What I Did This Weekend - In Pictures!

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Today, I decided to pot up some cuttings that I stuck in a spare piece of ground last October - most have survived and reawoken, but they could do with moving on a bit now.

This involved using a tray to do the potting in - it fits neatly between the front rails of the greenhouse benches. A piece of forward thinking design coming to fruition - or a total fluke - only I know which it is...

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My nut sack on the floor contains the last of the compost I made two years ago, by shredding loads of stuff and rotting it in a cold frame - lovely fine stuff. I used this to fill in around the root balls that I dug up.

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I now have a dozen roses, eight escallonias and a couple of skimmias (I think), I don't remember doing them and, as healthy as they looked, they had few roots evident - I probably should have left them in place.

There's a few odd cuttings left in place for now, in case I have failures here. The roses that went out last year are doing well this year.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
What's that blue thing on the top shelf with silver doodahs on either end used for?
It's one of these.

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A 'Picador' Speed Shaft, You can use it to drive all sorts of stuff.

It's just 'there for now', as it is a lump of cast iron and holds a lot of heat...

The "silver doo-dahs" beyond it are some old taps, there for the same reason.
 

Glam

Mad Cat Woman
What's that blue thing on the top shelf with silver doodahs on either end used for?
It's one of these.

9bf52c20f9aa0279aefdb98afeeea956b52b2902.jpg


A 'Picador' Speed Shaft, You can use it to drive all sorts of stuff.

It's just 'there for now', as it is a lump of cast iron and holds a lot of heat...

The "silver doo-dahs" beyond it are some old taps, there for the same reason.
Thank you. Clear as day.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Disruptive thunderstorms hovering around today, so I've only done a few odd things.

The tractor seat stool is done, with a pool noodle back rest.

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It's nice to sit in there in the warm, watching the rain.

It's a quick job to remove the seat, if I ever need all three stools to match up.

There, presumably, was a fourth seat at some point, I wonder if I'll ever find it?
 

staffordjas

Well-Known Forumite
They have been evacuated from my leg and squished. Thank goodness I found them before I go to see the physio tomorrow.
Our dog once came back from a holiday having to see a vet with a really nasty leg. Turns out she'd got sheep ticks well embedded.....we'd been walking through the footpaths going through the sheep fields attached to the accommodation.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
For some time, I've been putting off starting the project of running water into the Shed. Cutting the plate out to fit the sink in has always felt to have a lot of risk. I want the sink in a reasonable place to use it, but I also want to avoid compromising the framework under the bench-top. Multiple measuring and remeasuring finally convinced me that the optimum location was found.

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With the trepidation of an eye surgeon doing his first operation on a live conscious patient, I drilled the hole and carefully followed the line with the jigsaw.

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When the disc came out, I could see that the blade had just brushed both beams - perfect - phew!


Then I cut four notches for the holding points, a relief for the overflow connection and a hole for the tap.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Then I could fit the sink and tap - it may be a long time before the drainage and the incoming supply are done, but none of it is urgent, now that the traumatic stage is over.

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The disc that was cut out, with a little adjustment, fits back in nicely, to provide effective bench-space again.

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After all that, I cleared off and cleaned the right-hand side of the bench, to get rid of various debris, notably the cement dust from the shelving jobs, there shouldn't be much more now, just a bit of electrical relocations and modifications.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Today, I have been a lumberjack and I don't care.

I removed a Cypress bush a couple of years ago and decided to finally dismember the remains. The temperature this morning was lower than the weather looked, so a fire seemed a reasonable feature to pursue.

I lopped a lot of the finer stuff off and got the fire going with that.

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Then I employed the trusty Lidl reciprocating saw, with the right blade, and this soon produced manageable fuel pieces.

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Then I was able to hack the stump into bits able to fit in the combustion chamber - this also had the benefit of shaking off most of the soil and stones.

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Free heat and a bit of space back.


Edit - Now, I've had free hot water for the washing up.
 
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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
The corners of the benches in one of the greenhouses have been 'floating' since I put them in, as fitting supports was not as straightforward as it was in the other one. Having replaced the smaller aluminium angles for the corner shelves with better stuff, I have enough of that to re-use to run across between the two diagonal braces and support the corners. I've done the front two today, including the awkward one that the door obstructs as you try do it - I'll do the back two another day. It's very fiddly to do, but it should only need to be done once.

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I also did a load of pressure washing today, including the mats from the car - they dry quickly when it's as sunny as it is now. I also did the 'sacrificial' mat that I made for the back, with cut-outs for the seat latches. I got a good roll of this stuff free from an exhibition at G-Mex years ago. They replaced the entire floor area twice a week - madness - when I asked if I could have some, I was told, "Take it all, it just goes in the skips".

I expected to replace it now and then, but, as thin as it is, it seems to be indestructible. It's had 13 years of fairly hard use.

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Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
As we have had less than 5mm of rain here since the 12th of May, I can see the end of the stored water in sight. As a result, steps have been taken to expand the storage for the future. There is a 'spare' 200 litre barrel that was being used as a 'delayed drain'. A series of small holes in the side allowed it to fill in a sudden overflow, then slowly release that water, avoiding a sudden flood, unless there was a good amount of water, when the deluge would do that anyway. As there will be a new soakaway close by soon, for the sink in the Shed, it seemed wise to block the weep-holes and fit a tap.

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In the winter, I can run a bit of hose from the (open) tap and still have enough weight in it for wind stability.

The patches are Flashband, grilled in the sunshine and rolled into place. They might get another roll tomorrow.

I have a submersible pump (200 miles away) and that could be used to shift water from here back 'uphill' to be in more convenient locations.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Last night, I was presented with some glasses with a busted arm. I have a few old cheapo frames for cannibalising, but there was nothing that would fit immediately. The nearest one required a lot of careful thinning of the plate that fits in the middle of the hinge clevis, but I managed it eventually and a serviceable pair seems to have resulted, although the aesthetics will need to be ignored...

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It was difficult to get the screw to 'start' on refitting it all, hence the use of the vice for a hard surface to resist the force necessary.

Whilst doing this intricate bit, I became aware that I was not alone - someone was standing on the bench, hinting strongly that I might be neglecting my primary catering duties.

I tried to explain that the Shed is 'mine'.

I then spent some time trying to get one of his kids to leave the Shed - I'm not going through all that 'industrial childcare phase' again. I may have caused some offence during this discussion, by accusing him of 'being a tit' for not acceding to my very minor territorial demands.

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We have finally had seen real rain, after five weeks, and, although it was only for around fifteen minutes on two occasions, a check of the barrels suggests that around 60 to 70 litres was captured in the first shower and the same again in what might be the last one for today (I hope).

If the weather plays along, I will cycle to the pub in a bit, with the glasses, as the head they fit on lives nextdoor.
 
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