I rebuilt the door on my shed. As with the side of the shed, the boards on the door were curling and starting to let the elements in; not conducive to healthy shed contents. Also as before, only basic hand tools were used.
So here's what needs to be replaced. Note the massive gaps and general poor condition.
I start by tapping the new boards together on the ground. The nice man at the sawmill cut these exactly to size. I tried to save a bit of time by painting them in the garage the night before but made the schoolboy error of not checking which side was which beforehand (tongue & groove boards are not the same profile on each side).
It's not as simple as this, though (is it ever?). I need to remove the groove from one side and cut another board lengthways to add a thin strip to the other to make this new door the same size as the old one. My neighbour generously offered to lend me his belt sander, but i scoffed at him and called him a bounder.
And by the time i'd cut down the 1780mm length of two of these buggers with a tenon saw, I'd seen the error of my ways. Too late now, let's push on.
Newly-cut narrow board added and it looks like it'll fit.
A quick lick of paint and we'll call it a night.
Fresh from work two days later, I'm checking the structure on the back of the original door. The plan is to re-use the braces and lock and scrap the rest, but before I get out the claw hammer I take a few measurements.
Ah, that's better.
Here's the gap I need to fill. And quick, before it rains.
I make some marks on the back of the new door and clamp the first brace piece in place. This picture was taken before I realised the clamps would have to be the other way up for me to be able to turn the door over and hammer the nails in. Duh. I also used a piece of string blu-tacked across the front of the door as a guide for me to follow when nailing.
Much clamping and hammering later (my son William helped me with three of the nails) and it's all done. A quick test fit revealed that the new door wasn't lining up correctly at the hinge side. The hacksaw was used to cut a few mm off the ends of the brace pieces to stop them fouling on the door frame.
There we go, it fits! Yes, it's a different colour, but I'm beyond caring at this stage. Right, what's next?
Ah yes, let's add hinges. I hadn't thought at all about how these would fit. Luckily the brace pieces were in the right places to hold the screws and only one screw on the door was blocked by a nail (indicated by blue circle). I just left this one off as there are plenty of other screws.
And now the moment of truth... will it open?
It opens! Even I was surprised at this!
A bit of drilling and filing to make a new key-hole, and the job is done. Still got the new windows to source and fit, so watch out for part 3.
So here's what needs to be replaced. Note the massive gaps and general poor condition.
I start by tapping the new boards together on the ground. The nice man at the sawmill cut these exactly to size. I tried to save a bit of time by painting them in the garage the night before but made the schoolboy error of not checking which side was which beforehand (tongue & groove boards are not the same profile on each side).
It's not as simple as this, though (is it ever?). I need to remove the groove from one side and cut another board lengthways to add a thin strip to the other to make this new door the same size as the old one. My neighbour generously offered to lend me his belt sander, but i scoffed at him and called him a bounder.
And by the time i'd cut down the 1780mm length of two of these buggers with a tenon saw, I'd seen the error of my ways. Too late now, let's push on.
Newly-cut narrow board added and it looks like it'll fit.
A quick lick of paint and we'll call it a night.
Fresh from work two days later, I'm checking the structure on the back of the original door. The plan is to re-use the braces and lock and scrap the rest, but before I get out the claw hammer I take a few measurements.
Ah, that's better.
Here's the gap I need to fill. And quick, before it rains.
I make some marks on the back of the new door and clamp the first brace piece in place. This picture was taken before I realised the clamps would have to be the other way up for me to be able to turn the door over and hammer the nails in. Duh. I also used a piece of string blu-tacked across the front of the door as a guide for me to follow when nailing.
Much clamping and hammering later (my son William helped me with three of the nails) and it's all done. A quick test fit revealed that the new door wasn't lining up correctly at the hinge side. The hacksaw was used to cut a few mm off the ends of the brace pieces to stop them fouling on the door frame.
