John Devenport loves to dismantle machinery & restore it. So when we received this donation of on old rusted Jointer he couldn’t wait to get his hands on it. It had been lying under a tree in the open for a very long time by the look of it. He completely stripped it down, removed all the rust, remounted another motor, made a brass  indicator plate & repainted it.

He did such a good job this one’s a keeper

Another strange request we received was a lady who wanted  a birth box made for her grandson.          Not knowing what this was we asked the question. Apparently it's a storage box for keepsakes in the child’s early years. It may contain the first tooth lost, first lock of hair, favourite toy etc.etc. She asked if we could make it in the shape of a treasure chest to the photos supplied. Mark Smith had just finished making a finger jointing jig so he volunteered to have a go to see how his invention worked. It was a tedious task but very pleasing to see how it turned out.

    Great job Mark.                

 We know who to nominate next time.

 

Showing finger joints to corners

Even felt lined

We have a couple of members who are also volunteers in the Blaze Aid organisation who help farmers & people in the outback, to overcome their losses in fires & floods etc. John Devenport is one of these guys. The last time he went bush he came across a lady in her nineties, who had lost everything in a fire. The only things she salvaged was her beloved bench seat frame & the frame of the table that goes with it. She has had these since she married way back when.  John being a soft-hearted guy loaded the frames onto his truck & brought them back to the shed. At his own expense he refurbished both the seat & table then delivered them back to her. Needless to say she was overjoyed to have such a spectacular job done on something she thought was gone forever.

Well done John.             That’s what it's about mate!

These 2 were only for decoration

John Devenport on the right with the Lady (centre) & Blaze Aid Volunteers

John Mills saw the native beehives we make & was keen to make one for Armidale Public School as the children were interested in how bees make honey. Always one to be different he settled on a hexagon style with a pitched roof which looked similar to something made in Japan or India. It looked pretty good when finished & the kids loved it so much the school made a donation to the Shed along with a Certificate of Appreciation.

Spud Murphy one of our newer members has always wanted to design & make some sort of portable cupboard to house his BBQ tools. He wanted something that would hold everything, so he could bring it out & start cooking. This is what he came up with & it looks great. It can accommodate the tools, egg rings, paper towels  & everything else he would need. He said he has the plans & dimensions if anyone wants to make one for themselves.