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Newsletter

His Excellency Alex Chernov AC QC Governor of Victoria

is proud to be the Patron-in-Chief of the Victorian Men’s Shed Association

June 2014 Emailed to a Representative of every Men’s Shed in Victoria.

Please print out a copy and distribute to members of your Shed.

In this Month’s Newsletter:

VICTORIAN PREMIER’S VOLUNTEER AWARDS Page 1

VMSA EXECUTIVE OFFICER REPORT Page 2

BUDERIM QLD VISIT & CITIZEN OF THE YEAR Page 3

WIMMERA SHED NETWORK MEETING Page 4

OPENING OF ST LEONARDS SHED Page 5

VMSA COMMITTEE VISIT TO EUROA Page 6

UPCOMING EVENTS & SIMPSON SHED Page 7

SPANNER INTHE WORKS EVENT Page 8/ 9

VMSA/ STEAM TRACTION ENGINE DAY Page 10

VOLUNTEER PROFILE Page 11/12

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE Page 13

COMMITTEE CONTACTS Page 14

To Victorian Men's Sheds,

Nominations are now open for the Victorian Premier's Volunteer Awards. This is a great way

to recognise the incredible contribution of people who volunteer in our community and I

encourage you to circulate this through your networks and to your members.

I also encourage you to consider nominating someone - nominations can be received for an

individual or a team of volunteers.

For more information and to nominate please visit: http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victorian-

premiers-volunteer-awards.html

Nomination close Friday 1 August 2014.

Mary Wooldridge MP

State Member for Doncaster

Minister for Mental Health Minister for Community Services

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VMSA Executive Officer Report

Welcome to the VMSA June Newsletter.

The VMSA has been busy this month supporting applications for the Department of Human

Services “Strengthening Men’s Shed’s” Grants. This round has been a great opportunity for

sheds to make much needed improvements to their sheds. Final applications were submitted

on the 27th of June.

The VMSA was invited to the Wimmera Men’s Shed Network meeting in Horsham this month.

It was great to meet and talk to passionate shedders from all over the Wimmera. Geoff

Witmitz of the Primary Care Partnership distributed some fantastic OH&S material. The new

member Induction package and the Safety Instruction booklets were particularly useful. I look

forward to more visits to the Wimmera sheds.

Congratulations to the Bunurong Men’s shed who hosted the West Gippsland Cluster

meeting and the Men’s Health Week event at their site at the Meadowvale Retirement Village

in Eagle Drive Pakenham.

Marlene Dalziel from Southern Health led an instructive Cluster meeting then after a delicious

lunch kicked of Men’s Health Week. The many men who attended had some great health

information shared and the health checks always are beneficial.

Congratulations to the men of St Leonards who opened their shed on the 5th of June it looks

fabulous and is a welcome addition to the Bellarine Peninsula district.

The 2014/15 membership renewals have gone through without a hitch using the new process

which is a testament to the hard work of Melissa at the Australian Men’s Shed Association

office.

The VMSA has been offered the opportunity to have an Expo at the Queen Victoria Market in

November. This will be a fabulous chance to show case the many benefits of men’s sheds

and sell items to raise much needed funds. Sheds interested in participating in the Expo

should contact me quickly as there are limited spaces and quite a lot of interest already.

The VMSA Annual General Meeting is scheduled for October 24 this year and in

keeping with the VMSA policy of alternating venues between the Rural and Urban

locations we are looking for a cost effective Metropolitan venue. The Venue needs to

have plenty of parking, seating for 200+ shedders and capacity for self catering. Any

suggestions on possible venues please contact me on 0408 465 228

Ric Blackburn

Executive Officer.

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Wandering Minstrel

Former VMSA Admin Officer, Denis

Minogue, has been swanning around

Brisbane visiting local sheds at Redcliffe,

Carindale and Buderim.

He was given a warm welcome at Buderim

by (L to R) Mick Harman, Norm Thursby

and Rick Beasley who won AMSA award at

National Conference in Ballarat October

2014 for his contribution to men’s sheds.

Sheds come in all sizes – but Buderim is

BIG – open 5 days a week and utilising an

old hospital with 200 men participating.

Citizen of the Year

On January 26th, Matt McDonald from the Upper

Beaconsfield Men’ Shed was acknowledged as the

Cardinia Shire’s “Citizen of the Year 2014”. Matt

has been involved in community groups in the area

for over 30 years – scouts, Village Fair, Ash

Wednesday fire recovery, Salvation Army Shield

appeal. Matt was instrumental in establishing the

Upper Beaconsfield Men’s shed which is very active

in the community. Matt’s interest in sheds began

at the Keysborough Learning Centre where he was

involved with programs at the Keysmen Shed. Here

he is pictured at the Keysmen Shed teaching the

Prime Minister a thing or two about sheds and their

importance to men’s health.

