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A new YouTube channel to host better versions of my old videos and the new stuff I hope to create. Only two videos at the moment to test the idea here first.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/are-you-bored-enough-to-spare-me-a-minute/
So tempted to visit some of the people on this thread and film what they do too.
I like watching those 'restoration' vids and you know when you say to yourself bet I could do that, anyway this is what happened:


Full video here:
Nice
A new guitar.
Bit like a Fender Esquire (single pickup telecaster) but more rock 🤘
That’s some outstanding skills there. Fantastic work and beautiful looking guitar.
How long does it take you to make your own guitar?
Roger Musson truing stand finally finished*, taken months and months. Went to more effort for this than my usual hasty constructions as wanted it to look and feel the part. Just need to learn how to use it. I'm sure I will find some really important procrastination to do instead however.

* errr yeah not done the spacing guide for the uprights yet.
That’s some outstanding skills there. Fantastic work and beautiful looking guitar.
How long does it take you to make your own guitar?
Cheers 😊
In this case not too long. I bought a body blank, and then routed out what I needed.
The neck was bought too, with an uncut headstock, so just needed to cut the shape and drill for tuners.
Then sanded and shaped the body (belly cut and neck heel) and finished with a couple of coats of Osmo Polyx-oil.
Longest time was probably spent getting the scratch plate right on the laser cutter. Did about 8 versions in card first to get it spot on.
Soldering and fitting the hardware was pretty easy. Did forget to put a ground wire on the bridge though.
Maybe 6-7 hours all in.
I did another guitar build from scratch a couple of years ago that was probably 20+ hours though.
I teach DT, so have a workshop, and will put in an hour here there. So my projects tend to be stretched over a few weeks or longer.
I think this painting is finished. This will be the fourth time this week it has been finished. The hardest thing after starting a painting is stopping, especially when it is a bespoke commission like this.
Client request was for a 6 foot by 2 foot coastal scene with bright colours and a naive style similar to a couple other paintings of mine that they had seen. I did a quick, small example to agree the basic composition and then went big. The pink sail and Audi A3 behind the pub are their requests to reflect their car and yacht. The pub is The Ship in Lymington, the lighthouse is at the head of Beaulieu river near Lepe and the side road by the pub is from Highcliffe - all slightly altered rather than exact copies.
Now I just need to get it out of my attic studio and on=to a wall in the house so it can be photographed better and is ready for them to collect. I am really hoping I don't damage it squeezing it through the loft hatch and that they like it enough to pay the other half when they actually see it for the first time. Slightly nervous as there is at least one more probably big commission from them and they were discussing what other paintings they would like for the other rooms in their new house - "Wouldn't it be fun to have the same artist decorate all the rooms darling!"

Brought the painting down now it is fully dried and is resting on a bed. It is a big bugger


I dropped my socket set & shattered the plastic insert.
1 foam mat & a bit of kraftwerk & it's better than the original.

Note. I started....but discovered my crochet skills were lacking. An expert crochet'er stepped in and finished the job. Sort of a collab 🙂
and I made the eyes 🙂
@rbc87
Great job, very impressive.
But, I did like the orginal barn find look car :).. Bit Henry Cole.
Wheel Of Fortune, for a local gaming company offices.




Kayak what are you going to tell your dad if that wheel lets you down?
Kayak what are you going to tell your dad if that wheel lets you down?
My love is my engine, and you might be fuel?....You know, off the top of my head.
27.5"? Bet it makes the games come alive.
A peaceful evening "Sunset Over the Lake"

That's lovely WCA, however the forestry manager needs to sort some of those hanging trees out...
To be honest, I think they were more concerned about Armageddon happening just behind them and the twist in reality where the water reflects the trees pretty accurately but not the sky at all 🙂
Anyone else I'd say "why?"
But not you Colin, that's exactly the kind of thing I expect.
How is it staying on with the bead sticking out like that?!
I love those tyres! My partner used to do something similar, but the other way round - knobbly to slick, for riding Slickrock.
For the ‘there’s a website?’ camp, Back From The Dead is largely about making stuff from bits of stuff: https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/back-from-the-dead-the-toolbox-of-tricks/
@Retrodirect Please note the post of World Class Accident is now taken, thank you for your interest at this time! 😉
Got a 10 flour sampler box from Matthews Mill this week. First out of the box is a dark Rye Bread. Coloured with blackstrap molasses and has a faint treacly aftertaste. Mrs S and I used it for a cheese bake dip tea last night and gave it a good hammering. Very, very crusty from being cooked in a cast iron pot. Used the 2 minutes mix, 5 minutes rest technique from the hand made loaf book which gives a very moist and light crumb.


