Table of contents for No 087 November-December 2019 in The Shed

This issue of The Shed seems to have a real electronics theme to it. It’s not intentional, it just turned out that way. We have electronic sheddies, an electric build project, electronic restoration and upcycling articles, and more. Our sheds used to be dominated by metal and woodworking projects and the only electronics we dabbled in was restoring old radios or messing about with vintage hi-fi. But the world we live in now is chockfull of electronics. It is an integral part of our daily lives that is impossible to ignore or get away from, even if you should want to. Because of this new electronic universe of ours, the opportunities for sheddies are endless for fun-to-do builds and exciting projects to create. Technology is advancing at such a fast…

The loss of two dozen yachts and 19 lives in the Fastnet Race of 1979 led to scrutiny of boat design. Researchers at the US Naval Academy Hydromechanics Laboratory in Annapolis tested models of the yachts that got into trouble in tanks equipped to make scaled waves. A parallel finding was that when masts were fitted to the models, they were harder to capsize. This appeared counter-intuitive, as one would expect a mast-less hull to be more stable. But researchers found that adding a mast more than doubled the roll inertia, increasing the boat’s resistance to capsizing. Because the mast has weight to it and it takes energy to change direction, it absorbs and slows down the rocking motion. The resistance to spin or moment of inertia of an object…

Letter of the MONTH Hot water I read with great interest the article about solar energy in the latest issue of The Shed [Go Solar, Issue No. 85]. The in-depth discussion provided much to think about. However I was disappointed with the comments about solar hot water systems. I have such a system. It has 30 evacuated glass tubes that connect into a header. This produces about 1.8kW on a good day. There is a circulating pump connecting the system to a 300-litre cylinder, and a very sophisticated controller. The article mentioned weight, the need for a pump, and frost issues as being detractors of such a system. With an allup weight of just 34kg, the collector is in fact very light on the roof. The header only holds a…

1. Clean the area to be welded thoroughly. Cleanliness cannot be stressed enough. It’s not like MIG or stick welding where you can get away with welding over a bit of rubbishy or unclean metal. Try to TIG weld over rust, paint, or heavy oxide and you will contaminate the tungsten electrode and the weld pool. 2. How much should the tungsten electrode stick out? As a rule of thumb, stick-out should be half the diameter of the nozzle orifice. I always add a couple of millimetres, so I can see more easily. 3. What level of argon gas flow should you use? With low amps and material up to 6mm thick, start at a flow rate of 8-10 litres per minute. Use a higher flow for bigger amps and…

Motor: EVO Electric AFM-240, 400hp (298kW) Motor controllers: Two Cascadia Motion PM100DX inverter, 400hp together Weight: About 700kg including the pilot Eva Håkansson Dimensions: Length 5.6m, width approx. 0.53m, height approx. 0.96m, wheelbase 3.8m, track width when fitted with sidecar 1.14m Frame and suspension: Chrome-moly steel tubing with Springer-style front end and classic stereo suspension at rear end Brakes: Disc front and rear, two-ribbon brake parachute actuated with Bimba air cylinders Body: Fibreglass composite nose cone, canopy and sidecar wheel cover made by Nova Kinetics Aerosystems in Flagstaff, Arizona, aluminium body panels…

Coffee tables — close companions of most sofas, are also a staple project for senior high school woodwork students and just about every handyman with some basic tools. In the early years of domesticity I found most of them quite irritating insofar as the majority of them fell somewhere between the stools of “partly useful” and “useless”. Either they were not big enough to support a few books as well as the family’s cups and mugs, or they were so small that they could only support a couple of lucky mugs while everyone else had to cast around wondering where they might best rest their plates. Perhaps my idea of the ideal sized table differs from the norm but I like a table that accommodates the above mentioned items as…

Linbide puts its saw blades through a couple of steps that some other manufacturers skip, which adds quality to its products. The laser-cut and annealed blades are put through a rolling machine, which ensures that they are perfectly flat. A blade with even a minute wobble or that is out of balance will not make a clean cut and will deteriorate quickly. An operator also cuts the centre hole accurately on a lathe to ‘h7’ tolerance. The raw laser-cut hole can never be that accurate — another ingredient in achieving greater balance. And, as noted in the main story, copper rivets in the blade are an indicator of quality. It’s an extra step and an extra cost but makes a huge difference.…

It’s a swift left turn on a blind corner before you judder up a steep, bushlined, gravel driveway to a level clearing surrounded by an assortment of bespoke buildings. It’s hard to believe that when Anna Bates bought her 5ha property at Bethells Beach in 1990 that it was “as bald as an egg”. “The early settlers had taken out stands of totara and kauri, and there was a very small cottage nestled next to an electricity pole, and not much else.” In the intervening years, Anna has extended the house, built a studio, and kitted out an existing shed where she does her woodwork projects, doing a lot of the grunt work herself. Anna calls it her “WIP” — work in progress. The latest addition is two railway huts…