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Wimmera Men’s Shed Network meeting

held in Horsham

(L-R) Geoff Witmitz Executive Officer of the Wimmera Primary Care Partnership.

Tim O’Donnell Social Worker of Edenhope & District Memorial Hospital

The VMSA was invited to speak at the Wimmera Men’s Shed Network meeting.

Sheds from all over the Wimmera were represented and a lively discussion on issues from

OH&S to AMSA/VMSA membership took place. Each shed took away an Induction package

to use with new members and a comprehensive Safety Instruction booklet for use in the

various sheds.

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OPENING OF ST LEONARDS MEN’S SHED

A large crowd of local men and dignitaries

gathered for the Official Opening of the St

Leonards Men’s Shed on the Bellarine Peninsula

on Thursday 5th June. It took almost ten years of

planning and waiting for the shed to be built and

opened.

The shed was funded through grants from the

State Government and the City of Greater

Geelong. South Barwon State Member, Andrew Katos, represented the Minister Mary Woolridge and

Bellarine local member Lisa Neville was recognised for her support over the years. Local councillor, Lindsay

Ellis, has been a tireless worker for the shed.

Many business and community groups have helped in the establishment of the equipment needs for the Shed.

In particular Faggs Hardware supply company, Mr Ian Faulkner from the Bendigo Community Bank and Neville

Richards Real Estate. Also the Lions Club of Portarlington/Drysdale have made donations.

Of course it is always the committee members who make the dream become the reality – men like Ken

Alexander and his crew - Rob Fleming, Russell Bath, Cliff McCorkell, Trevor Hirth, Dennis Smith, Ray Bowtell,

Bob Evans.

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VMSA Committee visiting Euroa for a Strategic Planning meeting.

Membership Renewals

AMSA / VMSA membership renewals have been sent out as of last Month.

Any shed that has not received their renewal or if you are a shed wishing to

join should contact the AMSA Membership Officer.

Ph 1300 550 009 or www.mensshed.org

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Upcoming Events

Thursday 10th of July, Yarra Valley Cluster at Croydon Shed

Saturday 1st of August, “Hangin’ out in the Shed” Radio show, 8am on 3WBC 94.1FM.

Wednesday 23rd of July, Men’s Shed Forum, Foreshore Pavilion, Warrnambool

Thursday 7th August, Next Barwon Cluster Heads of Sheds meeting at Torquay, from 9:30am

Thursday 21st August, West Gippsland Cluster meeting Mirboo Nth

Thursday 4th September, Next Barwon Cluster meeting Leopold.

Thursday 2nd October, Ovens and Murray- Men’s Sheds Cluster Meeting at Corryong shed.

Please feel free to send through dates of Cluster meetings, special events, openings etc.

This will help other sheds know what is happening around Victoria to vmsa@mensshed.net.

Courtesy of the Simpson Men’s Shed

Newsletter

As mentioned in our last newsletter, thanks to Casper Van Leerdam the first sod has been turned at the site of

our new shed in the Simpson Township.

The top soil has been deposited in the south west corner of the block. Much of this soil will now be used in our

community garden project and surrounds.

Once council approval has been received, it is hoped that work on the shed can commence as soon as possible

and get the shed to lock up stage.

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West Gippsland Men’s Shed Cluster Meeting

& “SPANNER IN THE WORKS” Program.

Hosted by Bunurong Men’s Shed @ Meadowvale Retirement Village, Pakenham

Marlene and Natalie from Monash Health

The West Gippsland Cluster meeting hosted by the Bunurong Shed kicked off proceedings in

the morning. After a sumptuous lunch the serious Spanner in the Works” program got

underway.

All the participants had access to Physiotherapists, Podiatrists, Dietician, Hearing Tests,

displays and health information.

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“SPANNER IN THE WORKS” Program.

Lauren from Hearing Australia testing the men.

Blood Pressure tests for all

Marlene Dalziel and all the Health Professionals are to be congratulated on an excellent, well

organised and important program for Men’s Health week.

All sheds should consider this type of program at any time of the year.

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VMSA / MELBOURNE STEAM TRACTION ENGINE CLUB DAY

Clockwise; Paul & Vincenzo from Manningham Shed, The Intrepid Stamford Park Caterers,

Two of the fantastic restored Steam Vehicles on show in the Arena

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VOLUNTEER PROFILE

Alan Darwin (Pictured holding Drill) of the Wangaratta and District Men’s Shed Inc.

