Latest news and features
Choppers with pedal power
Geraldine High School technology teacher Alan Minnear built pedal-powered choppers with his Year 11 students because he wanted something to capture their interest. He says he initially got the idea for the choppers from another local teacher but then discovered the Atomic Zombie website (www. atomiczombie.com) which opened his eyes to possibilities with the clear instructions available. He paid for and downloaded the PDF files for the two choppers named Vigilante and Overkill that caught his eye.
Because of their relative inexperience, the students basically followed the book for the choppers they built. However, the book gave no measurements, wanting builders to create their own design from the basics.
On the move
Farm life, even on a pocket-handkerchief farm like mine, means that you will need to move stock from time to time. I run a few cattle beasts and a few goats. I plan to get a few sheep soon, too. The issue with stock is moving them. Moving the cattle is a different story but for the smaller stock I could carry them either on the tray of my ute or my trailer if either had a stock cage.
I decided that building a cage could be an easily achievable project and so it has proved. It has value even if you don’t have stock – it certainly increases the options for your trailer. It is a lot easier collecting firewood with a cage, even transporting rubbish, or green waste. In the case of the latter you might want to make the end hinged rather than incorporate a gate to make it easier to unload the waste.
My shed the barn
Capacity is always the issue. My two sheds at home were each at their limit. I had woodwork in one and a one-off car suffering fabrication right on top of it in another.
When it came time to plan a new house on the new section, I thought of a barn-sized shed. In this barn, I would build all the joinery for the house. But first I had to build the barn.
I had a design that had been kicked around for ages and required a giant leap forward in capacity. This barn as my workshop would have good height, tall openings, a range of areas for different tasks and that all-important swing room around the main machine, a multi-function dimension saw.
Like other glimpses I enjoy of by-gone eras, I have always loved those English “oak barns” typically housing Aston Martins in magazines portraying classic cars. The vision I had for my barn was of posts and beams and the roof crouching over long flanks, suggesting back rooms filled with the rare and the useful.
A life in harmony
There is such a thing as serendipity. When Paul Downie was 11 years old a chance meeting at his grandmother’s house was to eventually set him on a course that would define his career.
“I was learning the piano at the time and her friend had a harpsichord that he invited me over to see. I thought it was marvellous,” he recalls. “He told me I should build one and although it sounded like a ridiculous idea, it never went away.”
When he was 22, Paul embarked on the project, researching how to build a harpsichord, scouring junk shops for old tools, sawing bits of wood, and gluing them up until he had constructed the instrument.
“I enjoyed the whole process so much that when I was 23 I decided to build another one. I discovered that overseas museums had very detailed technical drawings of old instruments which you could buy – when they are restored everything about the instrument and the mechanisms are recorded.
“I went on to build two more harpsichords. The first one did work but it wasn’t up to the same standard so I ended up pulling it apart and my sister burnt it as fire wood,” he says laughing. “The others have survived and are owned by very good musicians.”
Create your own parrot-beaked pliers
A specialist tool we made in that Hatton Garden workshop where I served my time was parrot-beaked pliers. These are used by the ring-maker for hand-made gem settings. They present the setting in a ring at just the right angle so the jeweller can pierce and file the design of the setting.
The best pliers for this are a pair of heavy, flat-pointed pliers, known in the trade as snipe pliers. Good jeweller’s pliers can cost up to $50, so I save my students money by most often using second-hand electrician’s snipe pliers. You can pick these up at any market for used tools and they do just as well. I am still using the pair I made during my apprenticeship 50 years ago.
The Shed magazine February/March 2026 issue 125 on sale now
Going solar
Solar power seems like a great idea; who doesn’t want free power, right? But, what to choose, and what are the pitfalls of solar?
Regular The Shed writer, Andrew Broxholme, has just completed a large solar installation on his property and shares all the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of his solar power journey.
I’m environmentally aware, but am not an environmentalist, so I’ve gone solar for only one reason, because it makes good financial sense to do so, that said it isn’t necessarily going to be right for everyone and its impact on your power bills will depend on where you are in New Zealand and the orientation and design of your house relative to where the sun rises and sets.