At last the end of the year is nigh. I don’t know about you but it was a pretty mild winter for me. We had the usual cold days and some rain but overall it seemed a bit milder and drier. Doing my bit for climate change I installed a bank of photovoltaic (PV) panels in February that have paid off, even through the winter. I tend to run all the electricity-hungry stuff, like the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher, during the morning when the system is pumping out power. Being rural I have the advantage of plenty of firewood and a good log burner with a wetback that takes cares of my hot water. The bills are still a bit higher than late summer when I had a few…

It all started when Gavin Bath was given a beautiful longboard deck at a manufacturing trade show called the ‘International Manufacturing Technology Show’ (IMTS) in Chicago last year. It was manufactured from a solid piece of aluminium plate on a Datron CNC machine. There is a pattern machined into the top surface, instead of grip tape. The guys at the booth told Gavin that they’d give it to him if he would post some pictures of it on Instagram when he got back to where he lives in New Zealand. Of course, he agreed, and on the spur of the moment Gavin told them that he’d turn it into an electric longboard, which they were very interested to hear. Of course, Gavin wasn’t going to let the fact that he…

Mitre as well DHS780N-XJ You will usually bring work to a mitre saw so you can set it up where you have power but if you have already invested in in De Walt’s XRFlexvolt range the new DHS780 Flexvolt 305mm (12”) mitre saw has a hybrid drive, which means it can go cordless when you need it. It can be powered by either 2x 54v Flexvolt batteries or by an AC/DC mains adapter. The DCB500 adaptors are sold separately. Despite being cordless and having a compact design, it can cut timber measuring up to 303x110mm. It will power through 244 cuts of 20x70mm softwood on a full twin battery cycle. The DHS780 is designed for large-volume use and has, a dust-proof trombone cut-out for the machining of larger workpieces. The…

New Zealand grows hop varieties that are unique and highly sought after around the world. And we are lucky as home brewers because these varieties are readily available to us even though the majority of New Zealand hops is exported to breweries in the US, Australia, the UK, Europe, and many other countries. What do hops do? Hops add bitterness, flavour, and aroma to beer. This is achieved by the timing of adding the hops in the brewing process. As a general rule, the longer you boil your hops the more bitterness you get. But … as you boil, you start to lose hop flavour and aroma, so a 60-minute boil will give you bitterness but very little flavour and aroma. This is why many recipes have hops added at…

Starting with this issue of The Shed, I am thrilled to begin a new series of articles on restoring and upcycling vintage technology appliances. Before getting stuck into our first project, I will explain the methodology I follow when working on a vintage piece of technology that I want to restore. By ‘vintage’, what I mean the wide range of objects that I find at secondhand markets and antique shops. The main criteria I have with these objects is that they should be at least 40 years old. It is not like going to an appliance store and just buying the stuff that best suits the particular project that I have in mind. What happens is just the opposite. During my frequent visits to these vintage shops and markets, I…

The name ‘Linbide’ will be familiar to most Shed readers, probably for the brilliant scrapers that make short work of paint removal, and all kinds of metal- and wood-surface preparation. Hopefully most people know that Linbide is a Kiwi company that has been turning out quality tools since the 1960s. The company in Auckland’s Penrose has survived the widespread demise of manufacturing in New Zealand, the conversion to a free market economy, the onslaught of imports, and even direct competition from cheap copies of its own products. David has worked in the business for 29 years, and Grant a couple of years longer than that Brothers David and Grant Lindsay run the business today. Grant, a mechanical engineer, and David, an accountant by training, took over from their father Trevor,…

Every year, Christmas becomes more and more commercial. For many families the financial cost can be stressful and last longer than the act of gift giving. Many years ago our family decided that once you started work, the rule was small gifts only. This got extended to sub-$10 presents, which is much harder than you’d think. Everyone wants to give something that is appropriate to the recipient, so the sub-$10 challenge meant more thought was required. Last year we decided to make it a Secret Santa. Going back to the origins of gifting, I decided to make my gift. I’ve made a few signs for special birthdays, so why not make some small Christmas decorations that could be hung on a tree, or wherever? When you use tabs you need…

I hate having to replace something that could be repaired and kept usable. I know that that’s not the modern way, and in many cases it is cheaper and simpler to biff out and replace. It might make economic sense, but it doesn’t make sense to me. So it was with our home phones. We have had a perfectly adequate set of three cordless phones connected to our landline; one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen, and the third in the study downstairs. We’ve had them for a long time and they work perfectly well. The handset design has a black protruding aerial cover extending about 40mm above the body of the phone. This plastic cover is fragile, as we discovered when the phones were accidentally dropped and landed…

