Events - Projects 2024

Mark's treasure chest Mark Jones surprised us all again with his latest creation. He used mainly Mahogany to construct a wooden chest with internal trays, a secret drawer, laser-cut panels, and a padlock made from wood. Maybe it's time we had a competition for the most innovative woodwork project in the shed, as the guys just seem to get better and better at making things!
Rangitau returns to his family Stephen Petterson (looking smart in his "Salty Shirt" ) and Ken Duncalfe presented Rangitau to Tony Coyle from Northland this weekend. This model yacht, originally raced in the Orakei basin, was donated to the shed for refurbishment and rehoming. After finally finding a home back with the Orakei Yacht Club we were contacted by Tony, grandson of the builder, who asked if he could have it for nostalgic reasons. After discussions with the Orakei crew, we all decided it would be best if it was kept in the family. Tony was so ecstatic that he made a generous donation to the shed for the restoration work we had done and he travelled from up north to collect it. Tony will house Rangitau in pride of place at his local coastguard building in Whangaruru.
Born and raised in the shed We are now in the business of breeding horses! (the rocking kind). Some nice touches were applied to our latest creation with a bit of "tongue-in-cheek" branding. "Born and reared at Mens Shed Auckland East, Waiatarua Reserve, Remuera"
Signpost for Glendowie School event Roger Van Kuylenburg made this nifty signpost this week for a school event. It directs people to the different areas and can be adjusted for future use. Amazing what you can do with a bit of downpipe and imagination!
Restored carving We received some damaged carved panels from what appeared to be a door on a building site. They were rescued because of their quality and handed to the shed to restore and sell. Stephen Petterson volunteered to take on the project and cleaned and framed these unique carvings. Then we listed them on Trade Me and to our surprise the son of the carver successfully bid and won them. For our effort, some welcome dollars went into the kitty to cover the running of the shed. A great outcome for all. Thanks, Stephen.
Conservation crew hard at work Members of our "All-Star" Conservation Crew in the Barn, Phil O'Flaherty and David Cope, were seen busily fulfilling an order for 12 Ruru (Morepork or Owl) boxes and 10 Weta Condos to go to DOC Whanganui. We are getting well known for our quality and consistency. Alan Minson is chasing a 100-piece order for Weta Condos. The team has also just finished 30 custom-made rat traps for the Kaipatiki Project in Grafton. Lots happening in the barn despite the media reporting a cutback in National spending on conservation.
Book exchange on wheels A children’s book exchange for the Glen Innes Family Center in Apirana Avenue was proudly made, in our very own shed, by our very own Roger Van Kuylenburg.
Mike the lumberjack Michael, who lives in San Diego and visits his family in NZ for a few months each year, got stuck into a log at the shed this week. While most of us were shivering from the wind and the rain, Michael took his shirt off and gave this log hell!
A rocking horse that "Rocks!" Nearing completion on the mezzanine is this rocking horse built by Peter Hoyle out of native Macrocarpa. It's both functional and fragrant. A lovely timber to work with! Bernie Ward was at a recent event when during the discussion he was offered funding by a private benefactor, to make toys for the local children's hospitals. This rocking horse is part of that toy program.
Version 2 of Mark Jones' turned vases Mark finished it this week. A change of wood produced another stunning vase for a different decor.
Hello, Hello, Hello, what's going on here then? A COPPER perhaps! Our ever-resourceful blokes in the shed are always coming up with innovative ideas. Here Douglas Ormrod and John Edwards have turned an old copper that used to be used for washing clothes into a cool planter. Worth a few bucks to the shed, for the right buckeroo!
More slab seats to the Remuera Golf Club The Golf Club Management and Board were thrilled with the quality of our work. The build team comprised Don Liggins (Engraver), Ian Hollister, David Blackmore, and Barry Eagland. Alan Minson was the liaison man. Securing the order, organizing materials, and delivering in style. The order, placed by RGC’s Spencer Cooper, was for 3 macrocarpa slab seats for the ladies' tees. Two were slab only and the other was complete with legs. The guys did such a great job that the Club is looking at more orders.
Sheddie Mark Jones’ woodturning skills are Impressive! Here's a vase he recently made in our shed. Turning square into round, hollowing out the center, and including some stylish laminations. His second version is on the lathe (see above).
Something different from our Electronics Dept Terry Gruijters has created some Voltmeters for students at Auckland Grammar School. They are printed on our 3D printer and combined with bought-in components. Supplied as a simple kit for students to assemble and employ. Much simpler than a multimeter. Part of Terry's day job is as a technician at Auckland Grammar School.
Chairman's Award memento Bernie Ward received the Chairman's Award this year for services to the shed. In recognition of this, Douglas Ormrod turned up a special pen from native rewa rewa and engraved it with Bernie's name. A memento to be treasured. Unfortunately, it can't be used to sign those big cheques anymore. Cheques no longer exist. Maybe some big contracts??
From wood to wow Mr Epoxy (John Edwards) produced yet another epoxy slab table. This time embedded with marbles and reinforced with steel brackets, to add a bit of interest.
