Long Reach Spray-Can Tool This out-of-reach or high spraying tool allows spraying with a paint-can, insect spray, surface spray, cleaning solution, etc above head height.  It is super-easy to use, just place the spray can in the container at the end of the pole, align the attachment at the end to the spray-can nozzle, lift to desired position and pull the string.  It consists of a fruit-tin fastened to a long aluminium pole with a metal hinged bracket and pull-cord to operate the spray can at a distance.  Ideal for insect spraying of roof eaves or touching up paint on roof guttering or soffit. Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley . 

 Sunroom at Rear of House at Red Range. This house at Red Range received morning sun on the front veranda, but by mid afternoon it was the back of the house that received the most sun.   So Lionel sought Council approval and built this sunny extension. The weatherboards from the original wall were moved to the outside and it was lined inside with re-cycled tongue-and-groove oak panelling. Four fixed windows and four double-sash windows on each of two sides (making a total of sixteen plate glass windows) bathed the interior with sunshine. Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley . 

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...

Sandpaper Disk Dispenser  An off-cut of timber rounded at one end, two strategically placed dowels glued in place and a few sanding disks placed (upside-down) form this handy dispender.  The positioning of the dowels was determined by the location of the holes in the disk, and Lionel made several of these for different grade disks and sizes.  The sandpaper is stored upside-down for at least two reasons: it keeps the sanding surface clean but, more-importantly, simply aligning the dowels with the holes in the disk-sander faceplate, the disks fit perfectly on the disk-sander operating surface.  The Grit-size is written on the underside of each disk for convenience. Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley . 

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 . 

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 .

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 .

Drum Toybox Lionel picked up a plywood bass drum from a bargain store for a pittance because the fabric was torn on both sides and the tensioners were broken, but he bought it because the plywood was in reasonable condition and he visualised what you see in this photo.  By discarding the fabric, bands and tensioners and cutting a wooden base out of an off-cut of marine ply, putting some rubber feet underneath, and making replacement handles all around, somehow the bass drum became a toy box which was much loved by his daughter when she was an infant. (She sat in it more often than put toys in it.) Photo and descriptions courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

12-volt Jewellery Sander Lionel was asked by a friend to make him a miniature electric sander for shaping and smoothing small items of homemade jewellery. The jewellery sander in these photos was made from a recycled fan from a computer, mounted on a block of pine with a plastic box housing a socket to receive 12 volts from a conventional plug-pack.  A plastic disk cemented to the fan blades has been covered with a disk of fine sandpaper.  (Lionel said that this idea was not original with him.) The fan blade underneath was left intact as the fan helps to suck away from the surface the fine particles of waste material that sanding inevitably produces. Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

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 .

Scissor-style Sawhorse Lionel replaced his old six-legged wooden scissor-style sawhorse (for cutting logs, pipes, fence-posts, etc.) that he made decades ago, with this four-legged metal one made from angle iron and bolted together. It is three-feet wide, and thirty-inches tall. The wedge shape holds the item steady during cutting with a chainsaw, circular saw, hacksaw, handsaw, crosscut or bow-saw, etc. It has a foot rest for stability and a replacable wooden overcut guard to protect a wayward sawblade from being damaged by the metal frame. The frame is made out of re-cycled angle-iron and strips of steel bolted together. Unlike its predecessor this one folds flat for storage or transportation. Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

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 .

Pipe Threader for Poly (polythene or polyethene) Pipe or conduit This Pipe Threader has brass fittings on each end for different size plumbing fittings.  The tool is put in an engineering vice while the required end is heated with a blow-torch or with a gas flame and the pipe to be threaded (external or internal) is pushed onto the tool's hot end, allowed to cool and then unscrewed, leaving a thread on the end of the pipe.  This can then be used for plumbing or electrical fittings or simply to join two poly pipes together. The end fittings of this tool are cut from discarded plumbing equipment and bolted to a steel handle. Each end has a different thread size. The handle of the tool is made from a length of heat-absorbing steel pipe* with the ends flattened and drilled to accept the bolts and spring-washers that hold the threaded fittings. Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley.  Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley . * Heat-absorbin...

 Pipe Bending Forms These forms are combined with a tube-bending spring to create decorative shapes out of half-inch copper or poly pipe or to shape pipe for plumbing purposes. Each wooden form has a metal bracket fastened underneath for mounting it on the edge of a bench to keep it stationary while the pipe is being shaped. Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .

  Tree-stump or fencepost remover . This pier, pile, tree-stump or fencepost remover is of solid construction with an extra long (removable) handle for leverage.    It has a chain lifter with both a hook and a self-locking loop.  The assembly folds flat for storage and/or transportation and is quickly assembled for use. The legs are made of two-and-a-half inch re-cycled round pipe with wide angle-iron feet bolted underneath.  The shaft is made from two-and-a-half-inch steel square section and the handle part of the shaft from a recycled two-inch round steel pipe. The pivot is a long one-half inch hardened-steel bolt with a wingnut for dismantling the assembly if required and for positioning of the adjustable handle to allow for different leverage requirements. Yes, it is heavy, but yes, it is very strong and easy to use; it has even been used to lift the large concrete lid from off a septic tank. Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lio...

Digital Piano Cabinet   This cabinet is shaped like an upright piano and not only houses a digital piano, it also has a computer screen for sheet music and midi recording.    Underneath the keyboard is a pull-out drawer with a cut-down laptop that uses the screen above the piano keyboard.    The digital piano is connected to this laptop via Midi USB allowing for both recording and playback in Midi format.   The screen is also a DVD player and in addition has an HDMI Android micro-computer attached on HDMI2 with an air-mouse for displaying sheet music when the cut-down laptop is not in use.   A power strip is concealed below the screen and single switch under the keyboard switches everything off when it is no longer in use.   The chair has since been replaced with a home-made piano-stool. Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley .  

  Painter’s Step Ladder Lionel made this painter’s step ladder with a vertical hand-rail for added security, and  paint-can hooks to save getting up and down too often to top-up the paint bucket. It is of all metal construction made from lengths of re-cycled pipe bolted together. Sturdy and comfy to use, with the top rung padded (for resting the user's knees or legs against) Photo and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley. Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley . 

  Shear Cutter/Guillotine This versatile free-standing, foot-pedal operated shear cutter was made by Lionel to make metal brackets and corner braces out of galvanised steel strapping. Made entirely of re-cycled materials. It has a metal cover so it could be left outdoors if required. Photos 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 .