I’ve been interested in renewables for many years. I first looked at it while living in the UK. The early systems had promise, but really didn’t make financial sense as the cost of installation and ongoing maintenance wasn’t offset by big enough reductions in power bills. They wouldn’t repay that investment during their service life, which at the time was 15–20 years (maximum).
That’s no longer true, with higher volume, the equipment has got a lot cheaper, it is more efficient, but we have also seen huge increases in energy costs; this, in particular, changes the economics dramatically. That doesn’t, however, mean that you can buy the first solar system presented or recommended to you. Read on to find out why.
The ultimate man cave
It’s tempting to think of Gregor Kregar’s work space as the ultimate humongous man cave. The 410-square-metre studio in a gritty industrial area of Auckland’s New Lynn certainly has all the “boy’s toys” to make the most avid sheddie happy.
Vises, grinders, table saw and cut-off saw? Check. MIG and TIG welders and drill press? Check. Two electric and a gas-fired kiln? Check. You get the picture. This is a serious space set up to work on all manner of materials.
Video of Geraldine Military Museum military revival
Two years ago, Don Pelvin set up the Military Museum in Geraldine as a retirement project.
He is pretty happy with how things are going, with an average of a thousand visitors a month, especially as his museum is one of six in the small South Canterbury town. He also organises the Rangitata Island Military Revival on the Saturday and Sunday of Labour weekend every year.
This is a combination of a display of military vehicles and gear, and reenactments of actions from WWI and WWII, and it all takes place at the Rangitata aerodrome, an airfield owned by a local farmer. About 50 reenactors turned up in their historically correct uniforms with their suitable weapons, after word had spread in the tight-knit military history world that the event was happening.
Introducing the New Linbide.co.nz
Linbide is proud to announce the launch of its newly redesigned website, linbide.co.nz, marking an exciting step forward in how we connect with the woodworking, engineering, and tooling communities across New Zealand.
For decades, Linbide has been dedicated to producing high-quality carbide cutting tools built for accuracy, durability, and performance. Our new website carries that same commitment into the digital space—designed to be faster, clearer, and more intuitive, giving customers a better way to explore our products and understand the value behind the Linbide name.
Woodwork: getting started (2)
A home workshop is a special place and will function much better if you are able to plan how it is set out. My first workshop was in a single garage which was also the home of a very old Austin 7. As I bought machines, things became a little tricky. It was not that motivating on a winter’s evening, knowing I had to shift the Austin and re-arrange the workshop before I started. Our architect’s major renovation to our home included the redevelopment of my workshop area and from a single garage to a 9 m x 6 m workshop was a massive leap forward, even if it is shared with an MG.
The Shed magazine December/January 2026 issue 124 on sale now
The Stude-Maker
Studebaker marketed their groundbreaking 1950 Aero-Nose models as “luxury for everyman.” A young Trevor Halstead thought this was a bit of him, so he began purchasing Studebakers in the early 1970s. The fact that the Champion model he chose was $50 less than the Ford he really wanted did play a small role in that life-changing decision. As they say, the rest is history.
“To the man on the street, they became known as bullet noses, and while they proved to be Studebaker’s best-selling model in 1950, those aero-lines did not age so well, and by 1952, the company reverted to a more conventional front end.
Fast forward a couple of decades into another hemisphere, and a one-man Studebaker ‘Next Look’ revival was about to begin, in the workshop of Studebaker devotee and custom-builder, Trev Halstead. This time, though, those vintage lines would take on wild and offbeat shapes.
Woodwork: getting started – part one
Not be too many weeks pass before someone asks me how to get started in woodworking as a hobby. I have had a life-long interest in making or building things but only in the last 20-plus years has my woodworking become dominant. Most people contemplating something in the woodworking area say they have had previous exposure to the craft, but often that was just a brief introduction during their school days.
Perhaps the biggest decision is first to determine that you want to start making something out of wood. Once under way, you will probably move in a particular direction that interests you.
One of the best places to start is at a woodworking hobby class at a local school or polytechnic.
Hammering history
You can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of Kiwi women who have become blacksmiths in their 60s. Judy Waterston of Livingstone, inland North Otago, is one of them.
As a child Judy spent hours in her engineer-father’s workshop sorting nuts and bolts, tidying away his tools, sweeping up, and watching him make things. She says her love of tools and machinery came from her dad.
