Sydney Shed

[rydeshed]

I have been a long time lurker since stumbling on this site. I love wasting lots of time here!

My Shed comes with the house, which is not mine. It is a typical Aussie tin Shed, unlike many of the Garages I see on this site. It does not have insulation, and the mozzies and spiders (and rats) come in and out as they please.

I was what we call an "Industrial Arts" Teacher, which means I taught what I think Americans call "Shop" - wood, metal, engineering, electronics, plastics and technical drawing. I feel like a jack of all trades, but master of none.
I suppose you need some pics!

In my shed I like fixing and making things. I have an interest in motorbikes, but enjoy tinkering with almost anything. I tend to get a lot of things from the side of the road. We call it "Council Cleanup", when you put your rubbish on the side of the road for the council to pick up. I like to call it the long warehouse! Many storage items, tools and projects have come from the long warehouse.

 

[rydeshed]

I currently own two bikes. One is a 1986 Honda GB400, imported from Japan. I am currently trying to sell it. I hope to put the funds into my other bike, which needs some TLC, a 1972 Honda CB450. The other night me and a mate stripped the 450 down to get it ready for the rebuild. It runs really nice, but needs paint and rewiring, so the engine will remain the same.

It seems the easy bit is pulling things apart!

 

[rydeshed]

Recently I bought an old lathe made in the USA. It is an old turret or capstan lathe which someone has mucked around with. It is pretty limited in use, but I love it!

I also have an old Lotze power hacksaw. I found it on the long warehouse. It was badly rusted and seized up. I have since freed it up. It still needs a bit of work though!

 

[lmb]

Welcome to GJ. Looking good. Plenty of drawers to organise nuts, bolts and the like!

It seems the easy bit is pulling things apart!

Ha. That is definitely the easy part - I have that mastered!

 

[lmb]

What's the collection on the shelving on the left of the garage? Are they old motorbike magazines?

 

[rydeshed]

I managed to score some of the old index card drawers. 2 came from a local college library that I convinced would not need them now they had a computer. The third came from the long warehouse. Although they were all free and are great for storing certain items, I am envious of some of the tool boxes I see on GJ. Nice wide, flat drawers, but hey, I guess I will find one at the right price one day!

Thanks for the welcome lmb!

 

[rydeshed]

What's the collection on the shelving on the left of the garage? Are they old motorbike magazines?

That is vinyl. I like to hear the crackle of an old record!

 

[Kevin54]

I have been a long time lurker since stumbling on this site. I love wasting lots of time here!

My Shed comes with the house, which is not mine. It is a typical Aussie tin Shed, unlike many of the Garages I see on this site. It does not have insulation, and the mozzies and spiders (and rats) come in and out as they please.

I was what we call an "Industrial Arts" Teacher, which means I taught what I think Americans call "Shop" - wood, metal, engineering, electronics, plastics and technical drawing. I feel like a jack of all trades, but master of none.

It's called Industrial Arts over here to, or used to be. At one time it was taught in all the Middle Schools (7 & 8th Grades) and in High School (9-12th Grades) but I think most schools dropped doing that and started letting the Vocational schools do it instead. Although, I think the students get more out of the classes in the Vocational Schools than they did just taking one classe everyday at school which was like 45 minutes per day.

BTW....Welcome to Garage Journal.

 

[HOTFR8]

Great looking place. It looks active.

 

[jabberwoki]

Were abouts in Sydney?
I used to like all over the northen beaches area.

Nice shed mate.

 

[Statesman]

Welcome Rydeshed,
I guessing from your username Your shed is in Ryde?
Iv'e lurked a lot longer than i have been a member,some awesome & inspirational information on here,even for us guys with much humbler mancaves
Btw I'm located at Werrington,in the scheme of things here that's just round the corner!

 

[rydeshed]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

Yes, the Shed is in Ryde in Sydney. Werrington is a lovely place. Statesman, I am guessing by your user name and your avatar that you drive a Statesman!

I am fortunate that although we live on a busy road we have rear lane access, and the Shed faces onto the rear lane. It is a nice spot for a bbq, a beer and a chat. Before moving to Sydney I lived out west (Gilgandra/Gulargambone). When I left teaching I did farm work and made a portable sawmill. Although we now live in the city, when I go to the shed I feel like I am back in the bush. The shed is a great escape place for me!

 

[Statesman]

Hey Ryde,
Yep Right on both accounts, although some people turn their nose up at the western suburbs, i reckon it's a great place to live. Ryde is a great suburb.When i get some motivation back i will update my shed thread.unfortunately mine is very dependant on funds!!
And at the moment they are very low due to house renovations taking precedent(happy wife,happy life!)
And yes the user name & avatar do give me away!! Though she(the statesman) is currently my major project.
Your colourbond garage is almost identical to my old garage. I love my new(old) fibro character garage, but my old colourbond was much more user friendly.The things we do for character.....

