Recent content by Fergal

Wetherspoons do various beers and ciders for £1.99 a pint.

I've never used Valchromat. How does it compare to MRMDF? Is it water resistant? I only use MRMDF now as it's much better than normal MDF and only costs slightly more.

I recently partially boarded the loft of my new-build using the plastic loft legs available at Wickes. They were pretty cheap and seem strong enough. They were then covered with 18mm chipboard. I won't be putting much stuff in the loft as access is difficult, but the boards could take my weight...

We have a lathe at our community shed in Keynsham. You're welcome to pop down on a Tuesday night and have a chat with our resident lathe expert.

How many lathes do you have in the living room?! If only I could get away with that.

Or something like this if you have a thinner bench top: https://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-t ... air-719098

I know some will be horrified by what I'm about to say, but I find a belt sander does a good job of restoring the bevel on a chipped chisel or plane blade. You get a nice, flat bevel rather than a hollow grind like you'd get on a wheel and it's quick! You can then hone it on a wet stone or...

Electrical suppliers sell steel conduit in various diameters, galvanised or black enamelled, like this: https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index ... index.html Would that do? As for cast iron discs for handwheels, I've heard of people using weight training plates for this purpose.

I made a branding iron for our Men's Shed using this technique with a laser printed etch resist. I found it was a bit hit and miss getting the toner to transfer to the steel using a clothes iron. It did work eventually, although the etching wasn't as deep as I'd have liked as I had to stop it...

I have to agree with Colin above, the combination of a small metalworking lathe and a TIG welder opens up all manner of possibilities. I'm also constantly on the lookout for any odd bits of metal which can be used for projects. For example I bought a big bag of M20 x150mm bolts from Screwfix a...

You could clamp a straight board along the cut line and use that to guide the saw. If you don't have any clamps, you could attach it with double sided tape. A Japanese pull saw or fine tooth tenon saw would be the most appropriate, as they have a very narrow kerf and leave a nice finish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0--7CZCVngM This guy built a cabinet for the Stanley organiser boxes. It has a nice feature of a pull out shelf that you can put your desired box onto while you're looking through it.

I'm pretty sure some of the members of our Men's Shed would be interested in doing this to raise some funds for the shed. PM me for more details.

I'm part way through a van conversion myself and went for decent quality far eastern hardwood ply in the end. It's the stuff that is sort of reddish-pink in colour. Not as nice as birch ply but cuts cleanly and far cheaper, besides it will be painted anyway. Avoid the cheaper softwood ply which...

When on the scrounge, I always find it's better to go to the place in question and ask somebody on a break if they'll let you rummage through their skip. Much more effective than phoning or emailing.