The blacksmithing seed was sown in 1972 when Judy first saw Nicol’s Blacksmith Shop in Duntroon, some 40 km from Oamaru up State Highway 83. The building was being devoured by periwinkle planted 100 years before to act as a fire retardant. Most of the windows were smashed and it was draped in cobwebs.
“I looked through the broken windows and when I saw the anvil and bellows they took my breath away,” she remembers. “I’ve loved this building ever since.”
Metal and wood shelving
No matter how much storage space you have, there is always a need for more. One solution is to make better use of existing cupboards and wardrobes. In my own house the third bedroom is used as an office, so the built-in wardrobe was an obvious target for conversion into a storage place for files and computer supplies.
I had already tackled one shelving upgrade. We have a hallway cupboard used for many things that don’t have a place anywhere else, including toys for the grandchildren when they visit. The space was not used well. My solution was homemade shelving using frames of steel with plywood shelves.
For this cupboard, we had to allow for a basket of toys and chillibin on the floor level and picnic items and other bits and pieces on other levels. Once the shelves were installed, better use of space meant more room became available. One of Murphy’s Laws soon came into play and other items found their way into the open spaces, making good use of the variety of shelving.
A Legend Returns
A Legend Returns
A Historic Ferrari Monza 750 Joins the 2026 Ayrburn Classic Line-Up – 20-22 February 2026
The Ayrburn Classic, one of the most anticipated motoring events on the New Zealand calendar, is set to take things up a gear in 2026 with a line-up that promises to captivate enthusiasts and the general public alike. Following the success of the inaugural event, the Ayrburn Classic returns with a recently confirmed feature that is nothing short of extraordinary: the historic Ferrari Monza 750 – a masterpiece of motorsport and one of the most significant vehicles to race on New Zealand soil.
Legendary status
This particular Ferrari Monza 750, which arrived in New Zealand in 1957 and has remained here ever since, holds a legendary status in motorsport history. It competed in the Mille Miglia, Le Mans, and the Targa Florio – the ‘Big Three’ of European endurance racing during the golden era of the sport. Few cars can claim such provenance, and even fewer have such a deep and poignant connection to New Zealand’s own racing legacy.
Tragically, the Ferrari Monza 750 was involved in a fatal accident at Ardmore in 1957, marking the final moments of British driver Ken Wharton, whose last photograph was taken next to this very car. The vehicle has since been meticulously preserved, with images from the aftermath of the crash etched in motorsport history. Today, it stands as a symbol of both the bravery of that era and the enduring beauty of Italian automotive craftsmanship.
Recreating history
It seems the Phoenix Bus Company was well named, as like the phoenix bird of legend, the new bus has been reborn from the ashes of the old, so to speak.
A former principal of Piopio College, a local boat builder, and the whole community rallied around to recreate the Model T Ford bus, identical to its forebears.
It began when Brian Tegg, an ex-principal of Piopio College, found a 1921 Model T Ford restored transport truck for sale in Auckland and brought it on impulse three years ago.
Realising it was a unique opportunity to transform it into a bus, he got the Piopio College Trust and the local community behind the project.
Local fundraising by the Piopio College Trust, a Givealittle crowdfunding campaign, and support from many local people and businesses made the project happen.
Piopio is a small town of just 400 people but they have pride in their history.
Local boat builder Max Laver became involved in the project, transforming the truck into an exact copy of the early buses.
From Rust to Rrroarrr video part six
Restoring a 1952 AJS Part 6 – electricals (breadboard testing), suspension, controls, petrol and oil
I’m continuing the rebuild of an old (“1952”) AJS 500cc motorbike.
This is the second rebuild it has had; the first was by someone else. I have ownership papers which indicate a rebuild in the late 1960s, and it seems to have been a very broad collecting effort, pulling in different parts from different machines.
The web makes it easier to identify the bike’s parts, and mine date from 1947 to at least 1956: I feel that I’m not constrained by concerns over authenticity. I can change parts if I want to: personalise the machine a little.
Readers of my first article will know that I used part of a barbecue hotplate to fix a broken cooling fin on the motor, using nickel electrodes. I have been electroplating using nickel as a replacement for decorative chromium. I can hear The Who singing “Substitute”.
