February 2017

Shed Shavings  

  St Leonards Men’s Shed Newsletter 

                February 2017

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2017.  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year, that all the grandchildren have left and gone back to school and that your ready for a quiet rest at the Shed.

Brew Crew

The Master Brewer at work.

The Brew Crew (John and Dave, the Booze Brothers) have done a great job setting us up for our own brews.  Dave secured some sponsorship from WRG, in the shape of two Morgans Starter Kits.  There has been 4 brews put down and most have been very drinkable.  The boys had an off day with brew No 2, a classic vintage Coopers, that they stuffed up completely ( or maybe it was the out of date brew).

 

School at the Shed

 

The last semester saw the now usual attendance by 4 children from St Leonards Primary to work one on one with some of our members to build a project and learn a little bit of woodwork.  This year we saw three girls and one boy attend and the teachers said there were some very disappointed children who missed out.  It looks like there will be more than four this year, if we have enough members to assist.  Anyone can assist, regardless of skill level, as there are always enough members present to help.

Music at the Shed

Organs

 

We were asked by a new arrival at St Leonards if we wanted to restore an old pump organ that was over 100 years old. Rightly or Wrongly, we said Yes, we'll have a go, and we ended up with a two for one deal.

On inspection, we found a manufactures label in the back of the old pump organ with a date of 26 January, 1903.  Mick and Digger spent some time getting it in working order for someone to adjust and tune all the reeds, but a present you do get a tune from the organ.  At that age we were thinking we might get some money for this antique.  I phoned an antique dealer to get a better understanding and was told, " I've been in the game for 35 years and have never been able to sell one."  Now we're doing everything to get rid of it.   The electric Yamaha organ we were told had an electrical problem and Bob "The electrician" had it working in no time.  John Emerson came in with some sheet music and played us all a tune.

 

Cigar Box Guitars



Greg explaining some of
the finer points to John

On Friday 3rd February Greg McKinnon, Cigar Box Guitar Guru visited the shed to show some of his guitars and talk to us about their construction.  Greg spoke about how he came to make his first guitar to turning into a business he runs in semi-retirement.  He showed his skills by playing a few tunes, opened one of the guitars up to show their construction and talked about where to get parts, costs etc.  It was a very well received session and Greg is welcome back any time. Bob "The Berg" wanted to demonstrate his style.



Some of Greg's selection

My favourite was the one on the right

   

 

Bellarine Bayside

 

Once again we were asked to make another two Picnic Settings for Bellarine Bayside and these were made and picked up in time to be used for Christmas.  This takes their total to six settings and Paul Gangell, the Operations Manager, told me they would probably order another couple next financial year.

 

Football Tipping
Thursday March 23rd sees the start of another footy season and we will have our usual tipping competition.  Five dollar entry, winner takes all and the competition is run using the AFL Tipping site.  Bob and Russell tied last year, would be great to have someone else pick up the winners prize.  To increase the pool this year, the competition is open to members partners and family members.  There will be a sign on the notice board in the next few days to register for the competition.

 

Timber Donation

Just prior to Christmas I had a phone call from "Peter" in Ocean Grove offering us some timber that he had stockpiled.  Peter was moving interstate and said he would rather burn it than give it to the Ocean Grove Mens Shed.  We visited twice and bought back a lot of wood, some good, some not so. We tried to pick the better pieces and put others bundles aside, however, Peter, always talking and helping kept adding these to the trailer.  We cut a lot up as firewood.  The picture below shows some of the timber at the shed and there is more stored at the Shed's off-site, short term storage location.  A big Thankyou to Trevor Hirth for allowing some space in his shed.  Please make use of this free resource for your own projects, it will all clean-up very nicely and costs you zip.

 

 

Memorial Seat

 

Mrs Karen Sigley, whose husband recently passed away asked us to make a memorial seat for her.  As her husband was a keen golfer she wanted the seat installed at the St Leonards Golf Club.  The hardwood seat was made at the shed and then we positioned it next to the first hole at the golf course.  Ray, Kevin and Dave did a great job, and here on the right is "The Pres" putting on the final touches of stain before it was taken to the course.  The other photo is of the boys at the course getting the holes dug.  How many used to work for the council, and spot the "Work for the Dole" supervisor.  Below is the final product.

 

 

 

Special Members Meeting

Your Committee meets every month to ensure we maintain a high standard at the Shed, always seeking to improve our levels of safety and manage our finances to continue to provide the services everyone has become accustomed to.  There has been a number of items discussed of late and the Committee believes the best way of updating members would be via a Special Meeting rather than another email.  This meeting will be held immediately before the BBQ on Wednesday 22nd February.

 Hands up if Guilty

 

 

 

Member Profile

Each newsletter,we introduce a member and complete a profile, this month we’re pleased to introduce our Master Brewer and one half of the "Booze Brothers", David Chadwick. 

 

Name	Dave Chadwick
Partner	Heather
Children/Grandchildren	3/2
Great Grandchildren	0
How long have you lived in St Leonards?	17 Months
Before St Leonards	Ocean Grove
What did you do before retiring?	Maintenance Scheduler- Barwon Water
Football Club you support?	Passionate Geelong Supporter