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Christmas Cards 2022

The Christmas cards from 2021 went well so I thought I’d do a new design for 2022. This year the robot has a helper to pull his sleigh. I used the same machine as last time (a clone of AxisDraw).…

Horse spaghetti portion

My mum has a hungry horse called Basil. I thought a spaghetti portion measuring device for their kitchen should have an option for a greedy person (or nag)!

Unicycle Tour de Dyson 2022

Last Thursday I did the 68 mile (110km) Tour De Dyson on my unicycle. There was plenty of rain, thunder and lightning to keep things interesting! It was the longest ride I’ve done so far and a great day out.…

Wooden Zipper

This was one of those projects you think you can do in a weekend and two months later you have finally finished. Granted, I haven’t spent that much time on it, but still! The tutorial on how to make a…

Folding stools

There are various similar designs for this kind of stool but I followed Steve Ramsey’s excellent YouTube tutorial. Getting everything to fit together with a smooth folding action was slightly tricky. My second stool works much better than the first…

Wooden Lego Man

Spring was transistioning into summer and I thought it was time to start a “substantial” project. Making a giant wooden minifig took longer than expected even with this excellent tutorial by Simon Beggs. I’ll make another one someday because it’s…

Chopping board with inlay

I nice piece of elm had sat in my racking for a couple of years screaming to be used. This was a relatively simple project; I removed the bark, added the inlays and sanded it within an inch of it’s…

Wooden Toy Toolbox & Tools

What is the best way of inspiring the next generation of engineers? I don’t know the answer but getting them started at a young age must help, surely?! I’m not sure who has had more fun with this gift: me…

Wooden Toy Policeman

About 30 years ago I was given a stackable policeman toy. The paint has long since faded but it looked like the blue policeman to the right. This is my second attempt at making one on my lathe. The first…

Address to a Haggis

I was invited to perform Address to a Haggis for the Old Bell’s Burns Night. Given that I have a very soft Scottish accent, don’t like whisky and a pescatarian; I’m not sure how Robert Burns would feel about me…