The Shed #84 Preview

PROJECT: HOW TO BUILD STAIRS

CREATIONS FROM CASTING ALUMINIUM

MAY–JUNE 2019 ISSUE 84

BUILDING IMPOSSIBLE THE

A BIKE MADE ALMOST ENTIRELY FROM WOOD

9

771177

045002

NZ $14.95 INCL. GST AUS $15.95 INCL. GST

RESURRECTION SHUTTLE FROM SWAMP RUST HEAP TO GLORIOUS CONCLUSION

NZ’S BEST KNIFE-MAKER SHARES INSPIRATION

Contents

ON THE COVER

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Wooden bicycle — Daniel Strekier’s wooden

bicycle is clearly a work of art but it also really does work as a bicycle, albeit a unique one

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Shed safety

The first in a series on keeping us safe in the workshop

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Electronic eggs

A fun way to add a twist to the hunt this Easter

1901 steam engine — After decades of restoration, this two-foot-gauge locomotive is up and running again

The Shed 84 May/June 2019

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Casting aluminium — Jonathan Chaston of Christchurch shows us how he creates his fun aluminium pieces

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Water harvesting

Your options, and products to collect your own rainwater

Build a small set of stairs — Ritchie Wilson walks us through the hows and how-tos of a wooden staircase build

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Laser cutting — Learning by experimentation can only be a good thing. Never fear failure and have a go at various materials

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Milling machines — part three

Removing material — which cutters and what material?

Every issue 2 Editorial

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Kiwi knife-maker — Brent Sandow is one of our best and he shares some secrets and inspiration with Jude Woodside

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BBC Micro Bit

Using this mini computer to make this fun group of dancing birds

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102

Education

Opunake is where you will find the ‘University of Shed’

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18 News 20 Letters 32 Subscribe to The Shed 110 Shed books for sale 124 Shed back-issue order form 128 Back o’ The Shed — Jude remembers his mate Cocksy

Brewing beer — A lot has

changed recently; here’s the way to brew effortlessly

Off the grid — Murray gets

around to building an electric cargo bike so he can farewell the automobile at last The Shed 84 May/June 2019

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My project

HOW TO BUILD A BIKE BACKWARDS

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The Shed 84 May/June 2019

DANIEL STREKIER HAD A COUPLE OF MIDGET RACING CARS KICKING ROUND HIS GARAGE THAT GAVE HIM INSPIRATION TO BUILD … NOT A MIDGET CAR OUT OF METAL BUT A BICYCLE FROM WOOD

By Ian Parkes Photographs: Adam Croy, Daniel Strekier

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Knife-making

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The Shed 84 May/June 2019

Brent Sandow’s workshop has an enviable range of machinery

CUTTING-EDGE

CREATIONS FROM SCHOOLKID ENTHUSIAST TO THE ULTIMATE CRAFTSMAN, BRENT SANDOW HAS ALWAYS BEEN CAPTIVATED BY KNIVES

By Jude Woodside Photographs: Jude Woodside

B

rent Sandow’s workshop is compact, ordered, and focused on producing knives. Much like its owner.

Brent is a fountain of knowledge on knife-making and his enthusiasm for the craft is infectious. It has been a lifetime passion for him that started while growing up in Cape Town, South Africa.

“It would have been in the mid ’70s when I walked into a gun store with my dad in Cape Town and I saw my first custom knives,” he says. “I thought, I’ve got to have a go at making this. I was a

schoolkid in those days and I couldn’t afford to buy them.”

So Brent started to making them in his father’s workshop with his dad’s support and encouragement.

The passion has remained and so has his devotion to the legend among US knife-makers — Bob Loveless (see panel on page 28).

The inspiration

Brent’s designs have largely been modelled on Bob Loveless knives although

he does do replicas of the iconic British commando knife so beloved of military collectors. One of his most popular knives, the Springbok Hunter, is derived from the Loveless drop-point hunter.

This knife — like most of Brent’s models — features a tapered tang with a pinned and soldered guard. The soldered guard is a vital part of the Loveless design. It ensures that water and other fluids do not leak into the handle. Loveless insisted that his knives were intended as tools and meant to be functional.  The Shed 84 May/June 2019

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Electronic eggs

EASTER

EGG HUNT techie style

By Mark Beckett Photography: Mark Beckett The LEDs and battery pack purchased from a large retailer

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The Shed 84 May/June 2019

Parts for five units

SOUND, LIGHT … THE THRILL OF AN EASTER ADVENTURE WITH A DIFFERENCE

S

ome time ago I was browsing the element14 community and came across an item about electronic Easter eggs. We’re used to seeing some weird, wonderful, and downright clever stuff, so I decided to read the whole article.

It seems that someone was contemplating making devices that emit sound, that these would placed in lieu of an Easter egg, and those kids (or adults) with visual disabilities could

utilize their other skills to find them.

Obviously eating an electronic egg is not for everyone, so they would get swapped for the real deal, and everyone would get to enjoy the thrill.

How hard could it be?

Detailed information about the device was missing, and it seemed to be just an idea, but I figured it couldn’t be too hard to knock up something. I rang The Shed

publisher and pitched the idea to him, then put him in charge of finding some suitable users and getting photos of how it went.

My initial thought was to make something that fitted into a Kinder Surprise housing. These were duly bought, and the outer content consumed (in the name of science), while the gifts inside were donated to anyone that wanted them. 

My initial thought was to make something that fitted into a Kinder Surprise housing Bend the positive wire to fit the buzzer between Gnd and PB0

Underneath prior to soldering

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Rainwater

Water harvesting — money in the bank

WATER SUPPLIES ARE INCREASINGLY BECOMING A GLOBAL CONCERN. HERE’S THE LATEST ON WATER HARVESTING AND HOW YOU CAN FUTURE-PROOF YOUR HOME — AND SAVE MONEY FROM A FREE RESOURCE

By Murray Grimwood and Ian Parkes Photographs: The Shed archive

Do what you have to collect the most rainwater. If there is no room for one large tank, two smaller ones may do nicely

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The Shed 84 May/June 2019

John Stichbury fine-tunes the engine (Gary Coburn at right and Arthur Beaman obscured)

Railway enthusiasts The Blenheim Riverside Railway Society,

South Island to open this century, runs

established in 1985, is a two-foot (610mm)

from the park to the Omaka Aviation

narrow-gauge heritage railway that runs

Heritage Centre.

from Brayshaw Heritage Park on the

Donald is the jewel in the crown of the

south-west side of Blenheim, alongside

society’s rolling stock, joining five diesel

the Taylor River, into the middle of town.

locomotives and a double-ended railcar.

The track, which is mainly 55/56 pounds

The society relies on funding from the

per yard (27kg/m) rail on concrete sleepers

council and lotteries grants and receives

designed and made by members of

generous support from businesses and the

the railway, covers more than 5km and

local Lions club. Donald’s restoration has

passes under five bridges en route to the

cost $63K so far.

terminus, Beaver Station. In addition,

The Blenheim Riverside Railway website is

a 900m branch line, the first in the

riversiderailway.nz.

From left: Anthony Williams, John Stichbury, Arthur Beaman, Gary Coburn, and Michael Agnew (sitting)

“All that remained was a rusted-out cab, rusted-out boiler, rusted side frames, and rusted cylinder”

The duplex pump pumps the water under pressure into the boiler

Bronze plaque provided by the Lions Club acknowledging the history and restoration of Donald

Water glasses showing the height of the water in the boiler

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