There we go, it fits! Yes, it's a different colour, but I'm beyond caring at this stage. Right, what's next?
Ah yes, let's add hinges. I hadn't thought at all about how these would fit. Luckily the brace pieces were in the right places to hold the screws and only one screw on the door was blocked by a nail (indicated by blue circle). I just left this one off as there are plenty of other screws.
And now the moment of truth... will it open?
It opens! Even I was surprised at this!
A bit of drilling and filing to make a new key-hole, and the job is done. Still got the new windows to source and fit, so watch out for part 3.
I re-clad the side of my shed. The old boards were starting to curl - due to lack of maintenance on our part - and risked letting in water. My wife wanted to get a whole new shed and have someone deliver and install it (cost between £300-£600). Being a terminal cheapskate and nutter, I decided to source some new boards from a local sawmill and re-clad it myself. Total cost was £54 and about 6 hours work. Given that I only used basic hand tools (claw hammer, tenon saw, knife, sandpaper), that's not too bad. I did find myself wishing for a nailgun though.
The boards on the door are also curling and splitting. That's my next project!
This is how it looked before I got destructive with my claw hammer.
Sides off.
Naked shed! NB windows were not replaced at this time because I'd forgotten to buy them when I was at the sawmill. Next time I go there I will get some proper glass panels and fit them at a later date.
The new boards. Because I'm an idiot, I bought tongue-and-groove instead of shiplap. But they're otherwise the right dimensions and do the same job, so it's no big deal. I used the longest and shortest boards today. The mid-length boards are for the door.
The pressure-treated boards were all cut to size using a tenon saw, then sanded at the ends and given two coats of fence/shed treatment. As you'll see, the unpleasant colour I chose doesn't quite match the existing hideous colour, but it's close enough.
Adding the first few boards. The underside of the window frame has a groove in it and the long board across the middle must sit in that groove so it goes in first. Everything else goes in around it.
A closer view of the right side.
And again.
They seem to fit ok.
Left side's done now.
A wider shot. I re-used some of the nails from the old boards as well as some new annular or ring shanked nails. At each batten, each board got one old nail and one new one. In total I knocked in nearly 100 nails. And I only hit my own thumb once! Like I said, a nail gun would've been handy.
Looking nice and neat inside.
Detail of the inside. The shed was originally made by making up each panel separately and then nailing them together to form the structure. Rebuilding the side while it's attached to the frame means there's not enough space to get the tongue into the groove at the top, so I snapped off the back of the groove and just nailed the board on. No-one will notice and it won't let any rain in.
All done! The last two long boards were tricky as there wasn't enough space to tap them into the grooves of the boards above. I borrowed a crowbar and used a lump of old wood as a fulcrum to lever the boards into place.
The boards on the door are also curling and splitting. That's my next project!
This is how it looked before I got destructive with my claw hammer.
Sides off.
Naked shed! NB windows were not replaced at this time because I'd forgotten to buy them when I was at the sawmill. Next time I go there I will get some proper glass panels and fit them at a later date.
The new boards. Because I'm an idiot, I bought tongue-and-groove instead of shiplap. But they're otherwise the right dimensions and do the same job, so it's no big deal. I used the longest and shortest boards today. The mid-length boards are for the door.
The pressure-treated boards were all cut to size using a tenon saw, then sanded at the ends and given two coats of fence/shed treatment. As you'll see, the unpleasant colour I chose doesn't quite match the existing hideous colour, but it's close enough.
Adding the first few boards. The underside of the window frame has a groove in it and the long board across the middle must sit in that groove so it goes in first. Everything else goes in around it.
A closer view of the right side.
And again.
They seem to fit ok.
Left side's done now.
A wider shot. I re-used some of the nails from the old boards as well as some new annular or ring shanked nails. At each batten, each board got one old nail and one new one. In total I knocked in nearly 100 nails. And I only hit my own thumb once! Like I said, a nail gun would've been handy.
Looking nice and neat inside.
