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Not high art, when compared with lots of the projects on here, but I enjoyed making this "bug hotel". It's made entirely from salvaged materials- palletwood, copper from old cylinder, trimmings from garden shrubs, bamboo canes, pine cones etc.

I used to use ammonia to age my copperwork, to give it the green verdigris coating, so it should be of use to someone.

Just a quick google tells me those fittings are a Type B manipulative compression fitting, whereas the more familiar fitting is a Type A non-manipulative with an olive!

I'm Irish and I've read about those manipulative compression fittings in old trade journals and building technology books,but never seen one til now, so thanks for sharing! That company are very much still on the go, in Santry, Co. Dublin if I'm not mistaken. Prior to globalisation they...

I have 2 dial gauge calipers, one in stainless steel for more precision work and a plastic one for less important stuff. The plastic one is a Shinwa, only reads to 0.1mm but is perfectly adequate for woodwork, roughly gauging a drill bit diameter and checking material thickness when using my...

I've had my DW 745 for 7 years and I would be without, as already mentioned the rack and pinion fence on their saws is great and gives good, accurate and repeatable results.

Wonderful work and a lovely setup you have! I got some blacksmithing exposure on a one day course I did years ago and loved it. Looking forward to seeing the finished work.

Thanks for all the replies, the mostly likely answer seems to be the boot hook, thankfully I won't have much call for that now, but who knows in future!

Welcome to UKW, I'm from Ireland also, midlands and I went a similar route to yours in 2015. I went with a 20 x 12 from Shanette, which has rapidly filled up! You'll find plenty of great advice from the members here.

I found this recently in an old drawer, I suspect it may be a tool for lifting manhole/ AJ covers? It's stamped "Made in England", measures approx. 9" long overall, shank has a diameter of approx. 1/4" or 6.35mm. Am I right?

I use a method very similar to that suggested by eribaMotters- I have a couple of 3x 2 PAR battens that I use for the job. I never liked the idea of particles of plastic floating around, the world has enough problems with micro plastics in the environment. Those 8x 4 sheets of PIR are too...

I made up a simple press using mostly scrap materials- salvaged 3x 2" pallet/ packing material, bolts, coach screws and some chipboard for the press frame and platens. The pressing force being provided by a cheap 1 tonne bottle jack (Halfords), with return springs (from an old dishwasher)...

Father of 3 girls here and despite my best efforts I haven't managed to persuade any of them to take any interest in woodwork or DIY, although I'm pretty sure that they may discover how useful some practical skills are when they have homes and independent lives of their own. I gave my eldest...

I picked up a battered set just like that one in the opening post. Unfortunately the case was well beyond repair. Having trained as a draughtsman myself many years ago I still have fond memories of how technical drawings were produced in the days before CAD and BIM. I put some the instruments...

Not a plumber but I've done plenty of plumbing in my own house, always using compression fittings or yorkshire solder fittings. I wouldn't trust plastic push fit or even the tectite fittings either. They are reliant on a rubber ring to make a seal- we all know that these break down over time...

I remember making those paper briquettes as a child, when the whole family were pressed into service, tearing up the bundles of newspapers and adding to large barrels of water, what a mess! They took an age to dry and produced so much ash that the press contraption was soon relegated to a far...

I've only got two tins, both of them Irish tobacco brands that I believe were quite popular in their day.

I'm a keen DIYer and have corded and cordless tools from Makita, DeWalt and Bosch. In more recent years as I've been switching more to cordless tools I realised I had to pick a tool and battery platform, so I decided to focus on Bosch. So far I'm very happy with my choice and the range of...

Lead is the way to go and if done even half right it will outlast what your proposing to build. I did a lead flashing job on a much bigger lean to roof a few years ago, using basic hand tools, a lead working guide I'd downloaded for free and some helpful youtube videos. Be sure to use...