Forging ahead – take a knifemaking class
Knifemaking has undergone a resurgence in the past few years. It may be the fact that it requires only a modicum of equipment. You only really need a file and gas torch.
Of course the more elaborate the knives you make, the more gear you will need but this is one of those hobbies that can grow with you. Naturally, having a forge, some sort of anvil – even if it is only a lump of hard steel or a bit of railway line, a grinder, and a hammer will extend your options and none of these are particularly expensive. There are a number of knifemaking classes springing up all over the country to cater to this interest. Shea Stackhouse runs classes in basic knifemaking, making Damascus steel and blacksmithing
Simple bins
Many black plastic bins from the hardware shops don’t allow enough air through or are only big enough for postage stamp-sized sections or blocks of land.
I make my own compost bins. Now that might seem fairly easy, but how many compost systems either take a huge amount of effort, or produce something reminiscent of milking-shed sludge? These bins require very little intervention besides putting stuff in.
The Shed magazine October/November 2025 issue 123 on sale now
Beyond the grain
At age 15, Edward Prince declared to his Dad, “I’m going to be a cabinet maker”. Nowadays, Edward the furniture maker is pushing timber’s boundaries through innovative projects like bodging chairs, carving bowls, crafting bows, and designing bass guitars.
A forest of lithe, towering ricker Kauri, adolescent Rimu and tall ferns shade the glade around Edward’s workshop. Leaf mulch, bark chips and forage strips camouflage the paths. Twisted logs rest against a small retaining wall awaiting a fresh designation, and a cluster of rustic timber chairs encircle a brazier on the lawn above. From the tree tops, invisible Tui chime and call while through a set of dusty French doors, an apparition of Edward can be seen and heard, cutting, carving and creating.
Edward remembers when he first set eyes on this place; it reminded him of an image on a postcard that he had saved in England. He recalls, “It was a picture of a small church in a hollow, surrounded by trees. It struck me as a place of peace and tranquillity. I thought how nice it would be to live in such a sanctuary. This place is what I had in my mind.”
On the move
Moving machinery and heavy items around the workshop is a common job for most sheddies, especially those with an addiction to Victorian-era cast iron.
While using a bar or pipe for rollers works, as shown by the builders of the Egyptian pyramids, they won’t work if you have feet or obstructions, and are difficult if you are working by yourself.
Load skates are small, heavy-duty roller skates that fit under the load and you will generally need a set of four. This load skate is made from 100x50mm steel channel with rollers made from 40mm pipe with ball bearings. The bearings are cheap 6004RS model bearings which are a snug fit into 40mm pipe, and cost $2-3 each from online suppliers.
As this project was built out of materials to hand, I only had tapered flange channel so I used my horizontal milling machine with a side and face cutter to remove the taper.
Getting a grip
I’m currently making a mould for a rotational moulded boat. It’s a complex project with barely a square angle in it and dozens of folds and welds. It’s the sort of job that requires precision and the often needs more than two hands.
Clamps are useful but they are usually fiddly and can have a tendency to slip at the last moment especially where there aren’t any flat even surfaces to get a purchase on. So I wasn’t expecting too much when I was asked to try the Strong Hand utility clamps.
They are lighter than cast clamps so I had some doubts that they would have the clamping strength I needed for the more difficult pieces.
I was a bit dubious about the sliding action, too. It’s unusual to use sliding F-clamps in engineering but I’ve seen them used in boat-building and woodworking.
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Letting off steam
“Steam is the only way to go,” says Win Holdaway, a Blenheim-based enthusiast who builds working models from scratch in his backyard shed.
Over the years, Win has spent thousands of hours constructing immaculate scale locomotives, including an 1870s’ Baldwin Standard TE, BR standard class 9F, and a Burrell Special Scenic Showman’s road locomotive. He is currently working on an inch-and-a-half scale 1925 Pennsylvania A5S 040 switcher, complete with tender. “It’s one thing to make a model that looks authentic and another to make it work,” says Win, whose working models can all hold 90-100lb of steam.