Detail of the inside. The shed was originally made by making up each panel separately and then nailing them together to form the structure. Rebuilding the side while it's attached to the frame means there's not enough space to get the tongue into the groove at the top, so I snapped off the back of the groove and just nailed the board on. No-one will notice and it won't let any rain in.
All done! The last two long boards were tricky as there wasn't enough space to tap them into the grooves of the boards above. I borrowed a crowbar and used a lump of old wood as a fulcrum to lever the boards into place.
My neighbour owns a Mitsubishi Starion which he's doing up as a drift car. Part of this work involves stripping the interior of useless things like sound-proofing and passenger seats, and he was going to take this to the tip. He let me have it for nothing, since it was useless to him and also covered in primer overspray from when he'd been doing some bodywork. I cleaned up as much of the paint off the leather as I could and gave it a thorough oiling as it was quite dry. It sat in my garage for a while.
This picture was taken before I started cleaning. You can see that the leather is quite discoloured.
A couple of months later, the company that rents the office next to my employer's office moved out and chucked everything they didn't want in a huge skip/container in the car park. I spent a few lunchbreaks climbing around in there taking things that looked useful/interesting - including two office chairs with bases which looked like they might be suitable for my hybrid chair project. The bases came home and I found that the mounting holes didn't line up at all with the mounting holes on the car seat. So they sat in the garage for a few more months.
My wife had mentioned the project to her friend Andy, who's a bit of a tinkerer. He offered to take the car seat and see if he could clean the rest of the paint off the leather. I loaded the seat into Hayley's car one night before she headed off to work. She snuck down in the morning and put one of the office seat bases in the car and got Andy to make up a subframe to allow the two to be fixed together.
On the day before my birthday, she came home from work and called me out to the car to help her lift out the cleaned car seat. When I opened the boot I saw a completed chair! All the controls still work - the gas lift works (though needs encouragement to go back up due to the heavy seat), both the base and the seat have their own recline mechanisms, the headrest and the bolsters are adjustable.
The seat still looks a bit green here. Over time it has gone back to black.
Big thanks to Andy for welding the subframe! Awesome birthday present!!
This picture was taken before I started cleaning. You can see that the leather is quite discoloured.
A couple of months later, the company that rents the office next to my employer's office moved out and chucked everything they didn't want in a huge skip/container in the car park. I spent a few lunchbreaks climbing around in there taking things that looked useful/interesting - including two office chairs with bases which looked like they might be suitable for my hybrid chair project. The bases came home and I found that the mounting holes didn't line up at all with the mounting holes on the car seat. So they sat in the garage for a few more months.
My wife had mentioned the project to her friend Andy, who's a bit of a tinkerer. He offered to take the car seat and see if he could clean the rest of the paint off the leather. I loaded the seat into Hayley's car one night before she headed off to work. She snuck down in the morning and put one of the office seat bases in the car and got Andy to make up a subframe to allow the two to be fixed together.
On the day before my birthday, she came home from work and called me out to the car to help her lift out the cleaned car seat. When I opened the boot I saw a completed chair! All the controls still work - the gas lift works (though needs encouragement to go back up due to the heavy seat), both the base and the seat have their own recline mechanisms, the headrest and the bolsters are adjustable.
The seat still looks a bit green here. Over time it has gone back to black.
Big thanks to Andy for welding the subframe! Awesome birthday present!!
I acquired a faulty TFT monitor from the place where I work. The screen itself worked fine, but the backlight wouldn't stay on for more than a couple of seconds. I figured it would be a dodgy capacitor and got straight into the job, taking the back off and having a good look around.
Visually, it was fine; no leaking or bulging caps or anything. So I fired it up to see if I could spot any problems. No, still nothing. Maybe it's overheating? I know, I'll touch the heatsinks and see how warm they are!
Bad idea.
After I had recovered, I measured 160V to ground on one of the heatsinks. Ouch. So my tip here is don't assume, like I did, that heatsinks will always have zero voltage on them.
