sentimental about wood – Page 2 – saving every scrap……..

The ongoing workshop build

We have now been in our new house for eight months. I had been hoping to sort out the workshop in a matter of weeks! Progress has been slow. The most recent progress has been the rear wall which had a roller door installed. This was completely useless for my purposes. The roller door was removed with the help of a a beam lift. This made it easy and safe for two people to remove. I sold it quickly for $200 it was off my hands in two days. I managed to source a second hand window for the rear wall of the workshop. It had been subjected to lots of paint in various colours. Paint stripper and some scrubbing revealed an original brown. I painted the window with some etch primer and a topcoat of enamel in a grey colour called monument. The window now matches the other windows on the house. I purchased a solid wood as an access door for the rear wall of the workshop. The door I bought was apparently from a hospital and needs some fettling to make it fit the door is about the right width but is nearly 2500 mm high. The most common door size in Australia is 820 wide and 2040 high. Nothing a track can handle. I was lucky with the cladding as my brother had some lying around his property doesn't exactly match the house but will end up the same colour so all is good. I think that the whole wall will blend in once it has nice coat of paint. Then there is wiring and cladding on the inside.. https://youtube.com/shorts/BbN_9nskg3o?feature=share

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|November 3rd, 2022|Categories: Renovating, Woodworking|0 Comments

Back Bench

I have been thinking about the bench that will go against the back wall. Luckily I have a reasonable supply of timber that I can construct a solid wok bench with a vice for woodworking. I will be using some hardware salvaged from the old workshop. At this stage the plan is to have three powerpoints across the wall just above the bench. One of the powerpoints will incorporate a couple of USB ports for charging things. I also have the idea to put a powerpoint under the bench for a shop vac. The main light in the garage has a switch located at the other end of the workshop. It is too much hassle to rewire it as a two way switch. The simpler solution is to put a light over the work bench with a switch just inside the back door. I have drawn a simple mud map of my thinking which is as close as I get to construction diagrams. The Back Wall

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|November 1st, 2022|Categories: Renovating, Woodworking|Tags: building|0 Comments

The Things People Do

Broken eyelet Moving into a house always means repairs. I do most of my own repairs because I can. It never ceases to amaze me how people repair things. We have a balcony across the front of the house which has balustrades using tensioned stainless steel wire . Most of the wire is anchored to timber with stainless steel eyelets. One of the eyelets failed and much to my surprise it had been repaired with epoxy! This was never going to work! I managed to get the broken part of the eyelet using a plug cutter. I drilled through the post and removed the plug. I found some dowel at the local hardware store almost the right size and glued it in with some shims. A bit of filler and paint and you wouldn't know the hole had been filled. I still cant believe that someone tried to repair this with epoxy. I subsequently discovered another broken eyelet and followed the same repair process.

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|October 22nd, 2022|Categories: News|Tags: building|0 Comments

Strange Photo Behaviour

Duck's at work I'm having some strange Photo behaviour. I store most of my photos on Google Photos for convenience and up until recently I could easily insert them directly from WordPress. However this has changed , certainly since WordPress version 6.0. I now experience what seems to be an endless loop and eventually I get a json error, whatever that is. Not all I'd lost as the images have turned up in the WordPress media library without being inserted in post. I can insert the photos directly from the library without issue. I took me quite some time to discover this. Not really seamless as sometimes I can't directly upload to the media library. Photos are an important part of blogs so this is a little annoying. I have tried this from several computers and a couple of android devices. I have two self hosted blogs with the same issue. Strange Photo Behaviour indeed.

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|July 13th, 2022|Categories: News|0 Comments

New Workshop Slow Progress

We are now nearly three months into the relocation. The new workshop has a brand new concrete floor but that's about it . There have been all sorts of delays; some of it COVID related. I managed to lay some cable underneath the mesh prior to the floor being laid so at least I can get power to the far wall. The list of things to do is quite long and doesn't only include the workshop. The workshop aside we are still unpacking, my wife has had surgery and not able to weight bear on her left foot for six weeks. We still have rooms that resemble a a warehouse! The new floor in the workshop worked out well. Because there has been such a delay in using it some four weeks now it is very hard. This is a good thing. I am adapting what was originally an open carport to a workshop. The previous owners has started enclosing the carport and added a sidewall and roller doors front and back. We have added the concrete floor with a retaining wall at the far end. The rear roller will have to be removed as it stops about 300mm from the floor. My plan is to build a stud wall with an access door and a window. The side wall away from the house will also get a stud wall and insulation. I have already bought LED strip lights for the ceiling.