Win reckons he spent around 5000 hours building his Burrell Scenic Showman’s road locomotive alone. It is fittingly named Lynette after his wife. While he probably spends more time in his shed than the house, she is his greatest supporter. “It’s more than a hobby. This is his life,” says Lyn, a legal annotator who knows the importance of precision.
“I’m out here most days,” admits Win who, if not in his own workshop, can often be found down at Brayshaw Heritage Park with fellow model engineering enthusiasts.
Where wood is king
When Ross Vivian heads into his Stratford shed he has to pass through his wife Heather’s workshop. The Taranaki couple are both passionate about wood—Ross carves it and Heather turns it. Retirement is not a time for this couple to put their feet up. They are enjoying exploring their own creativity and are busier than ever.
Ross has been a hunter, farmer, logger, inventor and bushman. His mainly self-taught skills developed during 70 years have now come together in his carving and the days are not long enough to complete the projects he has in mind. Heather, a creative, award-winning woodturner, has been working her lathe for 30 years, winning national accolades in a field that has been the domain of men for aeons. Over time, she has finely developed her craft, whether working big, burr-wood platters more than 500 mm across or tiny turned pieces a few millimetres thick.
The couple’s spacious lounge is like another world. Trophy heads from Ross’s hunting days adorn the walls: deer, thar, chamois, a wild bull (he shot as it came out of the bush and charged him), wild boars, stuffed birds and even moose antlers.
From Rust to Rrroaarrr video, part 5
In the first article, I wrote about nickel welding repairs to a broken cast-iron cooling fin (parts from a barbecue hot plate), magneto check, head repair, valve work and nickel plating the push rod cover tubes. The second article was mainly about how I developed nickel and copper plating, with a little bit about kick starter repair using nickel plate on a worn shaft, and grinding teeth. Third article, the start of frame painting; engine, clutch and gearbox assembly and installation, with magneto timing.
In my last article, part four of the series, I described my efforts to rebuild the bike’s dynamo (generator) by reconstructing the disintegrated commutator, rewinding the armature, replacing the bearings and then testing. Sadly, with no success.
I have achieved a little bit of progress with fixing the fuel tank and the seat, but I have not really met any targets. When I started this series, I expected that by this article, part 5, I would be writing about fixing the famous ‘Jampot’ and ‘Teledraulic’ suspensions, and at the end of part 6, I would have re-laced the wheels, having nickel-plated the spokes, rims and hubs ready for a trial ride.
In pursuit of perfection
If David Curry was to be summed up in a single word it would almost certainly be precision. But that’s not enough – it would be absolutely vital to add artistry. Putting them together amounts to a search for perfection, so perhaps that’s the word to use.
Here’s an example: David is at present building a dauntingly complicated perpetual calendar skeleton clock, which has 38 gears, one with 165 teeth, all of which have to be individually machined. Clearly precision is paramount. But the levers and some parts of the frame look a little utilitarian, so he’s redesigning them with a few artistic flourishes. For inspiration he looks to a skeleton clock built in 1855.
“The engineering has to be right so that the parts work properly, but they also have to look right,” he says.
The clock tells the time, has a second hand, notes the day, date and month, and knows whether the month has 30 or 31 days. David is adding a second chiming system so that the half hour, three-quarter hour and quarter hour chimes have different tones from the full hour strike.
Race cars made in NZ
Craig Greenwood is one of the best examples of someone who turned his passion into a business. He is also one of New Zealand’s most prolific racing car builders.
Craig got into motor racing in the early 1990s, progressing from competitive cart racing to Formula Vee (now Formula First). The class is based on a 1200 cc VW motor and uses a collection of stock parts to form a competitive car from the engine, transmission, front suspension, brakes and wheels built into a space frame.
The body is fibreglass or carbon fibre. It’s a racing class that allows an enthusiast to build and maintain his own car. Craig bought his first car but soon decided to build his own, working nights and weekends in a cramped single garage with little more than an oxy-acetylene welder, a hacksaw and a hand-held drill.
“I wasn’t all that successful at first. Of 18 starts I made, I only finished four,” says Craig.
“I realised that just knowing how to weld a chassis wasn’t enough, so I started to read about designing and building race cars.”
