Raised Garden Beds  These three raised garden beds were made from re-cycled hardwood fencing.  The rails form frames along the outside of the boxes and metal brackets are bolted at the corners to give it strength and rigidity.  The top of each box is finished with a long plank of 1x4 to form a seat.  Each box is eight feet long and four feet wide. The top of each box is 18 inches above the ground making it possible to comfortably sit (side-saddle) on the edge of the box to attend to the plants.   The palings were cut into 18-inch lengths (with any rotted ends discarded and used as fire-wood), pre-drilled to accept galvanisd nails, and nailed inside the frames.  The boxes were then lined with weed-matting and filled with bails of straw topped with rich garden soil, fertiliser and compost and finally layered with potting-mix and lawn-clipping mulch. Two of the beds are covered with an arched shade enclosure, made from the two halves of a 12-foot circular galv...

Planter Box from Recycled Refridgerator Drawer.  This planter box was made from a plastic drawer that was given to Lionel by his son, David.  He painted it inside and out with Liquidstone Terracotta paint, cut drainage holes underneath, filled it with potting soil and put it on one of the many metal plants stands that he had earlier made.  His wife Rosemary used it (in this case, for string-beans). Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley . 

Garden Swing Seats  Here are illustrated two of the several swing seats that Lionel has made over the years.  The Green seat was made from wooden slats bolted to a welded wrought-iron frame and suspended on chains from a steel-pipe structure with an aluminium roof. The white seat was made from a metal gate, folded in half and held in shape with welded-pipe arm rests. It, too, was suspended with chains from a pipe framework.  The photo shows his daughter who took the cushion off and used it to sit on while swinging the seat back-and-forth.  The LONDON sign was made by Lionel to complement the playground train. Photos and descriptions courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley . 

Wishing Well Garden Ornament This garden ornament was made from a discarded 250-gallon water tank and a wooden framework. The roller was a four-foot section of telegraph pole with a section of pipe wedged in a hole in each end so the roller could rotate. The bucket was made from re-cycled oak with slats cut and re-shaped from a broken wine barrel and the bands were strips of brass from a discarded electrical fitting. This was the first of five such wishing wells built by Lionel over the years. Description and photos courtesy of Lionel. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

Window Boxes Lionel made these window boxes out of a length of square guttering.  An extra strip of aluminium was riveted along the back and the end pieces were cut from sheet aluminium, each bent to form a foot underneath and riveted in place. Small tallowwood (Australian hardwood) wedges were cut to keep the window box level on the sloping windowsill and provide sufficient friction to prevent it from sliding off. The flowers were planted and cared for by Lionel's wife, Rosemary.   Photos and descriptions courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

Windmill Garden Ornaments These reproduction windmills stood seven feet tall from the base to the apex of the roof.  Lionel made these two identical windmills this out of plywood tacked onto a timber framework.  They were originally made as stage props at two venues and one found its way into his parent's lawn as a garden ornament when it was no longer needed and the other to Lionel's back yard. And no, the (green) vanes on one of them does not rotate any more, as the mechanism that rotated that particular one on stage was not suitable for outdoor use and it was returned after being borrowed for the stage production.  The other had a 12-volt motor to slowly turn the blades, the mechanism modified and recycled from a Ford truck windscreen wiper-blade motor. Photo and descriptions courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

Streetside Plant Stand As a fundraiser for the charity ADRA ( www.adra.org.au ), Lionel's wife Rosemary propagated plants for selling.  Lionel made this metal two-tier display stand with a sign and built-in cash collection/donations box. He says it embarrasses him to confess that it needed to be fastened to a nearby tree with a length of chain as seen in the bottom right of the photo. Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley . About ADRA (Video)  

Ute Canopy Shed This temporary shed for lawn-mowing equipment was made from a ute (utility vehicle) canopy supported on a steel frame, hinged  to fold flat when not in use.  It was clad with aluminium sides with flashing on the sides and ends for waterproofing. Designed to be easily dismantled, it had tinted windows, 12v lighting, and narrow built-in shelving. The two brackets on the side facing the camera were there to hold an aluninium extension ladder. Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley.  Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

Powerpole/Tree-pruning ladder . For the first powerpole ladder that Lionel made, he simply replaced the top rung of a tall ready-made wooden extension ladder with a length of loose chain bolted and strung between the uprights. This worked well, and he used it for installing and servicing light-fittings on powerpoles at a campground, however he needed a smaller one for tree pruning and for painting fence poles, etc., so he built this one from scratch and put a flat board on one side for using against a wall and an M-shaped mild-steel bracket bolted on the other side to use the ladder (the other way around) for post or pole use or for tree pruning, etc.  The right-hand photo below shows it leaning securely against the corner of a narrow brick pillar, something not safely possible with a conventional ladder. The six rungs were made by hand with a spoke-shave using straight-grained Tasmanian oak and the two uprights were cut from a single slab of recycled Victorian ash. Photos and desc...

