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Manning Men’s Shed Newsletter

An activity of the Manning Senior Citizens Centre February 2020#02

Editor’s Note: The purpose of this Newsletter is to showcase the involvement of MMS in various shed, community, and personal projects, plus the usual members’ news. While working on your projects please remember to take photos of what you are doing or have completed, and forward these to the Hon Editor (Eric Goddard) preferably via email or on a memory stick.

Please note that Shed Newsletters can also be viewed at: https://manning.mensshedswa.org.au/shed-news/

Mon: 8:30 -12:00 1.00 - 4:30 Tue: 8:30 -12:00 1.00 - 4:30 Wed: 8:30 -12:00 1.00 - 4:30 Fri am: 8:30 -12:00 Fri pm: 1.00 - 4:30 for machine and shed maintenance only Thur: The Shed is also open on Thursdays 9:00 - 3:30 for toy making only - if you are interested speak to

Don, Bernie or Allan.

Metal Workshop Changes

Our Metal Workers were busy in the latter part of January 2020 re-arranging the Metal Workshop layout to allow metal working machines located in the Wood Workshop to be relocated.

The Hafco Numerically Controlled Lathe is now in the south east corner of the Metal Workshop. The grey metal shelf unit has been placed at right angles to the back wall of the Metal Workshop, with enough space behind it to give access to the Hafco lathe This shelf unit is used to store workshop accessories and tools. The large tool board on the west wall of the Metal Workshop remains as does do the mobile metal workbenches.

Hafco Lathe (far left in the corner) and grey shelf unit

The Hafco Milling Machine has been located in the south west corner of the Metal Workshop alongside the Hafco Drilling Machine. The grey steel cupboard containing the accessories for the Hafco

Milling machine is located at right angles to the wall and backs onto the north west corner wash basin.

Hafco Milling Machine (left), Drilling machine, plus Cupboard

The large storage rack has been removed from north wall of the Metal Workshop and has been replaced by a fixed metal workbench. The welding machines are stored either under or alongside the metal workbench. Backing boards have been installed on the wall above the metal workbench and these are being used to hang commonly tools.

Metal Workbench and Backboard

Contacts: Shed Telephone Number 9313 2739 Shed Email: ManningMensShed@iinet.net.au Shed Coordinator: Allan Waugh Shed Committee: Keith Hayes (Chairman), Brian Graham (Vice Chairman), Kingsley Waterhouse (Secretary), John Paisley (Treasurer), Roland Prince (Deputy Shed Coordinator), Greg Abbott, David Vicary, Mel Taylor, Allan Waugh, Dennis Menzies (Rotary Club of Como Rep), Membership: Don Cameron, Assets: Eric Goddard, Newsletter Editor: Eric Goddard Manning Senior Citizens Centre: Glenn Rogers 9450 6273

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Thursday is Toy Boy Day

Over the last few months more and more people have been coming into the Shed on Thursdays to work on their projects instead of toy making.

Increasingly over the last six months or so, fewer members are attending to make toys, either for themselves or for the shed to sell at market days as a revenue raising measure. Some of the toy making Shed Members are feeling that they are being displaced by others who are coming in to work on other projects.

Thursdays have always been set aside to enable toy making to proceed without hindrance from the larger projects and we are keen to re-instate Thursdays for toy making only.

It is suggested that we run some toy making courses to encourage more members to be involved in toy making. We have 3 members who at present are willing to donate their time and supervise toy making courses on Thursdays. Each of these members will have a different aspect to toy making and will take course participants through the process step by step. The intention is to start the toy making courses in mid-March. Please put your name down on the sheet in the crib room if you are interested.

January 2020 Shed Meeting and BBQ

The January 2020 Shed Meeting and BBQ was held on Friday 31st January 2020 commencing at 2.30pm.

James Wild, the CEO, and Rebecca Herbener, the Executive Assistant, both newly appointed by Men’s Sheds of WA Committee, attended the meeting and were introduced to members by Chairman Keith Hayes.

James spoke about the role of the Men’s Sheds of WA including its representation of the 150 plus men’s sheds that are in WA with the State Government and also its representation of these sheds to the Men’s Sheds of Australia Association which deals with national issues and deals with the Australian Federal Government.

Keith Hayes (seated left), Rebecca, and James

Shed Members

John Paisley Wins a Prize

Shed Member and Treasurer John Paisley recently won first prize at a quiz night. His prize? A clock mounted on a circular saw blade - just right for a

woodworker.

John Paisley’s Prize Clock

John has donated the clock to the Shed to replace one of the plastic clocks we are currently using.

Members Projects

Michael Makes a Dolly

Michael Hatsiyiannakis is usually seen working in the Shed garden but recently he was in the Wood Workshop. Michael was making a dolly for use in his garden at home.

