ScrapHappy February 2022: Extra – the Counter wait is over

This build had a tendency to drag on a bit

Well, there we are, one counter and a dragon eager to serve you! I even reused some of the panel pins studiously removed (by our lovely volunteers last week) from the partitions.

Actually, there are still a few things left to do. I would like to tidy up the corners (that is, hide them) and the one of the pieces of countertop needs another couple of screws. Then, there is the matter of painting and decorating it, but that will likely be a task for some more lovely volunteers!

Our eager member of staff

I think I will rest my carpentry “skills” for a bit!

oOo

ScrapHappy February 2022: Counter Indication

All the salvaged wood that’s needed for this project

As my reader may remember, last month’s ScrapHappy post was a pile of, well, wood. In fact, once the two partition walls and a changing room were removed, there was a large pile of reclaimed material to use. I was a little bit proud that we had stopped all this stuff going into a skip, as now seems to be the norm with building materials like these.

Last month I said the first project would be a breakfast bar to go between the teaching space and the kitchen upstairs in the shop. I was wrong. The first project was, in fact, a shop counter. The Snail chose two shelves that would be the template for the top of the counter and I then constructed the most dubious framework to hold it up off the floor. On the plus side, the floor of the shop is absolutely level, in all directions. On the minus side, I was going to construct the framework. I might even use some of the salvaged screws too.

From the top…

OK, I only used about half a dozen salvaged screws as they mostly had worn out heads (like mine), having originally been driven into the wood using something that was a combination of a pneumatic wheel nut gun and Mjollnir*.

Spirit level stand (you can’t see it, but the spirit level is, in fact, level)

I am pretty sure that some of the uprights aren’t as upright as they should be and, yet, the counter top is as level as the floor on which it stands so I am not going to be looking too closely for now. I just hope it can support the weight of the till, fabric, cups of coffee, dragons etc.!

Clamp down (I know! I used a grown-up bit of DIY gear!)

I am going to use some of the hardboard removed from the partitions to clad the outside and hide the shelf I am going to fit inside – but I ran out of time before this post had to be written! If you check out the shop’s Instagram site (@thesnailofhappiness) you will probably see a picture of the completed counter there.

Hopefully, the dragon won’t frighten away too many customers!

A nearly-completed counter – just some side panels to go on

oOo

* Thor’s hammer.

ScrapHappy January 2022: Talkin’ ‘bout scrap generation

A worried Snail and a slightly distressed wall

First, a Happy New Year to my reader or Blywddyn Newydd Dda as we say around here!

As some of you may know, the Snail and I are opening a shop to sell preloved craft stuff, so all those stashes of fabric, craft materials and crafting tools that are laying around, never to be used. The shop itself is in pretty good condition but, of course, there are things we want to change. The first structural one is to remove the two inside walls that someone put up so we can have a big teaching space so we can show people how to make and mend using all the preloved stuff!

The two walls were made with nice chunky bits of wood for the framework and hardboard rather than plasterboard which means we can use that for something too. It was a relief to discover this (by kicking it to see if it would come off, very technical) as plasterboard is messy and difficult to reuse.

Shelves… but it’s the stuff underneath that I want

There is also a largish quantity of thick MDF shelves which will work very well as work surfaces.

So, the first project? A breakfast bar to act as a divider betwixt the kitchen and the teaching area. Watch this space!

oOo

Many other people contribute to Kate and Gun’s wonderful ScrapHappy every month – check out what they have been up to too!

 

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jill, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol,
Preeti, Debbierose, Nóilin, Viv and Edi

 

 

ScrapHappy Extra: Scrap Man

The Scrap Man cometh…

The co-creator of ScrapHappy, Kate Chiconi, left a comment on my ScrapHappy review with a link to a fish made of scrap stuff (https://talltalesfromchiconia.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/cod-close-up-water-spill.jpg). I remember seeing this chap at the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK back in 2016 and said i would post it here for all to see – and I have! I am not sure I can match the size of such a sculpture but it does feel like I have roughly an equivalent amount of scrap in my office so you never know…

Spot the Consumer Electronics Waste – a lawn mower, a satellite dish, a cooker hob…

ScrapScary!

oOo

ScrapHappy December 2021: Repair, Reuse, REVIEW

As we approach the shortest day and the turning of the year, I thought I would write a quick review of my ScrapHappy activities (and not just because, here at Chez Snail, we are more than halfway through our Solstice calendar which has a small but perfectly drinkable bottle of wine behind every door and therefore means I may not be as creative as normal).

As my regular reader will know, I am not skilled enough to start ScrapHappying with fabrics and other soft scrap, so I go for the hard ScrapHappying. Occasionally, the two overlap as they did in October and November…

Using a component from an old CFL lightbulb to fix a Bernina footpedal

Using an old piece of cable sheath to keep the feeder dog up on a Brother machine

There was a definite lamp theme by the time I used a bit of one in October. I had already repurposed an old set-top box in January to ensure the Snail’s craft light kept shining, and converted a pair of electrickery-powered lights back to good old candle power in May…

A powerless power supply, soon to be replaced with a power supply with no device to power

Electricity? Overrated…

Of course, the hugest news in the ScrapHappy Universe, and by that I mean in my head, was the rebirth of Palletgate in July…

Ah, Palletgate is dead. LONG LIVE PALLETGATE!

There was ScrapHappy component creation going on in June and August…

A very early Cyberman… or a slightly sawn-off CD player

Yummy electronic ScrapHappiness

There was a ScrapHappy makeover for the water butt stand in March…

Prototype Daleks OR a water butt standing on its own two feet (er, one stand)

Some scrapped telecom cable (retrieved from the side of the road) was used to keep the raspberries off the ground in April…

Cable and wireless? Nope, Raspberries and wire.

And there was an old scythe to restore in September…

One man and his (half of a) dog. Oh, and a scythe…

oOo

Eh voila! Another ScrapHappy year done with! I hope you all have a very ScrapHappy 2022 and, indeed, a very Happy 2022 in general! See you next year for more ScrapHappiness and maybe even a new ScrapHappy top-of-the-blog post image (maybe)!

Many other people contribute to Kate and Gun’s wonderful ScrapHappy every month – check out what they have been up to too!

 

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jill, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol,
Preeti, Debbierose, Nóilin, Viv and Edi