Still in the garden.

The watering system made me think more about a garden that needs less attention from me so it can thrive if I am away for work. 

I thought of the orchards inside: They are not doing as well as the outside ones so lets put them all out there. Clear some space under the bananas, make a frame to hold the pots I reasoned and I did that. It looks good and a few weeks later they all seem fine. The space inside is filled up with cactus and succulents who can live for weeks without attention so this should work well.

I snagged a pallet from work on the Friday. It had long narrow planks and was heat treated so safe for plants. On Saturday I got out the saw and drill and just started without a plan. That's fun sometimes.

I made two and cleared out a space in the bananas and just kind of jammed them in there and added some props until it was level and stable.

It only took an hour and I don't expect it to last, thinking if it is a success then I will put some real effort in and make it more durable.

 

 

frames to hold the orchards in place... 

 

and then populated.

2016-07 Concrete Record Player.

The Dual turntable needs somewhere to live. I decided to make this a test of the process for my ideal record plinth.
The Concrete Record Player (plinth.)

The process: Make a mold and fill it with concrete

The mount points for the turntable are precise and too thin for concrete so I made a frame of plywood to be embedded in the plinth the the turntable will rest on and mount to. I made two and laminated them together for strength and the depth needed for the turntable spring support cups.

The frame mounted on the top of the mold with the turntable cutout under it. The frame protrudes and that will keep it embedded in the concrete. Here I am packing out the interior with packing foam and masking tape to keep the void in the middle empty.

The mold with the sides on and some dowels for the mains and audio cables. I didn't want to risk cracking the plinth by drilling these out after it had set. The first  concrete is in and you can see the wire squares I added into the concrete hoping it will strengthen the final block.

2016-01 Book shelf system

It's been on my todo list for a while and books are getting out of control. I have the time over the hols for a big project so here it is.
I really like lundia but I can find it as thin and tall as I want.
I like another particular  type of shelf that has adjustable shelves using an easily available fitting.
I decided to combine the top-bottom shelf lock the uprights idea of lundia with the adjustable shelves.
I also decided to abandon the need for them to be unattached to the wall. They will be too high and thin to stay upright by themselves.

 I added a fixed shelf in the middle as I thought the uprights might bow outward if books were forced in then the shelves would drop off their brackets.

Lots of holes to drill. Measuring and drilling them so that they are right on and clean took the longest time by far. Over 10 hours at a guess.	This a unit frame. I was thinking I might need a X brace and had planned to use wire and turnbuckles. This was just needed to keep the frames intact while handling them into place and  screwing them to the wall. They were more then stable enough to handle so I did dropped that.

Screwing the frame to the wall. That's a complete one to the right of the window.

With the shelves clipped in.	And a double wide set for the bigger stuff.

2009-01 Re-laminate Writing Desk

My old oak writing desk has an oak laminated front which is peeling away after being stored in a damp place. I'd like to experiment with laminating wood and this would be a good starting project.

[1] Remove the laminate.
[2] Stick it back on.

2008-11 Concrete Record Player

So its to be a record-player then: The Op-shop had some mint diamond styli for a few bucks so I bought them.
My Trusty Luxman skates a little and is too wide for the lundia. I felt like an audio project after all the PC based stuff so the Concrete Record Player Plinth is the POTM.
At last a home for my SME arm. Here you see all the parts I've been putting aside: The bearing, light weight patter and motor from a turntable with a crap arm but completely noiseless and stable - can't recall the brand. All sorts of cartridges and styli collected over the years and of course the pice of tone army resistance: a SME tone arm. Cost me $100(ish) in the 80's from a greedy eccentric who only prized it's resale value.

2008-05 Bookshelfs

I really need them. I'd used Lundia but don't have room for it right now so making shelfs specifically for paperback books is the only way forward.
Let's set some goals and restrictions:
I want it modular so I can add and remove and move it.
I want to fill a certain wall with it right now.
I want it to be cheap.
I'd like an arts and crafts look to it.

