The Shed

If you have had kids you will have experienced those Christmas mornings when they all sit on the couch like wee little angels just waiting for you to pass over the gifts that Santa has magically left under the tree in the middle of the previous night

Cambridge man Kim Dawick knows a thing or two about building drift trikes — he’s built nine of them and no two are exactly the same. His plan was the opposite of creating a production line — that would be too boring. He has tweaked the design from bu

The idea was simply to get a bunch of mates back together again and, after Kim had made a drift bike for mate Mike’s 40th birthday, they realized they had a winning formula. Mike said that if Kim would build another few trikes, he’d organize the even

This is one of the trickiest motorcycles you’ll see in these pages. It definitely looks like a motorbike and rides like a motorbike, but the trick is that it’s not made with a single motorcycle part. That’s the challenge Kim accepted when he set out

A Taranaki farm boy has come up with an invention that could save the geothermal and oil and gas industry millions of dollars — in his shed. Well, Mark Horwell is no longer a boy, though he was raised on a farm. In fact he has a degree in engineering

For Dave Pauling, making guitars is the natural fusion of two passions — music and wood. Dave, who has been playing the guitar since he was 13, also knew the pleasure of pottering in sheds from a young age. His father is a sheddie from way back, who,

This is your opportunity to connect someone who may have a hidden talent for a trade with a rewarding career and a grateful industry! In the good old days, kids who had an aptitude for trades or technical subjects would discover this at school in woo

When planning content for The Shed, we strive to feature projects that have real usefulness and are fun to do. At a planning meeting, we discussed making a set of wooden bunks — kids love bunks and a well-made set will last many years and can be hand

Winston Garnett and Bernard Gardner were the two sheddies from rhe Men’s Shed North Shore who built the bunks for our project. They explain what keeps them coming to work in retirement. Winston says that seeing a story on television about the Menzshe

The BBC Micro Bit project we will share with you this issue is more complex than the previous ones. This time we will explore the use of micro DC motors controlled by the Micro Bit and build a four-wheel cardboard robot controlled by a smartphone. To

Careful now, you might want one! It’s a real risk. E-bike evangelist Ken Agar of New Plymouth has seen it a thousand times. Someone heading out a bit nervously on an e-bike, then coming back wreathed in smiles, saying: “I want one!” Ken has worked in

At the Halswell Menzshed we recycle crates from a local industry. The crates used to go to landfill but are now a valuable plywood and timber resource for Menzshed projects (Images 1 and 2). This has benefitted not only the shed but also the local co

This project started after a visit to The Plains Vintage Railway and Historical Museum in Ashburton (plainsrailway.co.nz). Our three boys had really enjoyed the model trains and on the way home asked if I could build one for them. As the kilometres w

We all know about flat batteries — usually it’s the TV remote going on the blink just when you want to watch something. Anyone who has experienced smoke alarms going flat in the coldest part of the night will understand that temperature has something

I’m probably showing my age but I still believe that much of what passes for audio hi-fi today is vastly inferior to some of that which went before. I may be quite wrong but I can remember truly awesome sound that made you feel that the band was in t

At the end of World War II, Britain — although victorious — was on her knees economically. Much of her merchant shipping fleet had been sunk by German U-boats and her exports had fallen to a third of their pre-war level. All rationing finally finishe

The new top was made from 25mm construction ply salvaged from renovations at the local Polytech. The partial sheet of ply was run through the table saw to form strips 123mm wide, which were then cut to the 592mm length using a 24V Bosch mitre saw. It

Through the centuries, mirrors have fascinated humans, playing an important role in many ancient myths. From Narcissus to Snow White, mirrors in the history of humanity have frequently had a primary role. In this issue, we will see how to create a pe

In a world beset by increasing regulations, building codes, local government bylaws, vehicle safety legislation, and the like, very few things remain untouched by the long, deadening arm of bureaucracy. However, one that has escaped is the humble mai