More Random Silliness, Ramblings and Shed Pictures

Well we’re at the halfway stage in the year and it’s been a very odd and hard so far. Like most people I am suffering the credit crunch and am down to own brand baked beans and whatever bread I can wrestle off the ducks at the local pond. You have to be pretty quick to grab it before it falls into the water as people throw it; I’ve found a bush to jump out of near the pond, although people seem to have the wrong idea what I’m doing there, and the magistrate really didn’t seem to understand either. Ah well, guess you’re not a proper Essex resident until you’ve got an ASBO!

( I am joking by the way!!!! Excuse my warped sense of humour!)

Back in the real world I’ve not really been able to do much glasswork thanks to a combination of weather and lack of mojo, so have been continuing to work on making the shed a fit place to work again. I got these snaps last week, but my current computer dilemma has made it tricky to download them till now.



This is the furthest end of the 'shed' I have another bay before this which was meant to be a woodcutting and dusty storage area, then before that is greenhouse space


I was quite pleasantly surprised when I uncovered the old 1980's Taiwan made lathe that has been lurking under cover for past few years. It’s barely been used, I retrieved it from my Dad’s shed where it had been sitting rusting for at least 10-15 years, so I took the time to strip it down.




Mind you, I soon found there wasn’t a great deal to strip down! Even the gear change is just a block that pushes the motor down! Apart from a little rust on some non-critical parts, I discovered the reason it wasn’t running properly were some missing bolts that held the motor in place. Replacements found, wiring checked, and it was up and running a treat!

I popped some scrap pine in as a practise, and before I knew it was turning into a cane! I even began the long black Japan lacquering process! However I am kicking myself for doing too much as the first layer brought up the grain and looked lovely, but it wasn’t quite what I had in mind! Now instead I’m only on the 7th coat of shellac! I am in two minds whether to continue or strip it right back. I might just carry on for now and turn up some better bits of Ash I have stashed and do a lighter finish on that instead. I will keep you up to date as this continues!