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|May 30th, 2022|Categories: News|0 Comments

Workshop Update January 2022

The joys of storage A small update on the site and projects. I am currently in the process of moving house. This of course means that I am packing up my little workshop. My woodworking efforts have come to a temporary halt. I have already started packing up some of my tools and put them in storage. Ona positive note I will have a larger workshop at the new hose. The first tentative steps towards retirement and more workshop time I have lots projects planned and in progress. I started reupholstering and repairing a pair of lounge chairs. One is almost complete and I wanted to finish them both at the same time to better use the final fabric at the same time. I am also planning to venture into box making with a Gifkins dovetail jig. I am looking forward to getting back into woodturning at the new workshop. All my woodturning timber is currently in a paddock as I had to clear it out for the pesky open inspections. All part of the exhausting business of moving house. I started writing this with the intention of writing about the sort of YouTube channels that I like to watch but it did drift in to the hassles of moving house. It will be some time i.e. month before I get back to a workshop as such. On the positive side of things our new new residence has views of the sea. I will be able to enjoy sea breezes as I whittle away.

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|January 20th, 2022|Categories: Woodworking|0 Comments

Major 8 Radiogram Repair

We have in our possession a Major 8 radiogram which was originally purchased by my in-laws around 1960s. It hasn't been used for years and kept largely for sentimental reasons. When I first saw it a very modern (for its day) stereo cassette player had been patched in not sure how but it worked. I have not been able to find any information online about this or any other radiogram. I did find a website that that does repairs Resurrection Radiograms. They hadn't heard of a Major 8 either. They did however suggest that it could be a rebranded Astor 8. I visited another website bakeliteradio it lists the Astor brand but doesn't really help my cause. The radiogram is now part of history as cassette players, 8 track cartridges and compact disks. The radio still works but it only has AM as this unit predates FM radio and there is little call for short wave theses days. So there it sits the AM band works but doesn't cover the full bandwidth that is available today. I can tune in some stations the sound is a bit crackly befitting such an on old radio. Sadly the turntable is no longer functional too hared to fix. The cabinet is made from veneered plywood which needed repair. That however is a story for another post. Major 8 RadiogramMajor 8 tuning on light

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|August 23rd, 2021|Categories: Renovating, Woodworking|Tags: furniture|0 Comments

Warm still with the life of forgotten men

I have seen part of this poem used a signature block. Apparently DH Lawrence was troubled by modernity. Things men Have Made Things men have made with wakened hands, and put soft life into Are awake through years with transferred touch, and go on glowing For long years. And for this reason, some old things are lovely Warm still with the life of forgotten men who made them. DH Lawrence

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|August 5th, 2021|Categories: News|0 Comments

Repairs Repairs Nothing but Repairs

I keep thinking I'm going to make little creative projects but I never seem to shake off repairing things. Currently I have been fixing a garden seat which had a broken slat. The likely culprit is the dog. Then I discovered that it had a rotten back rest. This meant that I had to remake part of the backrest. In reality the repair is worth more than the bench. But management wanted it preserved as it was a gift from our son. I'm am also fixing an old radiogram so that it can be sold. The problem with this is that the veneer on the cabinet is lifting. It is so damaged that it could probably be thrown out. However it belonged to my inlaws so my wife wants it fixed and sold. Im not even sure that any of the electrics work anymore. The record player hasn't been used in years and the radio frequencies are no longer in use. I'm not game to plug it in as it might blow a fuse!The unit predates FM radio and we won't evenmention DAB+. Then there is a chair waiting renovation , another ready to re-upholster (since 2019) and a dining table that could be refinished for sale. Somewhere in the middle I made a stand for a prot barrel sadly not my port barrel. So it's all repairs at the moment and we are downsizing. Garden Seat Back Garden Seat BackPort BarellRadiogramRadiogram VeneerChair FrameAssembled Chair FrameWaiting to be finishedRepairs Repairs

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|July 30th, 2021|Categories: Furniture, Renovating|0 Comments

Upgrades to the A’van

Upgrades to the van We have a A'Van Cruiseliner campervan which I seem to be endlessly upgrading or modifying. The photos in the attached gallery show the installation of an Ikea fold down table and a shelf above the sink. We found that the original table takes up too much space inside the van particularly when its cold and we spend in the van. I have of course kept the original table. I fitted the new Ikea table in such a way that if I decide to reverse the fitting you wouldn't notice. Although the table would benefit from having the right front corner as you look at lopped of. We have been away a couple of times with the additions in place and all seems to work well. most recently oy the Eyre Peninsula.

By Bernie Stefan-Rasmus|July 23rd, 2021|Categories: Renovating|0 Comments

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