Potting Shed Sink Take an ordinary stainless-steel sink bench and make for it a bespoke light-weight welded stand from steel box section, add a drain hose, stand it under or near a water supply and, hey-presto, we have a sink for a shade-house or potting shed. Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

Post-Hole Digger . Lionel made this manual post-hole digger out of welded plate steel and galvanised pipe for his father who insisted that a fence post should have a minimum of one-third the length in the ground and no more than two-thirds above. So Lionel made the digger 6 feet long with a 9 inch wide blade recycled from a six-inch length of a traveller's sample of steel water-main pipe.  He added some cutting flutes riveted inside and each one was reinforced with a blob of weld.  The pole and handle was made out of re-cycled water pipe and  the whole thing was welded together using an arc welder that Lionel's brother Edward had made from an old industrial transformer. The handle was 28 inches wide as it required the combined strength of at least two people to dig a post-hole up to 5 feet deep.  (Turning it was a lot easier than lifting it out.) Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

Overnight Plant Stand  With cage doors to protect plants from wildlife at night   2.4m long. All metal construction (Light-weight welded steel frame with sheet-aluminium cladding). Lower shelf for extra plants or for sorting. Sloped front for extra stability. Screened drainage holes for overflow when watering plants. Carry handles at each end (requires 2 persons). Two generously-sized screened doors with secure latches.   Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

  Wooden Garden Bench Seat This bench seat is made from slats of spruce reinforced with a welded metal frame.  The seat is 18-inches tall and is extra wide for comfort. Steel runners underneath make it easy to move for lawnmowing, etc. Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

  Metal Garden Bench Seat Lionel made this extra long garden, verandah or patio seat with a metal back rest, and although it was completely made from steel, it was surprisingly comfortable. It was 6ft 10in (208) long with two additional (removable) black vinyl padded seats for temporary use (or for covered verandah use) that made it even more comfortable.  These were made from a sewn vinyl cover surrounding a strip of upholstery foam. The seat and back rest were from re-cycled metal fence rails and the frame and base of welded steel hollow box-section bolted to a steel footplate. Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .  

  Gazebo This gazebo was originally built by Lionel as one of the stalls at the monthly markets on the Red Range Market Ground on his property at Red Range, NSW. It was later relocated and  repurposed as a garden feature with a brick floor and rockery. Detachable black shade-cloth curtains were sometimes hung for privacy or shelter from the wind when it was in use. Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

  Garbage-Bin Lid Lifter Lionel says that when you use a walking cane with one hand and you are carrying a bag of garbage in the other, opening a garbage-bin requires an extra hand ... or perhaps inventing a home-made device to lift the lid for you. Lionel made this twin garbage-bin lifter from some recyled steel offcuts and a length of pipe. The fulcrum (pivot) is attached to a solid metal base and a rubber pad protects the sole of the user's shoe or boot from getting scuffed. It is adjustable for different sized bins and lifts two lids at once.  The bins are easily removed for emptying and, after emptying, easily re-connected for using the lid lifter again. Design, Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Published with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

  Tumbler Composter Modification When Lionel bought this 160 litre dual-bay tumbler composter he discovered that the stand that came with it meant the tumbler was barely above the ground.  So he modified it by making a sturdy metal stand at a height (1 metre) that makes it easy to fill or harvest worm juice.  He also replaced the original flimsy centre axle with a thicker galvanised pipe with bearings for durability as he imagined that compost surrounding an insubstantial piece of tubing would be an open invitation for corrosion. Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Published with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

  Restored Miracle Pump You may be wondering at the strange title for this posting, "Restored Miracle Pump". That is because of the interesting story associated with this water pump. Lionel was out on his own, clearing a residential block of land and he saw, protruding out of the long grass, a very rusty water pump and the remains of a fence post.   As he approached it, the ground suddenly gave way beneath him and he was suspended by the armpits over the mouth of a deep disguised, forgotten and long-disused, water-filled well. The timber cover of the well, carpeted in matted grass and weeds, had rotted away and, suspended in mid-air with his gumboots beginning to fill with water dragging him down, Lionel prayed to God that this would not be the end of his earthly life. Instantly, inexplicably and obviously supernaturally, the next moment he was sitting securely and safe on solid ground next to this water pump with well water running out of his boots onto his trousers. He late...