The Shed magazine August/September 2025 issue 122 on sale now
Keep on rolling
Growing up near a railway station sparked Greville Wills’ lifelong love for trains. Throughout his working career, he has experienced a diverse range of jobs. Today, he identifies as an old-school tinkerer, a model engineering enthusiast, and a “Mr. Fix-it.”
Space is definitely at a premium in Greville Wills’ garage workshop. On first look, the visual jumble of tools, projects, ornaments, neons, and former business equipment is confounding. Yet despite the wriggle room between the maze of workstations, there is an underlying order.
Greville is an old-school tinkerer, model engineering enthusiast, and a Mr. Fix-It to his neighbours. He always knew the space here was going to be tight, so before he moved in, he pre-measured and drew a plan for everything from machine placement to car park spaces, factoring in ergonomics and power supply locations to make certain everything would fit and work efficiently.
He is adamant that the layout suits his needs and says, “When I’m making things, everything is here. It is a single person’s workshop, where I can do most things. If assembling or constructing something of size, I just push the cars out to use that space temporarily.”
It’s good to be square
We need a range of squares to use for the many different situations we encounter in the workshop. For instance, we need a square to set up our machines – it is vital that your saw bench cuts square when you want it to. The blade obviously needs to be at right angles to the table and the sliding table or sledge needs to be square. The same for your planer.
The fence should be set square and you should regularly check that it remains square. Imagine the consequences of spending considerable time cutting mortise and tenon joints for fine furniture only to find they fit poorly due to the machined timber not being square. Errors also tend to compound over a project.
Build an Almost Ready to Fly Warhawk
Then there is the relatively new kid on the block: the ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) model.
These come all packaged up in a huge box, beautifully built and packed, with all the hardware. But you do need to assemble them which can take up to a week. It isn’t quite ‘instant plane’ but it does provide some building satisfaction and a sense of achievement, albeit a rather shallow one, a bit like a healthy walk down to the bakery to buy a pie or taking Viagra.
To the supplied kit, you need to add various glues, an engine and electrical components (servos, relays, wires) to operate elevator, rudder, ailerons, throttle, flaps, undercarriage etc. The engine these days could be glow plug, 4-stroke or 2-stroke, electric or petrol.
This part of the hobby is now huge and the range and quality of products is astounding. ARF aircraft kits are readily available from many hobby shops and certainly online from within New Zealand and from lands far away.
Mac N Sea
Piopio in the heart of the King Country – a landlocked area with a village population of about 400 – is the last place you’d expect to find a boat builder. Boat builder Max Laver, however, is well settled there and business is thriving.
Boat repairs, restoration, and making small craft by hand is the speciality of Max’s business, where he works with fibreglass and timber, and specialises in custom-built dinghies.
“We focus on how well we can make a dinghy, not how cheaply,” he says.
Max is a marine surveyor as well as a boat builder.
He spent two years in Lowestoft in England learning City and Guild-level wooden boat building, and finished his time doing two more years learning in New Brunswick, Canada.
In 2009, after many years boat building, Max decided to study marine surveying and the two qualifications work hand in hand.
“I didn’t excel at school as a kid, but I loved to build,” he says.
Industrial style at home
My daughter was looking for a large lamp for her husband’s birthday and struggled to find something with the modern industrial-type of look that she had in mind. She asked me if I could make something around her thinking. She particularly wanted a large tripod base with an adjustable lamp on the top.
We searched around for a suitable lamp for the top and found an adjustable lamp on a spindle base at Lighting Direct on sale for $89.95. We would have preferred a matt black finish but we felt the chrome model would work very well.
Preserving the past – by the tonne
What do you do when your passion for collecting means you are accumulating objects that can be measured by the tonne?
One answer is to buy a big building and open it up to the public – Mike’s Museum in Eltham displays the extraordinary results of Mike Coil’s collection mania.
Two upper stories and a huge basement of an historic building in the small Taranaki town are bulging with the strangest things. A big collection of antique chainsaws, World War II objects, including an anti-aircraft searchlight and US submarine generator engine, steam boilers of all sizes – you name it – Mike’s collected it.
There’s also a great collection of historic tools and objects from New Zealand’s past.
Mike began collecting when he was a young fella. One of a family of 12, he was raised on Taranaki farms and he recalls when aged eight his father coming home from a stint at sea with a handful of coins.
