The Shed 108, April/May 2023

Turning to wood
Our cover story this April/May 2023 issue 108 proves that it's never too late to take up a new interest.
Whanganui sheddie Peter Loidl is a home renovator from way back and when he met some members of The Whanganui Woodturner’s Club at an exhibition, they encouraged him to join their club and have a go at woodturning. The results of Peter’s efforts on the lathe are really quite outstanding.
“In Peter Loidl’s living room, a 1:2 scaled-down Model T Ford made from various timbers does duty as a liquor cabinet. The bonnet and tank lift up to reveal a stash of spirit and wine bottles that have accumulated for years — they are mostly unopened, Peter tells us. He has wired up the headlights, back lights, and dashboard. He has also installed concealed colour-changing lighting where the bottles sit. There’s no drink-drive message intended; the car bar serves a functional purpose and is also an unusual decorative feature."

Which air compressor?
When choosing an air compressor, you need to know the free air delivery (FAD)
Here’s a guide to learning all there is to know about compressed air delivery and the enormous range of tools that you can use with this powerful and efficient system.
“Selecting the correct air compressor for a particular job should be a relatively painless exercise. The right choice will provide you with a useful machine that can last for many years, provided you maintain it well.
However, far too often, choosing a compressor can come down to a random weighing up of price, cosmetic appearance, or misinformation about the compressor’s specifications. In fact, the most important thing to consider is the air consumption of any tool to be used with the compressor."

Building a budget chicken tractor
Taking on a new-build is a special challenge for someone with upcycling/recycling in the blood
Have you noticed the price of eggs these days? Well some sheddies see this as an opportunity to head to the shed and get creating. Our Off The Grid columnist Murray Grimwood did just that and shows us how to build a chicken coop from scratch to save and even make some $s from the current egg supply shortage. “Tractors — for chickens on the move. Chickens should be kept in tandem with a food garden. They are comfortably carnivorous, and will turn food scraps into fertiliser in short order. With a fixed-in-place coop, you are limited to scooping/scraping out the poop; how much better to let them drop it straight onto the soil, shift the coop, and plant behind them in rotation?"

Alexa — what’s it all about?
Alexa and similar devices can both simplify and complicate our lives
Like it or loathe it technology is now a huge part of all our lives so we need all the info we can get on this tech that surrounds us constantly. Here Mark Beckett walks us through all there is to know about Alexa, how to install and the help and information it can provide us all.
“By now, many readers will have heard the term ‘Alexa’ and wondered what it is, how you use it, and if they need it. Alexa is a Virtual or Voice Assistant that connects to the internet via your Wi-Fi and listens for your command. This gets processed and Alexa responds verbally or by activating a smart device or devices."

My shed - The Garage Mahal
An Aladdin’s cave of creative possibilities
You could say Bodhi Hegan is living the dream. He has created his own unique man cave where he lives, sleeps and eats with his workshop full of Harley Davidson motorbikes all around him. COVID helped him create his ideal world in an empty old Auckland shed.
“Promoting Bodhi’s place would stretch the most creative estate agent to breaking point.
“Enjoy generous vistas of shipping containers. Privacy guaranteed by a three-metre-high hurricane wire fence topped with razor wire. Superb indoor-outdoor flow by way of four metre by six metre sheet iron front entrance doors."
It even has its own distinctive aroma, perhaps best described as Fleurs du Political Incorrectitude, with top notes of toasted Virginia tobacco and sawdust, a tantalising hint of lager, and a musky bass note of engine oil — not that it lingers long, thanks to that indoor-outdoor flow."

A $10 challenge - Imagination and a dose of Kiwi ingenuity
Every sheddie knows that being idle is a state we all despise. John Priest saw an old lawnmower in his backyard and thought, “now what can I do with that for little or no money" The result is a fun wee pedal car for the grandkids.
“The long and rather wetter than usual winter that even the East Coast suffered left him with a quandary. What do you do to while away the cold winter nights in a quiet country