Visit www.menzshed.nz or email: secretary@menzshed.nz MENZSHED KAITAIA INC John Richardson 09 408 0042 cadfael@xtra.co.nz KERIKERI MEN’S SHED Wade Rowsell 09 407 8263 kkmensshed@outlook.co.nz WHANGAREI COMMUNITY MEN’S SHED Jeff Griggs 09 435 1759 chairman@mensshed.co.nz DARGAVILLE MENZ SHED Paul Witten 09 974 7685 or 0274 593098 pdub351@gmail.com MENZSHED WAIPU INC Gordon Walker 027 493 4030 menzshedwaipu@gmail.com HIBISCUS MENS SHED TRUST Maurice Browning 021 799414 hibiscusshed@outlook.com MEN’S SHED NORTH SHORE Larry Klassen 09 442 2145 or 021 311036 admin@mensshednorthshore.org.nz WAIHEKE COMMUNITY SHED John Meeuwsen 021 2424925 john.meeuwsen39@gmail.com DEVONPORT CLAY STORE COMMUNITY WORKSHOP Tom Murray 09 445 8786 tomandlily@xtra.co.nz MASSEY COMMUNITY MEN’S SHED Andrew Wilson 027 516 6415 masseyshednz@gmail.com WHITIANGA COMMUNITY MENZ SHED TRUST Kevin Robinson 021 336864 or 07 8660919 kevie.lyn@gmail.com MENS SHED AUCKLAND EAST Pete Montgomery 027 496 6901 mensshedaucklandeast@gmail.com AUCKLAND CENTRAL…

Political decisions often have farreaching effects. When American president George Bush decided to invade Iraq in 2004, it set off a tailspin of events for the Roake family that indirectly led to Quentin’s waka project. At the time, Quentin was living in the UK with his wife, Frankie, and their three children. He had just finished restoring their 1480 Tudor manor and the plan was to sell it and, with the proceeds, move back to New Zealand. Quentin’s dream was to buy a coastal property and build a 48-foot (15m) ketch with his brother. The manor went on the market the day that American troops went into Iraq. Simultaneously the value of the house, along with their savings in Euros, plummeted and the value of a Kiwi ‘safe haven’ went…

What’s happening online at the-shed.nz? Every week we upload new content on The Shed website to join the 100s of articles and videos already on the site for readers to discover, learn from, and enjoy. The past two months’ new uploads include: • how to make a lathe stop: useful for eliminating the need to constantly stop the lathe to re-measure • working with bronze: Rudi Buchanan-Strewe gives in to his artistic family genes and pursues his love of sculpture • a video of blacksmith Josh Timmins: meet the blacksmith from The Shed Issue No. 86 and watch how he makes a fully forged knife • colour-anodize that aluminium alloy: one way to guard against corrosion is to create a hard oxide film. These are just some of the new…

Citra/Taiheke pale ale — extract 23 litres1x can Blackrock American Pale Ale1x can Blackrock Unhopped Light MaltCoffee plunger 20g Citra + 30g Taiheke (5 minutes)Yeast: M44 West Coast Ale (ferment 18–20°C)Dry hop 20g Citra and 45g Taiheke (on day five for four days)Citra/Taiheke pale ale — all grain 23 litres Malt 4.4kg New Zealand Pale Malt200g Dark Munich Malt250g Pale Crystal Malt150g Wheat Malt Hops 10g Citra (60 minutes)15g Taiheke (25 minutes)25g Citra and 25g Taiheke (5 minutes)Dry Hop 20g Citra and 45g Taiheke (on day five for four days) Yeast M44 West Coast Ale (ferment at 18–20°C)Mash at 65°C for 60 minutesBoil 60 minutesCool and ferment…

Aluminium is a really useful metal because it is light and strong. In many applications it is superior to steel, not least because it can be left out in the weather for years without significantly deteriorating. Steel in similar situations would need a protective coating, such as paint or zinc. The surfaces of both aluminium and steel oxidize when exposed to the oxygen in the air. The difference is that the layer of aluminium oxide formed on aluminium is ‘waterproof’: it is impermeable to water. If there were no oxide coating, the aluminium would rapidly react with water, forming aluminium hydroxide and hydrogen gas, destroying the aluminium. The iron oxide that forms on the surface of steel is permeable — water can travel through it, forming hydrated iron III oxide,…

Almost in a flash, Trevor saw the potential for the super-hard cutters, made for a milling machine, to be repurposed for a new hand tool scraper. He and the team set to work designing a handle. They came up with a simple design that could be pressed from a sheet of steel. A row of presses in the factory adds a bit more bend to the steel fingers until they form a tube. At the time, the best selling scrapers were Skarsten, but the Linbide scraper’s simple wing-nut-operated bolt-on blade is so much easier to work with, and those tungsten carbide blades last a long time. The fact that the blades are designed and manufactured in their thousands to be attached to different machines explains the Linbide scrapers’ one small…