My 1907 Rolls Royce.

In August, 2013 I came across a book in our Men’s Shed library titled Blizzard's Wonderful Wooden

Toys by Richard Blizzard and began to browse through it. I was interested in all of the wooden toys

that were presented and the detail of each toy with accurate measurements provided.

The 1907 Rolls Royce caught my eye and at the time, thought, no this is out of my reach. Where on

earth would I get such materials and the time to tackle this job? After some deliberation and

discussion with fellow members of our shed, I decided to give it a go…………”What a Project”.

I wanted the chassis and all the sub items under the running boards to be of material with a dark

appearance, such as spotted gum and elm and the upper components in lighter types using pine

jacaranda, white mahogany and the like.

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The chassis was done using scrap spotted gum which was donated. The chassis measures 30 inches

long by 6 inches wide. I used dark coloured lock nails along the framework as a feature. The bending

of the chassis was done cold.

The toolbox/running boards on each side were made of pine with the mud guards being steam bent in

my home made steamer. Two wooden jigs were made to bend the guards after steaming. The front

guards were laminated with 3 separate pieces as they were thicker than the rear guards.

Next the front, rear and rear cross springs were made of spring steel and were cold bent and screwed

together, what a fiddly job that was. I used copper tubing cut to length as spring shackle bearings.

The rear axle, front axle, gear box and engine block were mad of elm and took hours to get right.

The main coach body assembly, doors and wind shield frame were made from pine. The wind shield

was a piece of plastic material cut from my son's discarded computer. From this discarded computer I

also cut out the air filter mesh to used part of it as the radiator grill.

The bonnet and boot were made of jacaranda and when sanded down came up a treat. I cut the

radiator surround from a piece of stainless steel which was given to me be a fellow member of our

club and had it welded up to the known Rolls Royce shape.

The wheels were made of Canadian Red wood and I cut the spokes out using a scroll saw. The

wheels were then turned up on my lathe and the rubber section was the painted black.

Upholstery was done by a professional as I spent 2 days with my wife’s sewing machine trying to get

it right.

The head lights {2 small and 2 large} were turned up out of a piece of white magnolia and the

reflective part of cheap torches, bought at the reject shop, were inserted into the turned wood. Each

individual piece was finished off before assembly.

After finishing the car which took about 250 hours I found the project rewarding. I would to thank

fellow members for their help and wood donations.

If you would like to nominate a volunteer please contact me at vmsa@menssheds.net

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For Sale

3 Phase heavy metal lathe, 3 and 4 jaw chucks, 1000mm between centres,

300mm swing over bed, Steady rest and limited tooling

For sale by Expression of interest

Contact

Alex Lagerwey

Secretary

Yarra Glen & District Men's Shed Inc.

T: 0400 522 728

E: alex@arrayfs.com.au

16 Anzac Ave (PO Box 499) Yarra Glen Vic 3775

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Future Newsletters

This Newsletter is being emailed to the Contact Person at each of the sheds on the VMSA

database. We are limited in our ability to send the Newsletter to every shedder and so we

ask that as the CONTACT PERSON for your shed please print and display the Newsletter.

If you have something to share with other sheds, write a short article (photos are handy) and send to the Executive Officer vmsa@mensshed.net

The VMSA acknowledges the assistance of the State Government of Victoria Disclaimer This newsletter is for general information only. The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of VMSA Committee. Reasonable measures have been taken to ensure that the material contained in this Newsletter is correct. However there is no responsibility for the accuracy or the completeness of the material.

VICTORIAN MEN’S SHED ASSOCIATION JUNE 2014 NEWSLETTER

LIST OF VMSA COMMITTEE CONTACTS:

OFFICE BEARERS

President Paul Sladdin paulsladdin@bigpond.com Mansfield Shed Secretary Alistair Pilley ampilley@netspace.net.au Monash Shed Treasurer Phil Keily phil@gamfield.com.au Stamford Park Shed Vice President Rob Butler glassman689@hotmail.com Cobram Shed

COMMITTEE

Anthony Leigh simpleighgrow@gmail.com Keysman Shed

Lindsay Oates lindsayo@dcsi.net.au Mirrboo Nth Shed

Michael Martin michael.jm@aussiebb.com.au Castlemaine Shed

Stuart Marshall stuartjm01@gmail.com Euroa Shed

Barbara Look barbaral@southgippsland.vic.gov.au Milpara Shed