Having read other peoples' experiences with similar monitor faults, it seems that they're almost always caused by a bad cap. The best thing to do is replace all the caps regardless of what they look like. I ended up giving this to someone else, who also couldn't get it working. Oh well.
Every time I have to leave something in our meter cupboard for a Freecycler, or when the postman leaves a package in there, it annoys me that there's no flat surface to rest stuff on. Using some scrap 5mm plywood and a random length of wood I found in the shed, I now have a nice little shelf.
OK, the batons are a bit wonky but look at those nice round corners! I even glued a strip of waste ply to the front edge so there's a lip to stop stuff slipping off.
OK, the batons are a bit wonky but look at those nice round corners! I even glued a strip of waste ply to the front edge so there's a lip to stop stuff slipping off.
Yes, we have an artwork overflow problem!
A nice easy one here. We bought a spice carousel several years ago and always kept it on the worktop. Being on the worktop, it got a lot of light, especially in the summer when the sun would shine directly on it in the late afternoon. This led to our herbs and spices getting manky. Obvious solution: put it somewhere dark, like in a cupboard. Problem: it doesn't fit. Yet.
The shelves in our cupboards are adjustable, but the pre-drilled holes for the shelf supports are spaced quite far apart. I emptied the cupboard, and took the opportunity to give it a good clean. Then I measured up and marked and drilled new holes to allow just enough height for the carousel. Put it all back together and voilà.
The battery in my wife's 2004 Mazda 6 died and had to be replaced. As a result, the radio insisted that we enter the security code before it could be used again. Problem: we didn't have the code. After a few guesses (0000, 1234, etc) it locked us out. I visited the dealership and was told that they would have to hook up some dedicated equipment and call Mazda to get it re-activated, and that it would cost about £50. This sounded like bullshit to me, so I went away and spent a while searching the various Mazda forums. Eventually I found this thread over at Mazdaforum.com. In case the forum post disappears, here are the steps with a couple of additional steps from forum member Steve G6:
1) After you see ERR on the screen, turn the ignition off and back to ACC
2) Press each of these buttons one at a time: preset 6, AM, Auto M, Seek ^ (up).
3) Input this number: 4989.
4) Press and hold Auto M and Preset 6 together.
5) The word 'GOOD' will appear on the screen indicated that the radio will work.
6) Turn the ignition off and then back to ACC
7) Reprogram new antitheft code into radio as per instruction manual.
Easy when you know how!
1) After you see ERR on the screen, turn the ignition off and back to ACC
2) Press each of these buttons one at a time: preset 6, AM, Auto M, Seek ^ (up).
3) Input this number: 4989.
4) Press and hold Auto M and Preset 6 together.
5) The word 'GOOD' will appear on the screen indicated that the radio will work.
6) Turn the ignition off and then back to ACC
7) Reprogram new antitheft code into radio as per instruction manual.
Easy when you know how!
This is a faulty MI-7 electro-mechanical timer from a Dualit 20245 toaster that my mother in law was going to throw away. The timer kept sticking, so the heating elements wouldn't turn off. If you weren't there to keep a close eye on it, your toast would be burnt to a crisp!
I had a look online and found that a replacement timer from Dualit was approx £50, whereas I could get the same part on eBay for £15. Since a new 20245 toaster costs about £120, it's definitely worth repairing!
Doing the actual replacement was fairly straightforward. Turn the unit upside down and unscrew the feet and any other screws in order to remove the bottom panel.
Make a note of which wire goes to which terminal on the back of the timer. Remove the connectors from the four terminals.
Pull off the timer knob to access the screws holding the timer onto the case. Undo the screws. Take it out.
Reassembly is the reverse of removal, but make sure you get the wires right.
