About 2 months ago we were approached by Toowoon Bay SLSC & asked if we would take on the task of completely refurbishing a surf reel for them. It was to be used for display at their 60th anniversary, 50's style surf carnival in October 2014.
They asked that it be restored to as near to new as possible because after the event it was to be used as a heritage piece & displayed at the clubhouse. 
On one side of the reel will be the names of all the foundation members while on the other side will be the names of the first crew. 

It turned into a really interesting project for a number of our members. All the fittings were re- chromed. Robert & Mark completely dismantled the reel, restored the ends & made new cedar slats for the rope. Bob turned up the new reel biscuits to replace the originals. Justin & Greg hand polished the frame back to it's original pristine condition. 

Robert made the 2 new flagpoles they also wanted as seen in the photos below.

They all can be very proud of the finished product as seen below.

Great effort fellas

 
On Monday 30th July our shed once again hosted Woosh before & after school care children.
These kids varied in ages from about 8 to 11years. 

This year we decided to make things a bit more interesting. 
Instead of them just making swords, surf boards & anything else that came to mind; they were able to bring their own picture or photo they had previously glued to a piece of MDF cut to A4 size & supplied by us. 
Under supervision they were allowed to cut these up on our scroll saws into random shapes to make their own jigsaw puzzle. The perimeter was then glued to a pre-cut backing board to complete the puzzle.
They all thought it was so cool to be able to use a machine to do a project.

Once they finished the jigsaw it was back to making swords & daggers etc.
The kids enjoyed what they were doing so much we virtually had to start pulling the roller shutters down to make them go home!!

Many thanks to the volunteer shed members who helped to make the day such a success.

One of our newer members Lyle approached us to see if we could give him some advice on how to restore this rocking horse back to pristine condition.

 He wanted it to be a hand me down for future generations.

As it turned out he did not need much guidance or advice to achieve what you see in the  pictures below.

He also turned his hand to leather work, after much help & know how from our expert leather craftsman Ross.

Ross did all of the more advanced leather work shown here (saddle, stirrups in particular), while showing Lyle how to do the easier stuff.

GREAT RESULT BOY’S

The photos seen below show exactly what he had to start with through to the final result

  

On Tuesday 24^th June our shed along with Singleton, Maitland, Windale & Bonnyrigg sheds were invited to a promotion inside Parliament House in freezing Canberra.

The purpose of the visit was to enlighten politicians of the need for Men’s Sheds, what they do & how important they are for men who perhaps are isolated socially or needing male company & all the other benefits associated within the male domain, including health issues.

We also stressed the importance of this Organization for men (& in some cases women) to be funded by government on a continuing basis.

We understand this Expo display was organized by a number of politicians who have formed a group calling themselves Friends of Shed’s & they use their influence to promote the Men’s Shed Movement within their respective parties.

Jeff Kennett from Beyond Blue is a strong supporter of the Shed’s. He chaired the short formal presentations & in concluding implored MP’s from both sides of Parliament to continue funding our organization.

We all had a small table to display some of the things the members are capable of making which included a working model of a wooden clock mechanism made by our ex-President John.

ohn.

Here's Bryan again only this time he undertook the job of making a full size Chocolate Wheel for Uniting Care Nareen Gardens. 
They are having a fund raising Fete in October & we reckon they will attract a lot of dollars with this colourful wheel.

Well done Bryan