A note to members at The Entrance Men’s Shed: the original supply of “The Entrance Men’s Shed” caps is now fully allocated.
They have proved very popular, as have the labelled T-Shirts. A new stock of T-shirts arrived today in sizes from L – XXL.
Visitor to the shed Pete has been working with shed member Peter to make the wooden box shown below. The box will store Pete’s pens and pencils, with a divider to keep them separate.
The slotted sliding top was a particular challenge as the shed router was out of operation–but Pete and Peter rose to the challenge. If you look closely at the writing that Pete inscribed on the top, it says “Perfect Pete”. Good job Pete and Peter.
The Entrance Men’s Shed has been paying host to a group of men from The Samaritans organisation. Each visitor has been working on an individual project, including designing the project and purchasing the materials from Bunnings.
With the assistance of Shed members these individual projects are nearing completion. The projects include: a bird cage, a watch box, a wooden box with lid, a CD rack, a chopping board and a pen and pencil box.
The Samaritans group also kindly put on a BBQ for shed members to say thank you for the assistance with their projects. The BBQ was enjoyed by all and we hosted visitors from as far as San Remo on the Central Coast and Tamworth in regional NSW.
During the Official Opening of The Entrance Men’s Shed, the well-loved sofa was relegated to the rear of the shed building.
Sitting out there it was overlooked for some time and weather affected. When shed members Chris and Alby learned about the sofa they undertook a session of sofa deconstruction. The sofa was deconstructed in no time and the parts taken for recycling.
Shown below are the items shed member Rob has been preparing for The Entrance Public School to sell at their upcoming Mother’s Day stall.
This project is a good example of the work The Entrance Men’s Shed does to support the local community. Shed members have enjoyed working on a stream of orders for local community projects.
Doors at The Entrance Community Centre have a habit of slamming shut in a strong wind. Shed member Andrew decided door wedges were in order and shed member Bob sprang into action, creating a dozen wooden wedges for the errant doors.
Bob says when the shed is a little more developed we will produce something a little more refined, but for now they’re functional and quickly done.
A well organized shed is a safer and happier place for shed members.
With this in mind a group of shed members have been constructing back-wall storage for timber boards. This timber is now safely off the floor and easily accessible. Thanks to shed members who worked on this, especially Andrew and Ian.
Inspired by this storage system, shed member Chris has been hard at work setting up tool storage on the back wall in a pleasing symmetrical arrangement. To complement both projects, other shed members have been building shelves in the lathe area, to be known from now an as “Woodturner’s Haven”.
Shed member Chris’s mate Tony left a slice of burl (knotty timber) at his place for storage. Sadly, before Tony could collect the burl, he passed away.
Chris decided to create a tribute to his mate and brought the slice of burl to the shed, sanded it back, treated it and made it ready for display. He has placed a small plaque on the prepared burl and presented it at Tony’s funeral last week.
A fitting tribute to a friend, this will now be incorporated into a memorial to much-loved Tony at the property where he lived.
Recently, one shed member has been working on restoring the timber steps for a boat. The three treads were put over the router and the table saw to create the matching shapes. This will ensure that the new treads fit the existing stair brackets.
Our shed member reports that the new treads have been fitted to the vessel and are working well.
Shed members Andrew and Terry were recently working on the platform above the restroom, organizing some additional storage space. While they were up there Andrew took these photos which show the layout of the shed from an unusual aerial viewpoint.
Thanks to Andrew for his hard working in re-organizing the shed.
New Shed member Darrol hadn’t been in the shed for more than a day when he discovered that many of the shed’s donated drill bits were a bit on the blunt side.
To the relief of other Shed members Darrol immediately volunteered to sharpen them. With many donated drill bits, this is a big job, so many thanks Darrol!
Shed member Dave has come up with a innovative design for a small folding caravan table. Dave has developed several iterations of the table, improving the design along the way.
In the image below Dave is demonstrating the table in the deployed state. Shortly after the photo was taken, Dave installed the table in the caravan and is keen to test in on the road.
The Entrance Men’s Shed holds a men’s BBQ on the first Monday of each month. So if you’re available, come down and enjoy a snag or two at the shed at 15 Battley Avenue, The Entrance. The BBQ starts at 12pm.
Shed member Chris was so impressed with the chopping boards being constructed at the shed that he decided to recycle some timber he found by the side of the road, and make one himself.
Chris trimmed the edges, made the surfaces regular and square and glued the timber pieces together. He finally sanded the surfaces, routed fancy edges and finished the board with timber oil. Chris reports it will make an artistic addition to his kitchen.
Shed member Alan (of Alan’s Home Services) came by an air-hose reel that was surplus to requirements. Alan kindly donated the reel to the Entrance Men’s Shed over Christmas 2009.
The air hose reel has since been installed in the shed by shed member Rob and is ready for use in shed projects.
Community member Beau Graham found he was unable to go on using his beloved wood lathe and has kindly donated it to The Entrance Men’s Shed. The lathe is in good condition and Beau has also also donated wood turning tools and blanks that are much needed additions to the shed wood turning setup.
Community donations like these enable the Shed to increase the range of projects we can undertake and better support our local community.
Beau–you are always welcome at the Shed for a cuppa and a chat.
For the upcoming NAIDOC week, a local school has commissioned The Entrance Men’s Shed to create 500 boomerangs for their students to decorate and enter in competition.
In the image below shed member Terry is completing the first batch of 50. Only 450 to go!
The following article appeared in The Central Coast Express Advocate on the 15th of January 2010, Page 3:
During the recent “Let’s Nail Depression” initiative local business Pluims Interiors generously donated a stack of boards to Central Coast Men’s Sheds. Dave Betts of “Let’s Nail Depression” coordinated the delivery and arranged for his son to deliver some of this large donation.
The delivery truck arrived spot on time at Bateau Bay Men’s Shed where it was unloaded the shed members there. A team from The Entrance Men’s Shed hired a large trailer and accepted some of the 3-meter sheets. This team also traveled to Pluims Interiors facility to collect additional boards and deliver it to the Shed.
The donation is large enough for Dave Betts to also make a delivery to The Hastings Men’s Shed in Port Macquarie.
A big thanks from Central Coast Men’s Sheds to Pluims Interiors for this generous donation.
The Entrance Men’s Shed welcomed members back today after the Christmas break.
Following a relaxed morning tea and lots of Holiday yarns, shed members were back hard at work. Members commenced new projects, planned future projects or resurrected them from the remains of last years projects.
There is much to look forward to at The Shed for 2010, with new equipment, new committee members and two new Shed members signed up already.
The Entrance Men's Shed