It turned out that the replacement timer I bought had a slightly different design and the pins were labelled differently. I emailed Dualit customer support and they sent me PDF documents for both models of timer. Here they are:
dualit_mi-7.pdf
dualit_mi-2.pdf
I matched up the wires and got it all put back together. The other difference I found was that I needed to use machine screws instead of the original self-tappers, since the screw holes on the new timer are in metal instead of plastic.
I cleaned it up and sold it about eighteen months ago. As far as I know, it's still toasting.
This is a parabolic reflector designed to enhance the directionality of a wi-fi router or access point antenna, and to increase the signal strength in that particular direction. It's cheap and easy to make, and involves cutting and glueing, which is always fun.
My router is in the corner of my house, and there's no point illuminating my street with my wi-fi signal since I'm not using it out there. This reflector will bounce all of that signal back into my house and increase the reception. The link (below) where I got the template says it will increase gain by about 9dBi, which is pretty decent. I never got round to doing a before/after measurement, but there was a noticeable improvement. In rooms on the far side of the house where signal had been patchy before, it is now much more reliable.
The antenna on the right with the reflector is set to cover the ground floor. The antenna on the left is aimed at the area where my wife uses her laptop in the bedroom upstairs. There isn't enough space for a reflector there, but the signal is good enough without.
Here is the link where you can download the template and make your own.
My router is in the corner of my house, and there's no point illuminating my street with my wi-fi signal since I'm not using it out there. This reflector will bounce all of that signal back into my house and increase the reception. The link (below) where I got the template says it will increase gain by about 9dBi, which is pretty decent. I never got round to doing a before/after measurement, but there was a noticeable improvement. In rooms on the far side of the house where signal had been patchy before, it is now much more reliable.
The antenna on the right with the reflector is set to cover the ground floor. The antenna on the left is aimed at the area where my wife uses her laptop in the bedroom upstairs. There isn't enough space for a reflector there, but the signal is good enough without.
Here is the link where you can download the template and make your own.
The pull-starter on my lawn mower is attached to the engine cover, the engine cover is bolted directly to the aluminium engine block in various places. When you pull the cord to start the engine, the engine cover pulls upwards on two bolts at the front. One of the bolts was missing already, and the other mounting point eventually snapped off, making the whole thing quite wobbly and very hard to start. With my wife in the background telling me to just buy a new mower, I broke out the socket set and got to work.
Four bolts around the starter mechanism and it just lifts off. This reveals the top of the crankshaft which has the blade attached to the other end and spins clockwise when the engine is running:
This is the pull cord assembly:
When there's tension on the cord, a little tooth pops out:
This tooth engages with the protrusions at the top of the crank:
Because there are now no bolts holding the front of the cover down, the whole thing lifts up when you pull the cord and the tooth fails to engage with the top of the crank. Here's where the mouting point broke off from the engine block:
I had read that Araldite (two-part cyanoacrylate epoxy adhesive, if you don't know the brand name) can be used to bodge broken aluminium engine blocks, so I used it to stick this piece back on, and found a replacement for the other missing bolt. It seems to be holding fast, and the mower is much easier to start.
Side note - if you ever break part of an aluminium engine block, take a moment to admire the crystalline structure.
Four bolts around the starter mechanism and it just lifts off. This reveals the top of the crankshaft which has the blade attached to the other end and spins clockwise when the engine is running:
This is the pull cord assembly:
When there's tension on the cord, a little tooth pops out:
This tooth engages with the protrusions at the top of the crank:
Because there are now no bolts holding the front of the cover down, the whole thing lifts up when you pull the cord and the tooth fails to engage with the top of the crank. Here's where the mouting point broke off from the engine block:
I had read that Araldite (two-part cyanoacrylate epoxy adhesive, if you don't know the brand name) can be used to bodge broken aluminium engine blocks, so I used it to stick this piece back on, and found a replacement for the other missing bolt. It seems to be holding fast, and the mower is much easier to start.
Side note - if you ever break part of an aluminium engine block, take a moment to admire the crystalline structure.
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