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How to save crumbling wood

Earl’s Wood Hardener penetrates into soft and rotted wood fibres, restoring them to near original strength. It makes repairs possible to even the most fragile wood, ready for full restoration. Forget digging out rot. Earl’s Wood Hardener will penetrate wood fibres, and once dry, you can patch and paint, if necessary.

Earl’s Wood Hardener penetrates into soft and rotted wood fibres, restoring them to near original strength. It makes repairs possible to even the most fragile wood, ready for full restoration. Forget digging out rot. Earl’s Wood Hardener will penetrate wood fibres, and once dry, you can patch and paint, if necessary. It’s suitable for both interior and exterior jobs and is ready to use straight from the tub or bottle. There’s no waste and no volatiles to avoid. Available in 250ml, 1L and 4L sizes from hardware and paint retailers nationwide. Visit hobeca.co.nz for more information.



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Create a classy TV stand

15 October 2026

This television stand has been designed for a flat-screen 32-inch television and has also been designed to be made with minimal tools, enabling the weekend warrior/hobbyist to make it in not much more than a day. You certainly do not need advanced skills to make it. To complete it in a day, the glueing up of the timber will need to be done the day before, and obviously the stain and varnish will need to be done over several days.
While I have the equipment in my home workshop to machine the timber, I want to stress that this television stand could be made in the home workshop or garage with little in the way of tools. For example, you could ask the timber yard to dress the timber for you (you might even find the sizes you require already dressed at the big shed DIY stores), and all the cutting could be done with a handsaw.

Preserving the tools of yesteryear

29 September 2026

Collecting and preserving tools and machinery used by generations gone by is a passion and obsession for many sheddies. There’s nothing like using the shed for a restoration project on something that was made to last. Getting up close to the work of craftsmen and tools made with pride.
Our mainly rural pioneering past has meant bygone equipment is often left lying about and rusting in old farm sheds or thrown out at the tip but sometimes reverently collected and restored by people who care.
One of these is farrier Kevin Schimanski of Wanganui. A lifetime of shoeing and riding horses has kept Kevin pretty fit. Aged 78, he still shoes horses and enjoys getting into the saddle to play polo.

All aboard

25 September 2026

This project started after a visit to The Plains Vintage Railway and Historic Museum in Ashburton (www.plainsrailway.co.nz). Our three boys had really enjoyed the model trains and, on the way home, asked if I could build one for them. As the kilometres went by, a few ideas began to form, and the seeds for this project were planted.
Over the Christmas/New Year break, I decided to retire to my workshop and start turning the thoughts and ideas into the real thing. The overall design is based on the TR189 locomotive pictured below.