a Shed in Ryde

Welcome a Shed in Ryde! Hopefully this blog will give you an idea of what has been happening in my shed, as well as other sheds around about. We also provide info about our monthly “Shed Nights”, both what has happened and what is coming up.

Let us know if you have interesting things happening in your own shed, or if you don’t have a shed of your own but love sheds anyway, feel free to contribute! Sheds are a great place to hang out with a mate or two, waste time, talk about what you are going to do, store all the things you will one day use (possibly),  drink beer, escape life and play (I mean work).

The idea of Sheds as a space where men can reconnect with other blokes and find purpose and meaning in using their brains and their hands has grown over recent years. Government funding has been given to the building of “community” sheds, but sadly there has been no government funding in my shed! In fact one of the things that I have loved about my shed is the minimal amount of cost in setting up. Perhaps you could say this has been partly funded by the local council, as council cleanups have certainly helped in providing tools and resources. This, however, is also a sad reflection of how little value is now placed by many on hand tools and resources. I guess a Shed in Ryde is doing it’s bit to help recycle!

If you want to know more about the purpose of a Shed in Ryde and how we plan to operate, please check out the relevant link at the top of the page!

One of my most treasured finds is the “vertical mill” pictured below. It was not really a vertical mill, but rather a large industrial mixer for mixing bread dough. I almost did myself an injury loading it into the back of the truck! Although it is not a working mill yet, it is well on the way. It has a fully geared head and has three speeds. I have put an electric motor on it (from the Council cleanup) and it now has a work platform, vice and vertical lift also all courtesy of the side of the road! I am currently trying to figure out how to mount a chuck to the spindle and make a crosslide/compound table, and then we should be right to go. More on that later!

All images on this blog are copyright unless otherwise stated!