Grow in style Karin Galle recently made these big, heavy planter boxes in the shed. They've been made out of old fence palings from her home. She noticed that the wood was thicker than usual for fences (22mm instead of 15) and of better quality too. So the previous owner may have constructed the fence out of recycled materials.
Community project This week's community project was built by Roger Van Kuylenburg and John Edwards. Two picnic tables for one of our oldest customers, Stonefields School. Who can forget the "Giant" chocolate cake delivered by their caretaker recently? It was truly delicious. A warm thank you from the school's management, for our support over the years.
We're pretty versatile in the Shed This week we fixed up a Landrover. Our "Project Master" Bernie, found his Landrover Workshop Manuals in the cupboard, so we could work on this project, the right way! The only trouble was, when he lifted the hood he found a Holden Straight 6 motor in there! He couldn't tell whether it was a 172 or a 202 because it wasn't colour coded! We fixed it anyway!
What does a vet do... when he doesn't have any cows and horses to look after anymore? Well, he builds his own of course! Peter Hoyle did a beautiful job of building a horse and cart in the shed. After many years of fixing animals, he knew just where the muscle groups were and he has done a wonderful job of carving them into his models.
A Real "Snow Job" Sheddie Snow, and a couple of his shed mates refurbished this "Rocking Snail" last week. A combined effort with Don Morrison, cutting some neat decals, on our vinyl cutter. Don't you love it when it all comes together? Some little kids are in for a real treat!
Sitting pretty Caught some hard-working fellows, David Blackmore, Don Liggins, Barry Eagland and Ian Hollister, about to assemble some neat mortise and tenoring on the Golf Club seats this week. Notable because once they come together, you don't see the craftsmanship that goes into them. Don did the branding, with his trusty branding iron.
Doorways to heaven Rev Kate Berkley next to the French doors at the Vicarage house at Christ Church Ellerslie. Doors were repaired and painted in the shed by Bill Lehmann, Les Dryland and James Young.
Plant spa Shed member Diana knuckled down the last few days and constructed this compact greenhouse, which is now in her garden.
Mens Shed Rocks! Well it will when Nick Kessell finishes his electric guitar. One of our "weekend warriors" Nick has been beavering away on his cool guitar for many weeks and has crested another wave by fitting the neck this week to his "magic machine. Go Nick!
Honorary membership for Aart Rijke Alan Minson, our Chairman, presented Aart Rijke (in the red shirt) with an HONORARY MEMBERSHIP as a reward for his contributions to our shed. Aart has been involved in many shed projects over the years. Some notable ones were the rebuilding of an outboard motor for a local Boating Club and leading a team of sheddies on a 500 man hour wheelchair-building project, for handicapped children in the Pacific islands.
Turning wood into wheeled wonders Murray Gregg finishes his RED TRUCK. It's the latest in the series. The kids love something without buttons to play with.
From wood to rock star Mohammad Nazayer has finished building his guitar and got it strung up and playing. They say the sound from this native timber instrument (ancient kauri and pohutukawa) is awesome! After nearly a year of planning, measuring, cutting, and gluing, the result is truly rewarding.
Our metal master builds a safety barrier Paul O'Dowd, our resident Metal Master, fashioned a protective barrier around an airconditioning unit at Christ's Church in Ellerslie.
Stunning shed project (a clever theatre prop) Grant's son Daniel was putting on a show at the recent Comedy Festival in Wellington and required a theatre prop resembling an Electric Shock Stun Gun. Now these are generally illegal to carry around so what must one do? Build a fake one in the Shed of course! It needed to look the part and sound right, in front of a live audience. Grant knocked up a couple of electronic circuits to emulate the arc-ing sound (a digital recording of an actual stun gun and an amplifier/speaker small enough to fit in a small box) and an arc-ing spark (555 timer circuit hooked up to a bright LED array). He also needed to make the front end look real. So with a piece of timber from the Shed, band-sawn into shape, a few nasty nails inserted in the end, and painted black! Voila! The next problem was getting it to Wellington through airport security!! Yes, he got it through and on stage, for a stunning performance. NO, he doesn't take ORDERS!!
Compost bin for retirement village Last week Sheddies Ian Hollister, Malcolm Hardie, Dave Lamb, and Mal McLennan combined to make and install 2 large compost bins from macrocarpa for the residents' garden at Summerset Heritage Park Village in Ellerslie.
Restored carving project Peter Hoyle obtained some carvings from an old house being demolished. They are either front door or wall panels with a leaning to the latter. They are believed to be around 150 years old and would have been carved in NZ by an immigrant carver. They have been cleaned up by Stephen Peterson on our mezzanine, framed, and will be put up for sale on Trade Me. Let's see what happens.
Big celebration planned A shed project of interest to members was a large laminated dining table. A personal project by Nigel High, we were all pretty impressed when he leapt up on the table like a young lad and proceeded to plane the enormous table top flat! Even though he's retired, he hasn't lost his "mojo"!