Michael working on his dolly

Joe in the Frame

Joe Lawson is fitting out his caravan and has constructed a lightweight frame for the double bed

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Joe Lawson working on the bed frame for his caravan

Shed Projects

Martin’s Next Move

Martin Lawton continues with his refurbishment projects. This time Martin has refurbished a small chess board table for a client. It was in a pretty sad state with the chess board dis-coloured and legs loose when it first came to the shed. Martin, in his methodical and careful way, rebuilt the table and cleaned up the chess board before applying a coat of wax. You will agree that the finished job looks really good.

Martin buffing up the chess board table

Martin received this letter of appreciation from the client.

Good Job Martin!

Bernie Paints His Car

Bernie Dierks is making a scale model of a 1965 Morris Traveller for a shed client. This type of estate car or station wagon is affectionately referred to as a “Woody” due to the wooden trim on the outside.

Bernie has finished the main superstructure of the wagon and has commenced painting the outside before he adds the wood trim.

Bernie painting the “Woody”

Michael Opens the Blinds

A number of old wooden slat window blinds were recently donated to the shed. New Shed Member Michael Archer, under the supervision of Griffin Muttu, has been busy pulling them apart so we can use the slats

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Michael (right) is helped by Griffin

Boys and Their Toys

A few months ago, John Paisley made a toy tradesman’s utility plus trailer for the children of a neighbor.

Ben, Max and Thomas are very satisfied customers.

One of the boys plays with the toy utility and trailer

Yellow Wins by a Head

Last Month the two hobby horses that Eric Goddard was refurbishing were at the starting gates. The yellow horse won the race to finish the refurbishment by a head (the red one needed a new head!!).

The hobby horses ready to go.

The original client has indicated that we can sell them to raise funds for the Shed. John Paisley was once a bookies clerk so we might end up running a book on which one sells first!

Memorial Boards

We received two memorial boards from a client which both required “Sympathetic Restoration”.

"Sympathetic restoration" is a standard term and concept in the world of antique furniture, antique toys, rare books, and other things. It means that if an item needs repairs, you do them. If original or reproduced parts are available you use them, with no attempt to deceive. If no replacements are available you restore the item to look and function very similarly to original, though obviously not identical.

The larger memorial board consisted of a large wooden board with an engraved marble head stone affixed at the top. Several metal name plaques were fixed to the board below the head stone. The wooden board had a split in the middle and a piece of the outside edge molding was missing. The gold lettering on the marble headstone was fast disappearing and the metal name plaques were pitted. The board, headstone and the plaques were in need of a good clean and polish.

The smaller oval shaped wooden memorial plaque was mounted on a marble stone board and had wooden lettering on it. Both the marble stone board and the wooden plaque and lettering were also in need of a good clean and polish.

Kim Horne and Martin Lawton undertook to carry out the refurbishment of the two Memorial boards. They started by dismantling the boards into their individual component parts which could then be cleaned and polished individually.

Kim worked on the larger wooden board to fill the split and clean the front face whilst Martin made a short section of molding using a router with the appropriately shaped cutting bits. Kim gave the front face of the board several coats of shellac and used gold leaf to restore the engraving. Martin carefully cleaned the marble around the gold lettering. Kim cleaned up the metal name plaques. The memorial board was then reassembled.

Work on the smaller memorial board was a bit more intricate as the wooden lettering on the oval wooden plaque need care during cleaning to avoid damaging the letters. Kim performed his magic on

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the wooden plaque and after cleaning applied several coats of shellac. Martin cleaned up the marble stone board. The memorial board was then reassembled.

As you can see Martin and Kim have done an excellent job in performing this sympathetic restoration.

The larger Memorial Board after restoration

The smaller oval Memorial Board after restoration

Machines, Safety, and Welfare

On the Shelf

The shelf units on the east wall of the bus garage have been removed. Members are requested to not leave anything leaning against this wall in future. The mobile benches on the west wall of the garage are to be used for the storage of shed projects during the construction stage. Shed projects are primarily those carried out for clients. Every endeavor should be made to have clients pick up completed projects as soon as they have been finished.

Please also note that at all times there must be emergency access to the electrical distribution board in the south east corner of the bus garage. Do not store items where they will prevent opening of the door to the electrical distribution box. Similarly, there must be a clear 1 metre wide emergency evacuation route between the door from the bus garage into the Wood Workshop and the emergency exit door on the west wall of the bus garage.

Combination Mitre Saw Stop

Brett Goodwin and Mel Taylor have designed, constructed, and fitted an adjustable stop to the left-hand side of the Combination Mitre Saw bench. The stop is made from square section metal tubing and can be set to the required cutting length and is useful when repetitive cutting at the same length is required.

Left hand stop on the combination mitre saw

Workshop Benches

Last week we featured a picture of members working on the box top for one of new Wood Workshop benches. This type of bench is called a torsion bench and the box top now has a series of holes in it. The holes are designed for stops (similar to those used on the Black and Decker folding workbenches) or clamps to be inserted. Stops and clamps are stored in Steven Finch’s drawer on the north wall of the Shed.

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Mike Smith working on the new bench

Why Using Personal Protective Equipment Is Important

A Shed Member recently was thankful that he was wearing steel capped safety boots. He was working in the Metal Workshop relocating a machine when a heavy unsecured vice fell about a metre down onto his feet.