2008-04 Garden boxes

When you have no garden and have a very sunny balcony and you are me then this is the thing to do because I miss gardening and eating things I've grown myself.
The place I live in now is on the second floor and the front balcony faces north and gets good sun all day. I'd been keeping an eye out for a growing stuff solution to take advantage of this and satisfy this need; maybe just some herbs for a start. I finally found a strawberry planter at an Op-shop and so decided the time had come for a gardening based P.O.T.M. Here's what would be good:

• Grow herbs for daily use.
• Grow Salad for daily use.
• As self maintaining as possible. (self watering?)
• Grow some experimental veggies you can't buy anymore.
• Platform for experimental PC maintained garden?
• Should be enjoyable to use, make and see.
• Make as much of it as I reasonably can reusing materials when reasonable.
• But use cheap and common materials if I need to get it done.
  

As I said, found a plastic strawberry container in an op-shop for $3.00. Got a bag of potting mix from the warehouse ($6.99) and re-claimed some herbs I'd potted out at my brothers. I transplanted them semi-careful into the strawberry container fulled with potting mix, watered well and are doing fine now. Could do with a drip tray yet.
(Though seen in this photo they look a bit crook. They've been growing in there about two weeks here.)
There's Mint, Sage, Parsley and Thyme right now. I have Lemon Balm, Lemon Grass, Vietnamese Mint and French Tarragon to Squeeze in.
Not going to fit. Need. . . more. . . dirt. . .
Warehouse had a special on some seed houses. A sort of small plastic glasshouse (nice oxymoron) for $20 so I got one to keep things going in case the cold of winter bit before I got plants into soil. It also allowed me to start collecting plants before I had anywhere for them and I thought I could grow monster amounts of Basil in it through the winter. Yeah. Basil. Awright. Checked with the neighbor (who would have to walk past it to get to her washing line) and she was cool so I got one.
Wacked the spare plants in it and it got so hot the Vietnamese Mint nearly karked it (we've been having a long hot Autumn). Moved them to the bottom of the seed house and they've been fine.

I still needed a solution to the lack of dirt. "Window boxes but big. " I thought. But that would need wood. Himmmm woooood.... Now, not many people know this but in town a good source of free wood is pallet bases.
There's been one lying by the mini-bin at work so I snarfed that. It'd been there for 3 months in the way in the car park and I was pretty sure they weren't going to chuck or claim it. Dragged it home and spent an hour or two knocking it apart and removing all nails then stacked it to see what I had to work with.
I'd hope to get two window/planting boxes out of it but after stacking the boards this way and that to get a good idea of the volume I decided to just do one. A kind of prototype and it worked quite well.
It's a bit more then 1 metre long and 30cm by 30cm. This is an unmeasured sketch, I just held stuff up and cut it to fit. The next one I'll refine and measure properly.
OK That I did and here is the one page PDF plan for you enjoyment.

I did some work on the "greenhouse" ; moving the basil into a bigger container that I hope will last the winter. Moved the tarragon into the strawberry container and tidied up some. The Lemon grass, Lemon balm and Vietnamese mint are still looking a bit fragile so they're in here too for now. I hope the basil ( and perhaps peppers and tomatoes) will go in the bottom and seedlings in the top.

Bad back and a stupid little cold have stopped me doing much more more on this. I'll put together proper plans and note on building a garden-box, add a few after photos' and that will be it for this part of this project.
I guess I will add the two boxes I'd wanted in the next few months and I'll post comments and photos if anything of interest occurs.

Final Notes:
TODO

Plant List:
Already Have:
Mint, Thyme, Sage, Lemon Balm, Chives, Parsley, Lemon Grass, Basil, Tarragon, Spinach.
Need:
Sorrel, Chicory.
Want List:
Salsify (Oyster Plant - sow in autumn.), Florence Fennel, Kaffer Lime, Rosmary,
coriander (perhaps Cilantro instead?), Endive, Chervil, Marjoram, Oregano,
Dill, Lettuce, Caraway, Cedronella, Collards, Purslane, Horse radish,
Jerusalem Artichoke, Lovage, Sweet Marjoram, Parcel.