@Retrodirect & @Sandwich It wasn;t a sales pitch but...
...if you are interested PM me and I will send size and possible options
So, I put up a big shed, but it doesn't have anything at the top of the barge boards, I was going to just cut a standard wooden diamond but then I spotted the little tiki ornament that my brother brought back for me from his travels, and thought that'd be nice. Except I didn't want to put that one outside, so I made one
3d printed the basic model, sprayed it with a few coats of filler- decided just to leave it with some print marks since it looks almost like grain on most of it (except the nose!) Grabbed some modelling paints, brown then a quick wash to give it shadows and a drybrush to weather it. Turned out not bad! Just got to clearcoat it now and then it can be nailed to the shed to protect it or bless it or whatever tikis do
Pallet wall in my office. Sourcing the pallets was surprisingly hard. It's backlit by some LEDs which are multicolour and can be sound activated.
https://imgur.com/a/hFdcIQB
Nice *
I also spent last weekend doing the same to my study. Pallets on the wall, desktop and shelves from scaffold boards.


I was hungover when I started again on Sunday morning. Grabbed the Tim of varnish to do the desk top, got 2 thirds of the way through before realising I was using the black radiator paint I'd bought at the same time 🙄.
Finished painting it, sanded it down and put the varnish on...luckily it turned out ok.

Like that finish on the scaffold boards. Is that the varnish or the radiator paint causing an effect?
Love that finish! Happy little accidents.
Loving the Tiki Northwind. That'll look grand on a gable end. 😊👍
Nice finish on the desk but my god the cutting in around the door frame and skirting board, that was clearly while you were shit faced rather than just hung over! 😊
I've just passed your feedback onto my wife who did the painting. She confirms that she was indeed shitfaced after several proseccos...
Following McMoonter on instagram means there are frequent pics of his wood sheds and holzhausen, so I got inspired to have a go...
It's a very satisfying thing to build.
😊👌
I need to try one of those. My current woodpile is on a 4x3 pallet base under a tarp and about 2m tall, but will need moving in spring so that i can split and stack the rounds I moved before winter.
The shed is basically full, so it will have to be _not_ in the shed.
I need a new wood shed.
Not super pretty but 100% curious cat proof removable boxing to cover the flexi waste from our new loo. Adopted two rescue cats just after and they get absolutely everywhere! 😭
My small collection of chisels has been rattling around in the bottom of the toolbox for too long.
My No.4 Plane leaves stripes, cause the blade is so mangled from misuse

Made a honing sled from some offcut of aluminium, and a set of shower door roller wheels. Drilled and tapped holes for the wheel bearings and the clamp. Pop rivets on the "square" edge.
Chisels are now fantastically sharp, and far too dangerous to have loose in the toolbox
So i made a box