 

[HSpencer]

This is a great looking shop where one could get a lot of things done. Looks like you have it all in there as well. I am envious of your parts drawer storage. This place looks like a real shop, and I really like it!!

 

[kyle@hcb]

Great looking space!

 

[rydeshed]

Were abouts in Sydney?
I used to like all over the northen beaches area.

Nice shed mate.

Hey Ryde,
Yep Right on both accounts, although some people turn their nose up at the western suburbs, i reckon it's a great place to live. Ryde is a great suburb.When i get some motivation back i will update my shed thread.unfortunately mine is very dependant on funds!!
And at the moment they are very low due to house renovations taking precedent(happy wife,happy life!)
And yes the user name & avatar do give me away!! Though she(the statesman) is currently my major project.
Your colourbond garage is almost identical to my old garage. I love my new(old) fibro character garage, but my old colourbond was much more user friendly.The things we do for character.....

I confess that there are somethings in my Shed that are there for character, not function! I guess this is why I like it. It is a functional space, on the whole, but it also has a good vibe.

Good luck with the house reno!

 

[rydeshed]

Thanks again for the nice comments!

A bit more background to me and some of my Shed influence. I left school teaching while we were living out west (Gilgandra/Gulargambone district) and built a portable sawmill to run a small milling business, and worked on a friends farm. My friends farm has one of the largest shearing sheds in the district. It is about 113 years old now. Made from Cypress Pine, and at one stage using steam power, it is amazing that it has never burnt down!

 

[rydeshed]

I will try and dig out some photos of the Sawmill I made. It was based on a Lucas Mill. Not sure if you have them in the US? Anyways, I used to mill mainly Cypress and Ironbark. Below is a slab of Ironbark.

It is a beautiful hardwood, but as the name suggests, it is heavy and hard. In more recent times it has been used for furniture making, but weighs about 12ookg per cubic metre, so you can't rearrange the furniture too often!

 

[expatriated]

that is absolutely an awesome place. If I were near there, I'd hang out as long as you'd let me.

Good photog skills too.

I ended up in a white collar job but I remember with fondness my industrial arts classes. I still have some of the projects we made

 

[vette66bob]

Welcome to the Garage Journal, Your shop looks very functional. It is nice to see you are using and repairing some fantastic old machines. I recently retired, having been an Industrial Arts teacher for 41 years. The future of Industrial Arts intergraded into academic high schools seems to be on a down turn. I believe there will always be a need for practical hands on learning. Thanks for posting. I find it interesting comparing a common interest around the world.

 

[jabberwoki]

Doooh Rydeshed of course!!!
I use to go to college in Ryde.

 

[rydeshed]

that is absolutely an awesome place. If I were near there, I'd hang out as long as you'd let me.

I did have a mate ask if he could live in my Shed. Not sure how serious he was. His wife did not seem to know about it.

 

[rydeshed]

Welcome to the Garage Journal, Your shop looks very functional. It is nice to see you are using and repairing some fantastic old machines. I recently retired, having been an Industrial Arts teacher for 41 years. The future of Industrial Arts intergraded into academic high schools seems to be on a down turn. I believe there will always be a need for practical hands on learning. Thanks for posting. I find it interesting comparing a common interest around the world.

I certainly did not teach for as long as you (I am 42), but I think Industrial Arts is always fighting for its place in Australia as it costs a lot to run, and is not seen as cutting edge. I was impressed with some of the stuff they are doing at my local high school with little jet powered model cars and 3d printing etc. For some reason we seem to be trying to train IT people and expect China to make everything for us with the resources we sold to them. Kids are now actively discouraged in our State from getting a trade so they can use their hands.

 

[rydeshed]

Doooh Rydeshed of course!!!
I use to go to college in Ryde.

Did you attend Ryde Secondary College, or the Ryde TAFE College?

 

[rydeshed]

I have some mates come around once a month for a bbq. We have a beer tasting and usually spend some time trying to do a project. Sometimes we do things like fix up a mower and sell it on Ebay for a charity. People bid more for charity items! Anyway, recently we decided to try and make a Go-kart with a lawn mower motor.

It has a 2-stroke vertical shaft motor that we stood on it's side and turned the carbie 90 degrees. Not sure if that will work or not! So far the entire project has come from materials that were being thrown out, but we might need to buy something for the drive train.

 

[Grizz1963]

Welcome !!!

Absolutely love the vibe of your shed.... and you do capture its essence well in the photos.

My new word for today is "LONG SHED" (I am known a "skip Jockey" here because I love old stuff) How absolutely descriptive.

