Turned Out Nice

Sick of a cluttered desk? Where is that pen?

Look no further! Grab a car based desk tidy for the petrolhead in you. There are some rare items in the new range and a whole range of hardwoods and reclaimed fifty three year old pine.

I can’t lie, I’ve had fun designing and making these and I’ve two secret favourites. They’re the PI, ideal for a maths teacher but taken from the souped up Triumph 2000 in the 2.5 straight six Power Injected version, that’s a pillar badge from 1963-77. My second fave is the Hillman Imp ‘Super’ badge, again from the 70’s and the nick in the top looks like a fault, but that’s where the ‘I’ in Imp sat on top of the super badge.

In no particular order:

• Honda – A CB750 tank badge mounted on mahogany, three pen.
• Vanden Plas – A boot badge from the Vanden Plas range, maybe a Princess (pre-Leyland) on reclaimed 1963 pine, waxed only.
• Vertical M – MG BGT centre boot badge. 1970’s mounted on mahogany.
• Vertical D – Daimler bonnet centre on 1963 pine. Nail holes and fatigued. Antique oil finish.
• Vertical PI – Triumph 2.5PI, pillar badge mounted on two tone reclaimed oak.
• Vertical MG – Midget / B / GT badge mounted on mahogany block.
• Horizontal MG – As above but mounted on distressed reclaimed mahogany, 3 pen.
• Vertical CL – Triumph 2.5CL model, pillar badge mounted on reclaimed, distressed mahogany.
• Vertical Ghia – 1970’s trim badge, single or two pen in mahogany.
• Horizontal Super – Hillman Imp Super boot badge, single pen.
• Horizontal Singer – Singer cars boot badge, three pen on slightly distressed reclaimed mahogany.

Some people at fairs want to beat you down on price, just like I’m sure they do at Sainsburys every week.

“Well I can see that you marked the price of that milk at £1.49, but I’m sure that my money is better than other peoples so I’ll offer you a quid.”*

*Possibly never heard!

I’ve not asked what they do and immediately asked for discount back from their role, nor have I said “I only sell to pretty people so get lost”, but I’d be a liar if I hadn’t thought it.

Todays make is a flying A, Austin A30 bonnet badge with pen, mounted on yew. I remembered, a bit late to photo the starting points.

The start

The processes

I enjoyed the wire wool, metal polish, cleaning brush, drill, sawing, sanding, bees-waxing, waxing (yes there are more than one finishes quite often), drilling mounts, screw shortening, countersinking, fitting, re-fitting with split washers, and polishing all of which were involved in the make.

That’s fourteen (14 processes so far)

Photographing, adding text overlays, creating support text, uploading to buffer, posting on Instagram, organising days when I can do fairs, booking and paying for them, creating marketing to support these, getting up at stupid o’clock to get to the fair, un packing, creating the stall look and layout, paying for my chip and pin card machine, going to fairs and scouring e-bay for stock. These activities, they’re not as much fun.

We’re up to twenty eight (28) processes now.

The least fun are putting petrol in the car, and paying bills! (30 processes)

The result

So, please, if you like it buy it. If you don’t, then look at the next stall, I’m sure there will be something here you like AND which is in your budget.

If you are at a Craft Market, be nice, pay the price, quite often I give stuff away for free, or offer discounts to those ‘nice people’ without them even asking for it.

I’ll happily do some special Austin discount on this one, but you’ll have to prove that you are buying for an Austin, or that is your name!

Have a great week.

Delighted to have found a 1970’s powder fire extinguisher made in Blackburn! It has the knocks, bumps and bruises from a 47 year life. It was last serviced in 1986 when business suits had shoulder pads.

With a bit of fettling it could now grace any boardroom and illuminate big business deals. Just don’t try and put a fire out with it!

Have an awesome week.

I’ve recently acquired a large, and very heavy box of bits and pieces, recovered from the out bin at HG Motorcycles. The first make from that load is using one of the gear shafts as the basis for a lamp.

Once the reclaimed oak (it was all cracked when I got it) is added as a base and the Edison bulb is stuck on the top, I hope you agree that it’s a rather good looking lamp for an office or desk of a petrol-head.

Have a great day and keep the black side down and blue side up!

I’ve made a couple of these before, probably two or three years ago, but I finally caught up with a suitably ‘distressed’ stove and the required pieces to make another lamp. Marked as Made in Sweden, Primus 1 this as the right patina and look. The stand has clearly been well used. It’s benefitted from a good hours wire brushing and has also been waxed.

With the addition of an Edison bulb which gives a marvelous warm glow this lamp will grace and warm any corner, desk or room.

Let me know what you think of it, it is a left field make, but as ever, I reckon it Turnedoutnice!

Have a fantastic day.

I have really enjoyed a late Autumn sunny day out in the man cave today.

The best part of what I love to do is making something new from stuff which has already had a life. As I posted on Instagram, I took something from that to this.

In this case that was an old veranda step, or a step for a conservatory.

I’ve stripped the rubber runner off and checked for nails before getting the saw out and working up a bit of heat in the cool afternoon sun.

Then after some TLC and a bit of sanding, planing and work then two lovely “Gents Grooming sets”started to appear.

As you can see with the first, it’s a 1970’s rear view mirror which will provide all the reflection for whoever uses the grooming services that the set provides. Whilst with the second I got the mirror from a bloke in a field at an auto-jumble.

It’s from a 1960’s Morris Minor and has a lovely curved stem and universal joint to aid precision in the mirror. It’s also got an aged patina and misting to the glass and a pure age texture to the metalwork.

It’s my favourite and one most likely to stay in my collection that I’ve made in a while!

Have a great week – there will be more from the man cave as I’ve got a couple of free days later in the week.

I’ve had some fun in the garage today. A 1930/40’s John Morris & Sons Fire Extinguisher found its way into the man cave. After some fettling I got inside it without breaking the glass acid ampule, got it emptied and then started to plan…..

Over time the plan got some legs…….

In the end I’m delighted with how it’s turned out.

I’ve had fun with some shotgun cases I’ve been given. These are 20 bore (smaller gun and cartridge than a 12 bore) and after they’d been ironed they were ready for use.

You did read that right. The best method for removing the plastic casing from a shotgun cartridge is to heat the metal part up on an iron.

(**** SAFETY DISCLAIMER ****)

Please don’t be a muppet. Make sure your cartridges are spent ones. And be careful when you’ve heated them, they can be hot, the plastic can also be melted!

These then got together with some hot glue, and a fettled (dyed and waxed) scrap off a pallet. Much sanding, planing and work later, and well, it Turnedoutnice!

Have an awesome day!

  
The Eddison bulb finishes this make off fantastically I think. It throws a beautiful warm light which is reflected by the circuit diagram for this MOD rectifier.  

 
All of the innards have been removed as the transformer blocked the light fitting. The space below the board now has room for a safety loop and jam pull for the cord.

  
New plug, fuse and bulb are added to a period brass fitting. All in all it Turnedoutnice!

Don’t panic!

I got some plastic fingers recently. The ones that Nail Technicians practice with doing acrylic nails. Here’s my first hat stand from them.

  
Some pallet wood, blood paint and the BF code, Bloody Fingers, and look what we got!

   
I’ve got six left, looks like we are going to get a “Burnley” hatstand!

Have a great day!