To go on the tool wall/rack

Okay Olly - I am off to the garage to do some R&D* on that idea as I have a load of chisels which everyone else seems to think are screwdrivers or for scraping the pointing out of paving slabs. It would be good to have them properly sharp again.
*Rip-off & Duplicate
Ive subsequently seen a few people make similar on youtube, and it turns out you can buy them for not a lot of money too, but i first saw it here:
↑ same. I'm on the verge of just buying a new set of chisels, but making something like that looks like a challenge. Might see if I can 3D print one...
Looks great that Olly 👍
Did you figure out a specific angle?
I assume it's a fixed angle because of the four wheels.
Neato
on the second image you can see a plywood version, i rough cut the correct angle from a 36mm chunk of ply off cut, and that was ok.
i was looking around for something to improve it and found that the aluminium stock i had was already the correct dimensions to give a 25 degree angle, so just went with that. saves me from having to work out an angle each time, if i can just drop it in and barely lift the front wheels to set the angle.
Why not do away with the front wheels altogether, and just attach a little spirit level bubble at the correct angle? Clamp the chisel so the bubble is centred and hone away.
The angle changes with different types/thicknesses of blades is all.
My plane blade is very different in section to my Japanese chisel for example, and would result in a slightly different angle.
Cool idea though and nice build.
Usually, chisels and planes are ground at 25 degrees and honed at 30.
Means if you get a little chip you're not there for a day trying to get rid of it.
Also is a pretty good compromise in terms of being a fine enough edge, and being strong enough to last an acceptable time.
Generally when honing on abrasive paper, you want to just hone on the pull stroke so the paper is in tension.
Interesting. A nice little project that I might have a dabble at. There are versions online and they are hinged and tensioned with a bolt and wingnut so you can change the angle easily.
... which you can measure using an iphone in Measure, I've just discovered..
I used to have a honing guide like this one. The single wheel started to wear a groove in my stone
I now have some big triangular lumps of wood cut to different angles that I sight to while holding the chisel/plane iron by hand
Be careful cutting triangular wedges on a table saw. They wedge if you do it the wrong way around. I cannot think how I know this 🙂
This is a good question. I need to make something. Got out of the habit of hands on stuff since the pandemic and a busy life. Intend to get out and "make" some photographs now the weather is better.
last thing from me was an oak side table to be used as a plant stand.
Top made from a slice of oak, legs from oak which was burnt (Japanese Shou Sugi ban method).

Wife has recently made a couple oak and epoxy kids tables/floor tables as a project to sell. Ideal for playing/drawing or even family games night.


This is really just a test piece made from a very dished slice of oak (I think) that has been kicking around the garage since I decided it was too dished to use.
I wanted to test my new planer / thicknesser so took the bottom off the dish and the top off the lips until I got a level piece of wood. I ran a router around the cut edges and left the live edge (and wood worm tracks), oiled it and it is now a cheese / fruit board going frr to the first taker on Facebook (or here if you are quick).

Been re-arranging the garage recently (a years-long ongoing project TBH) and, after much indecision, decided the best solution for the 5 bikes currently in there was a partition at the front facing the shutter door - previously they were on one of the side walls, but that wasn't ideal for a number of reasons.
I built a 4' partition from 15mm OSB, hinged at the sides and in the middle so it can be moved (sans bikes, obviously) if I need to get something big into the garage. My garage is conveniently almost exactly 8' wide and 8' high, which makes for optimal sheet material usage. Less conveniently, both the floor and ceiling slope slightly away from the house.
I've had this idea for a bike racking system for a while... the hooks are on boards mitred at the top and bottom, and slide along, but are captive in, rails mitred at the same angle, kind of like a double French cleat.
This means the hooks can be moved to squeeze the bikes into a smaller space. With the weight of a bike on them, they're pretty secure, but can just about be shuffled across. This does make the ones in the corner tricky to get to, but I just don't have any more space and it beats having one leant against a workbench. Five bikes on a 4' board, with bars sticking out on one side. The hooks can also slide out completely if I need to fold the partition flat against the wall for some reason.
Love the sliding hook plates, great idea
The cleats are genius. Nice one 👍
Made a corner desk for a home office in Birch Plywood.
Probably the last birch plywood I'll buy for a bit with the current sitch... 😕
Was just under £100 a sheet when I started this. Probably can't even get it now...






Kayak
That is a large unsupported span. Is it also fixed to the wall along the back edge?
Also, can't quite see the join between the ply and the circle, it is just a butt join and if so, is it dowelled, biscuited etc?
Kayak
That is a large unsupported span
Nah, it's got two heavy duty steel shelf-type brackets underneath supporting it plus struts along the back edge.
You can just see the bottom of one of them in the bottom pic.
It's in a tiny room so had to be take apart-able. The two outer leg sections are rebated, the central section sits into this rebate, is jointed by several Dominos, and then multiple allen bolts into threaded inserts lock it in place.
It's solid, but I hope he doesn't start tap dancing on it all the same. 😉
Wanged together a set of shelves for my office/shed. C24 timber in 195x45. Double width. "Rustic" looking.
Started off by pegging the shelves together, quickly gave up and used 100mm screws.
Made one version on the floor, and then another one on top to line it all up. Then realised I had 200cm width of room to lift up 180cm of shelving. Had about 5cm spare in the end.
Also, varnishing is a pain.
Love that desk Kayak. Must have taken some cutting!
Nothing in the context of this thread, but effective and saved a LOT of sweariness.
Finally getting round to 'raw'ing and rebuilding my new-ish to me Spesh Epic. Bought a bearing extraction kit (the type with the expanding wedges that you then drift out) but it was useless - guessing the bearings haven't been changed since the bike was built in 2012 and were a little stubborn... A trip to B&Q for some m6 bolts and a few washers and a rummage in my socket sets created a frankentool that had all the single bearings out in under 15 minutes (having previously failed to dislodge the first one after nearly an hour of trying).
At least the simple bearing press that I also bought from the same supplier worked fine...
@colournoise that looks like what I was fitting hub bearings with the other night, used my bearing/seal driver threaded bars and some appropriately sized sockets. Can't think of a reason to buy a "proper" driver kit unless I hit a weird size.
@olly your cleated wall is exactly what I have planned for my shed. How did you make your chisel holster?
finally finished this backgammon board