 

[Oz Fry]

Looks good mate.

 

[rydeshed]

Thanks once again for the welcome and kind words. Some people have commented on the photography. Some photos are mine, some my 16 year old son took. He has a good eye!

I mentioned my other bike, a Honda GB400. It is currently for sale to help finance the resto of the CB450. The GB is a pretty little bike which I will be sad to see go. When I bought it there was only about 15,000km on the clock. Not bad for a bike that is 27 years old.

For those interested, the GB400 was a tribute to the British singles and the Isle of Mann, except they started, didn't leak oil and had functioning electrics! They were not popular at the time Honda produced them, but in more recent years they have developed a growing following. They imported the GB500 to Australia, but the 400 model was for the Japanese market. There are now several importers bringing them into Australia.

 

[rydeshed]

During the winter months I have an old beer keg on a stand that connects to a chimney up in the ceiling. It does not get very cold here in Sydney. Judging by some of the things I see on GJ I do not understand the meaning of cold, but I have found that when the fire is on the guys usually don't want to leave the Shed! Once we distilled some rum as a bit of a project. People didn't seem to want to leave that night either!

I am the good looking guy facing the camera.

 

[rydeshed]

We will try and do anything in the Shed. 44 bikes frame shop has nothing on what is going down here!

 

[Grizz1963]

We will try and do anything in the Shed. 44 bikes frame shop has nothing on what is going down here!

Now that really has a good look to it.

 

[rydeshed]

I have noticed lots of cool old fridges on GJ. My Shed fridge is an old Kelvinator.

A friend dropped it off after he found it on the side of the road. He suggested that it might be helpful in solving some of my storage problems!

It holds my corded power tools. I have been inspired by one of the garage fridge threads to give it a paint. Actually, I have been inspired by GJ to paint everything in my Shed matching colours, but I am not convinced that it suits the vibe I am going for. The lazy vibe!

Speaking of storage, I have a couple of old Sidchrome Tool boxes, made in Australia. Do they have Sidchrome over in the US? Of course Sidchrome is made in China now.

 

[rydeshed]

There is a guy around the corner from me who runs a Ducati shop. One of the things I like to do when I get the time is photograph other shed/workshops. Here are some pics of the Ducati place. There are some nice bikes there!

 

[jabberwoki]

I went to the Ryde School Of Horticulture.
I love that Sidchrome tool box if you were closer i`d trade you a snap on box for it.

 

[rydeshed]

I went to the Ryde School Of Horticulture.
I love that Sidchrome tool box if you were closer i`d trade you a snap on box for it.

I was lucky enough to find one in the council clean up, and the other one was being thrown out by some guys in a local fabrication workshop. I see them come up on Ebay every now and again. I like 'em... just wish they were full!

 

[rydeshed]

It is Friday morning in Sydney town. That means that tonight I will hopefully spend some quality time in the Shed! In a week I am having the monthly Shed gathering with some of the local fellas with a bbq etc. Before then I will need to tidy up a bit. I have found that by using the Shed as a social venue once a month I keep it much more tidy!

I am also hoping to get some more work done on the CB450 tonight. If so, I will post some pics when I get the chance.

 

[jabberwoki]

I was lucky enough to find one in the council clean up, and the other one was being thrown out by some guys in a local fabrication workshop. I see them come up on Ebay every now and again. I like 'em... just wish they were full!

God i miss the council clean up i used to find all types of great stuff.

 

[wawaw]

You said something about the long sheed & there was a picture of what we would probably call a barn in the states. I was also impressed with the harness that the shear' er was using. We used to have sheep & a very large man would come to shear them & they were very large sheep & he would pick them up & pounce on them after he threw them on the ground. It was spectacular. nbice garauge (oras youwould say)shed.

 

[rydeshed]

You said something about the long sheed & there was a picture of what we would probably call a barn in the states. I was also impressed with the harness that the shear' er was using. We used to have sheep & a very large man would come to shear them & they were very large sheep & he would pick them up & pounce on them after he threw them on the ground. It was spectacular. nbice garauge (oras youwould say)shed.

They use the harness to save their backs. The harness does not take a lot of weight off, but over the course of the day they make a huge difference. I knew a few blokes who went shearing in Canada and the USA from Australia as a working holiday, so I figured there was some amount of a whole Industry over your way.

I was never a shearer, but rather pressing the wool into bales and picking up the fleece after it was shorn, throwing it on the table so it can be skirted (daggy bits torn off) and classed (classified according to quality).

The sheep don't seem to enjoy it as much as I did. I miss working in the big shed!

 

[1/2 Cup]

Top shed, welcome to GJ, keep the pics coming.................