Video of From Rust to Rrrroaarrr Part Four
In the first article, I wrote about nickel welding repairs to a broken cast iron engine cooling fin, magneto check, head repair, valve work and nickel plating the push rod cover tubes.
The second article was mainly about how I developed nickel and copper plating, with a little bit about kickstarter repair using nickel plate on a worn shaft and grinding teeth.
The third article, the start of frame painting, engine, clutch and gearbox assembly and installation, with magneto timing.
For this fourth episode, I had planned to write about how I rebuilt the electrical system, reupholstered the seat and renovated the fuel tank. There has been progress on each of these three things but little in the way of meeting targets.
A model life
If the phrase “small but perfectly formed” can be legitimately applied to a shed, then Bruce Geange’s Palmerston North workshop certainly fits the bill. In a space of about 2 by 5 metres he creates Lilliputian machines that mimic their full-sized cousins in everything but size. An exquisitely detailed D8 1940 bulldozer is 40 cm long and completely hand-built. Bruce says it took about 900 hours to complete and is completely functional.
Born in Taumarunui in 1935, the eldest of four boys, Bruce was raised on various farms in the Manawatu area, which may explain his predilection for tractor models. A life-long love of modelling started at the age of 11 when he received a No 1 Meccano set for Christmas. As finances permitted he began collecting Meccano, building up to a No 9 set after he began working.
Steampunk toy: Back to the future
Having been bitten by the steampunk toy bug recently I couldn’t resist trying once again to bring the theme to bear on another model. I have always admired the elegant lines of the clinker-built Viking longboats, their savage, war-like image on storm-tossed seas, and the whole mythology of the Viking era. I decided to see if I could combine that vision and steampunk to produce a modern take on the old boats.
As with my other steampunk toys and models, I chose a central element around which to base this one. The ultra-smooth, mirror-like, hard-drive disks I had used as hub caps in a previous steampunk toy are especially well suited to replicate (with a modern twist) the Viking shields that adorned the gunwales of their longboats.
The Shed magazine June/July 2025 issue 121 on sale now
With the genealogy of the five generations of South Island engineers in the family, Ross Hayes thinks nothing of rebuilding Land Rovers for fun, family and farm.
Ross Hayes was 17 when he bought his first Land Rover. It was road-legal, but that was about it. It turned out that it was cosmetically covering up a huge amount of rust, so it wasn’t going to make the long haul.
Ross bunches his lips. “I got a bit disheartened and decided that if I couldn’t trust anybody to sell me a good one, I’d build myself one.”
He bought a 1954 short wheelbase Series 1 Land Rover in December ’96, just after he turned 18. “I paid six hundred bucks to a guy out of Naseby called Owen Rawcliffe, who’s since passed. I brought it back to Oamaru through the Danseys Pass and set to pulling it to bits.”
He bought workshop and parts manuals from the UK and a set of Whitworth sockets and Whitworth spanners and got stuck in.
The Mistress, as he came to call this ‘54 Series 1, spent five years, three months in the workshop – 6000 hours – while he pulled it to bits and rebuilt it.
His idea was to start with a chassis, and everything that went onto the chassis was either rebuilt or brand new. It was hard to get parts back then in the 1990s.
A man of many sheds
Sitting on the edge of a little paddock in the river mouth settlement of Kakanui, ten minutes drive south of Oamaru, is a ramshackle shed where Lindsay Murray creates things of rustic beauty.
The shed has a long history. It was built in 1875 as the house and shop of a nurseryman, George Packwood, who came from Scotland to plant and tend trees around the mill manager’s house in Kakanui.
When Lindsay, an artisan wood worker and sometimes blacksmith took it over in 1993 the back wall had fallen off, half the roof was collapsing and the floors were rotted through in the living quarters. As far as Lindsay was concerned, it was perfect.
It had the remnants of the original dwelling: a kitchen with no running water but with a working coal range, and two other rooms which have served, over the years, as sleeping quarters and a sitting-cum-dining room. This is where Lindsay stays overnight when working on a major project. It also serves as temporary accommodation for visiting artisans and is currently home to Rolands Selis, a highly skilled leather worker.