That's really nice Hobster. What are the white dots? Something inlaid? And have you made some equally impressive counters?
I've just bought a new leaf blower, and since the end of the tube on the old one was starting to wear away from contact with the ground (I tend to use the tube to scrape up stubborn bits), like this...
...I thought I'd have a crack at making a sacrificial strip to mount at the end of the new one.
Knocked together in Tinkercad and then 3D printed. Sank a couple of M3 threaded inserts into the lugs, and a couple of wee bolts to tighten it up on the end of the blower tube.
That's lovely Hobster 👏
Made a corner desk for a home office in Birch Plywood.
Probably the last birch plywood I’ll buy for a bit with the current sitch… 😕
Was just under £100 a sheet when I started this. Probably can’t even get it now
That desk is a fantastic piece of work, lot of detail going on there in a corner desk, great design too. Without giving away trade secrets, how do you get the curved sides that taper to the legs?
finally finished this backgammon board
That’s lovely work hobster.
There really are some very talented people on STW.
@willH the dots are mother of pearl.
I haven't made any counters as think it may be more hassle than its worth but if I don't see any that I like it may have to be done
Without giving away trade secrets, how do you get the curved sides that taper to the legs?
Thank you 🙏
Each 'wing' is based on one template, which is a very simple 90 degree L-shape, 30mm width. The legs are x3 layers of 18mm ply, and then the inner portion is the same shape but with only a slight L-length.
All stacked and bonded together.
If making images are of any interest, they're on a Flickr album Here


Basically a lot of repetitive template routing.
@hobstar
Lovely that is. it inlay over ply(board) or solid
10/10 just lovely
My latest masterpiece with something of interest for:
car lovers - Is it s DB5 or DB6 or...
cyclists - there is a team interloper and the last guy being left on the corner
cartoons - Meep Meep!

Cleated bike hooks is brilliant. I'll be cloning that on my bike wall.
@pk13 its solid wood with the points routed out and then filled with resin.
Veneer over ply or MDF may have been a better approach due to wood movement.
Knocked up a table for the Pizza oven to sit on, as it currently sits on the picnic bench, elminating the option for sitting at the picnic bench.

Cheapy B&Q pressure treated timber frame, but decided to use composite (plastic) fence panels for the top to make a clean ish surface to lay out food for pizza assembly
Time will tell whether the plastic sags in the sun, but i figure its designed to be outside so should be ok.
Nothing as neat as on here, I'm more 1st fix than 2nd fix or joiner 🙂
Have been collecting large items in the van to make into things. Mainly pallets but also picked up a washing machine
Washing machine has become a firepit. Have made a top for it so it's got a waterproof lid but also a wooden lid to make it into a drinks table. Largely bodged from other bits
Made a potting table for the wife, and a wood store for off cuts of pallet that are either for burning on the firepit or making into other things. I actually had quite a bit of wood and it was taking up space in the garage, wanted to get it outside but didn't want it sitting in the rain
Have also been making bits for an RC scale crawler course in the back garden. Nothing fancy at all, just a few bits to have some fun on
My 2 favourite tools at the moment are my impact driver and air nailer. Think I need to get a pallet breaker bar to make getting them apart easier. Sometimes I just chop them up into smaller bits with the circular saw but having the longer bits in one piece is handy
@benp1 they all sound interesting, definitely need some pics for inspiration/plagiarism purposes...






