Spring Program

Spring Program

• October 18th –
Volkswagen Heaven
Volkswagens – combis, sedans, convertibles and beach buggies. Get the good oil from a man who used to fix them for a living.

• November 14th – Friday for lunch at 12 noon (NOTE CHANGED TIME )
Provan’s Workshop & Car Museum
A not-to-be missed opportunity to see great craftsmanship. Old cars, motor bikes and panel beating par excellence.

Coming up in the New Year
Restoring steam engines/Model Boats/Air Crafthange of plans This saturday- 8-10;30

Meeting this saturday at the workshop ( 37 hesse st) just for breakfast and to make handles for those broken forks you always wanted to fix - we'll do it, as always, quickly . No experts present.

Buy a set top box NOW

Well if you aren't watching Scrapheap challenge on ABC2 at 6:30pm you are missing out on the best live entertainment available at that hour .

Sword sharpening made simple

Would you believe sharp axe making ? In amongst the crowd was Robin hood ( hood for short ) asking the obvious - where do get hold of double headers these days . The answer is not printed here, but rest assured the key answers were given to all questions .
" Colac's own racing axemaker shows a packed shed of blokes breakfasters just how to shape a piece of steel to shave, slice and split in seconds. 8 different abrasives are used to bring the steel to shaving point ; Some of the last abrasives looked more like soap, than stones .
Here Jim shows how to precisely measure the double curve shape ( convex, like a hill , near the edge to concave ,like a valley , through the top ) of the splitting part for maximum "in", minimum grip and maximum split . Different profiles, cutting lengths and angles are used for poplar, ash and jarrah ; the woods used in championships .
Many of us brought our own axes for inspection , only to find that, typically ,we weren't taking enough time and care. Check it with the microscope if you really want to know .
Jim clearly had the edge on the sharpest tool in the shed- that day.

Hows this for making stuff

One of Alan's best was one which cuts a profile in 2 inch steel. Nice and easy if you keep it sharp.

Really Big Toys

Lots of us have rusty old metal out back . Few of us have huge milling machines , dozers and bits that combined , can make just about anything .
But none of can wire up these monster 3 phase motors from single phase power lines .

And only a few of us have so many wonderful precision handles to play with. Robot with controller in the background . Here we find out about how to make a 3phase motor work on single phase, and Jimmy finds out how to switch on the pinball machine on,,,, without paying .

Just about ready to fly

Yes its all there!
But this less than 500kg plane with a few kgs of wings needs 300 metres of clear space - not so common in Barongarook Forest . We'll go out and celebrate one morning in a few months, when its all together.

Winter Program ----

Blokes Breakfasts

. June 21st Fixing really Big Machines; Milling machines to fix some really big old rusty metal: Dozers Trucks that are on site. McKenzies (a 30 min drive from Colac). Meet at the CLC at 7:30am to share transport.

· July 19th Fixing Old Furniture By the fire in the warm workshop at 37 Hesse St. Bring your worst chair to fix. Demo of French Polishing.

· August 16th Woodcutting with Australia’s best Axe-maker. Sharpen your tools to perfection.



Coming up in Spring/Summer

Making new panels for very old cars/Restoring steam engines/Model Boats/Volkswagen Heaven



Shed Meetings are held regularly on the 3rd Saturday of the month (and irregularly on the 1st) at various sheds around Colac.



We meet between 8-10:30 am with meal supplied at cost. Need to know numbers/details? Contact John Modra 5231 5497.

Maybe we could come to your place?

Maybe our visit would make you tidy up your shed?