 10 Mega suggested that we mark any nonsalable timber in their yard and it would be delivered. Three!!! truck loads turned up and with the help of our on site on loan forklift and resident driver Colin plus a cast of thousands we painstakingly stacked and racked.
The Peg Project; Richard, Mark and Colin designed and built a sliding jig to fit on a spare table saw that new member Lindsay Begg refurbished and builders/garden peg production began in earnest to plow through the enormous stack of 50x50 timber. This is known as the Trent and Colin show and so far these two have raised over $500 with more to come. If we can get a steady supply of timber this could be a great money earner for us.
Nigel Brown’s Aotearoa map project; Nigel’s father kindly donated a large belt sanding machine to us (as well as other equipment to Waimea Menzshed). For payment we agreed to make a wooden map of Aoteroa to mount on his father’s rest home wall. This was a joint venture with Waimea Menzshed. Waimea CNC machined the map and John Rominger has the project virtually complete. The solid timber map is mounted on a recycled rimu tongue and groove background resulting in an outstanding piece of fine woodworking art!
Drawing board Very early on in the shed’s history, master draughtsman/designer Mark Cox had drawn up a very sophisticated adjustable drawing board, but only recently was it completed by our American visitor Sam. The drawing board is now set up in the “Drawing office” up stairs.
Members projects Boats; From time to time members bring projects of their own into the shed and it would seem that small wooden boats are the current flavour with Ian, Gregg and Ron spending time on the boats when not doing the charity side of our operations. Ex-professional boat builder Gavin is proving to be a valuable resource in this area. Citrus tree frost protection Mark is building an octagonal masterpiece of design and art to keep the winter frost off his citrus trees. This could well be a prototype for a possible production run for the Shed in the future. The Yurt One of the most interesting projects under way at the moment is Stephen Clare’s Yurt. Progress on this project has been a little slow as Stephens’s health has not been great lately.
Membership; Membership is still steadily increasing and we have twenty plus Sheddies regularly on the shed floor. New member Dennis Ready joined us in recent weeks. Dennis is wheel chair bound so we have set up a ramp system to aid his mobility. Don had been absent for a number of weeks after his accident and stroke so it was great to have him drop in briefly recently. Don didn’t relish the long bike ride home to Stoke so Wayne took Don and bike home at the end of the day. Temporary member Sam Broaddus from Maine USA recently returned home having totally enjoyed the comradeship and the general positive attitude of the members. He thought the Menzshed concept was amazing and can’t wait to get back here for the next down under summer.
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; There would appear to be no safety issues at present but we must be mindful of our safety obligations particularly if we have nonmembers in the shed who may not be competent operators of machinery. Wayne has been in talks with Eddie Shields at NMIT and we are investigating a more sophisticated safety assessment system.
Looking Ahead; We recently voted for one of two options for the shed management structure and over the next few weeks we will see the changes taking place as systems are put in place to involve more people in the decision making and spreading the admin work load.