Safety Boot (bottom) with damage behind the Steel Toecap

The sharp edges on the vice pierced the leather safety boot but the steel toe cap prevented any damage to the members toes and he suffered only minor scratches to the side of his foot.

Please ensure that you are wearing appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when working in the Shed. Face Shields, Safety Glasses, Ear Muffs, Ear Plugs, Dust Masks, High Visibility Vests, Gloves, and other PPE are stored in the green shelf unit opposite the door to the Crib Room.

Bench on Offer

As part of the installation of the new benches the smaller old wooden bench is available to members ($50 or reasonable offer). Please speak to Roland Prince in the Shed Office (Tel 93132739).

Wooden Bench on Offer

Shed Cleanup Day

On Friday 6th March 2020 the Shed will be closed for a busy bee clean up session commencing from 08.30 am and finishing at 12.00pm. The afternoon session will be reserved for machine maintenance.

If you can assist with the cleanup please register on the sheet in the Crib Room.

Sign-On Computer Upgrade

The computer for the Sign-On system has been upgraded and now requires a password to log on when it is switched on. Otherwise the system operates as before. Thanks to Dominic Palumbo for the upgrade.

Microwave Upgrade

Thanks to the kind donation of a Samsung microwave oven from Maureen and Mel Taylor we have replaced the old National microwave oven in the Kitchen area.

In the Old Country

No not Pommyland but Shed Coordinator Allan Waugh was recently in Kiwiland and sent us this report.

He visited MENZSHED’s in Martinborough, Carterton, and Masterton to find that they are all well supported and engaged in a number of community projects as well as personal jobs. The men's shed movement is alive and well in New Zealand.

In the South Island Allan visited the Nelson School of Fine Woodwork, having heard about its reputation for world class tuition in fine woodwork, particularly in furniture making. He was surprised to see that four people from the West Australian Fine Woodworking Association were attending this school. They were in their final week of a 6-week course during which they developed their own

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designs and then built an item of furniture. This course is carried out under the guidance/mentorship of Michael Fortune, a world-renowned Canadian woodwork designer and maker. Others on the staff at the School were undertaking commissioned works while the course was running. This provides an ideal learning environment in which students get to bounce ideas off each other, the course leader and experienced furniture makers.

Nelson School of Fine Woodwork - Workshop

Longest Highways in the World

Highway 1, Australia

Highway 1 in Australia is the world’s longest single nation highway. It covers 14,500km, comprising of interconnected highways. It was inscribed as a national highway in 1955 and comprises of both single and multilane roads. The route touches all Australian states or Territories except Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. It does not pass through Darwin (Northern Territory) or Canberra (Australian Capital Territory). The original route of Highway 1 proposed in 1955 was realigned in 1959, 1974 and 1998. The highway carries more than a million people a day.

Pan American Highway

The Pan American Highway, which encompasses the entire US interstate highway system, is the world’s longest multi-country highway covering a length of approximately 48,000km. Made up of interconnecting highways, it connects more than 20 countries in the Americas, except for a 100km gap halfway, located between Panama and Colombia, known as the Darién Gap.

The highway project was conceived in 1923 and stretches from Buenos Aries in South America to Edmonton in North America. The first portion of the highway was completed by Mexico in 1950. Mexico solely built and financed the portions of the highway extending through the country, while the sections through the smaller Central American countries were constructed with assistance from the US.

Coming Manning Men’s Shed Events 2020

Date Day Time Event

28 February Friday 2.30pm Shed Meeting and BBQ **

2 March Monday All Day Shed Closed for Labour Day Holiday

6 March Friday All Day Shed Closed for Clean Up and Maintenance

27 March Friday 2.30pm Shed Meeting and BBQ **

10 April Friday All Day Shed Closed for Good Friday

13 April Monday All Day Shed Closed for Easter Monday

24 April Friday 2.30pm Shed Meeting and BBQ **

Note: Events above marked thus ** require members to assist with preparing for, then running the event. If you are able to help out please advise a Committee member and get details of what is happening.

Coming Manning Senior Citizens Centre Events 2020

Date Day Time Event

25 February Monday 12.15pm to 2.00pm Duyfken Ship Tour and Lunch

03 March Tuesday TBA Mini Bus Trip – Kalamunda Hotel

04 March Wednesday 12.00pm lunch Free Film “The Old man and the Gun” Robert Redford

18 March Wednesday 12.00pm lunch St Patricks Day Luncheon – Perfect Storm – Bingo

26 March Thursday TBA River Cruise Murray River $60

08 April Wednesday 12.00pm lunch Easter Celebration Lunch Jerry Solonga Entertainer

14 April Tuesday TBA Mini Bus Trip – Canvas Café Fremantle Arts Centre 15 April Wednesday 12.00pm lunch Guest Speaker Alan Naber – Social History of Cycling

from 1827 to 1917

22 April Wednesday 12.00pm lunch Bingo at 1.00pm

24 April Friday 12.00pm lunch Anzac Day Celebration Lunch