a simple repair

I found this flax kete by the side of the road in the annual inorganic rubbish collection last year. The handles were worn out, but the rest was in perfect condition. I repaired the handles by cutting them off, and replacing them with a bicycle inner-tube (found in the inorganic the year before last).
As you can see - I didn't even have to cut the inner-tube!
It makes a great shopping-bag when I go across the road to the Sunday market in Browns Bay.

recycled art

Making things from other things is nothing new. Today it is called "recycling', a few years ago it was just plain good old common-sense - "waste not want not" my Grandmother used to say.
Kiwis are great at innovation and ingenuity - points the detractors of Number 8 wire technology miss completely.  #8-style action is always a simple solution to a problem with the materials at hand - it is never intended to be a method of inventing cutting-edge digital technology.
I like to collect junk from the trash & am frequently trash-trawling in my local neighbourhood - it's amazing what you can find!
Here are a couple of clocks and a trashion necklace I have made:
(trashion" = "fashion from trash")

 See more at my website www.martinadlington.webs.com

quote of the week

"Computers are stupid - they only give you answers"
- Pablo Picasso

tips'n'tricks

 Use a rubber band over a paint tin to stop mess.

 No room under the tap for the bucket? Use the dust-pan as a funnel!

Repair that worn hole in a jandal with a bread clip!

the shed magazine

New Zealand has its own magazine devoted to blokes, sheds, and shed-related stories.
Published bi-monthly in Auckland by Cadenza Publishing
www.theshedmag.co.nz
The Feb-March 2013 issue includes articles on beer brewing, water safety, Houses for Humanity project, weaving willows, installing a rangehood, 3D printers, and Arduino 101.
A jolly good read for $10.50

a shed project

The other week I bought these clippers at the local market. The metal part is in good condition and cuts well, however, as you can see the wooden handles are riddled with borer.
This will make a good shed project - I plan to drill out the wooden handles and replace them with steel pipes, which I shall weld on.
Somehow I never learned to weld, though many of my friends did, and went on to be metal-fabricators, engineers, and steel-boat builders. So this will be a good chance for me to learn some welding. I have spoken with Gwyn ( the "metal man") at my local Men's Shed North Shore, and he suggested that TIG welding would be the easiest for me to learn, and offered to teach me! Tyanks mate.
So watch this space for my progress.....

sunday news article on sheds

On Sunday March 24 there was an article on Men's Sheds in NZ  by John McCrone, in which Martin Cox (chair of Menz Shed Aotearoa - our umbrella organization) spoke about some of the positive aspects of the international Men's Shed movement.
Read the full article HERE

Alan, Dave, Steve, Bill and Maurice in the Aldred Men's Shed in Christchurch.