Evan Beaver

-- Update 4 --
Shed building is well under way now; we poured the slab on the weekend, which was very exciting! Here are some photos:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ztxcy1oyytldszt/sl4ZUtO...
I guess that means I'm committed now.


-- Update 3 --
Ignore the below about where the extra funds will go. I badly underestimated how much the electrician would cost, mostly because our meter box needs to be upgraded from genuine 1970s fuses to proper circuit breakers and RCDs. Not to worry I was planning on doing that at some stage anyway. So at $5700 we'll cover shed construction, anything above that will go on the below.

-- Update 2--

WOAH we made it after a little over a week!

Thank you so much to all that have contributed, and also those who have just helped. I have been slightly overwhelmed and humbled by the sharing on social media, but also the kind words that often accompany it. So, thanks a lot.

It seems the idea of a crowdfunded shed resonates with people, and so in setting further stretch goals I want to be true to the bits that resonate. Is it the recycling aspect? Capacity building? Just making things? I've outlined below what excess funds will be spent on, but I'll add one more thing; a thicknesser. This is a pretty specific piece of machinery, best used for turning reclaimed wood into something beautiful and useful. So if there is money left over I will buy a thicknesser and start scouring building sites on my own, rather than through a timber merchant.

--Update--

Incredibly, the $5k target is looking very achievable!

If I exceed that target I've said elsewhere I want to work on safety and sharing. For an extra $500 I can install a proper dust collector, ducted to each of the big machines. That means better lungs for everyone!

For sharing I want to buy duplicates of some tools, so I can teach a couple of people at a time. For anther $1000 I can buy 2 sets of workshop tools; drill and driver, hand saw, tenon saw, chisels and a mallet. Then we can make dovetailed boxes!

-- Original --

Hi everyone, I'm Evan. I live in Canberra and work as an energy efficiency and renewables engineer. My 'art' is probably closer to industrial design and garbage collecting than anything else, but I like to make things from recycled and salvaged materials, preferably using vintage hand tools, but the big power tools are really useful for preparing old timber.

I have the tools. My late father had an incredible workshop, which currently sits idle 300km from my house. I have a lot of my own, but there are a couple of items in particular that really need a new home. With a metal lathe and metal mill the sky is the limit. Much of my impetus to get the project moving is to put those tools to use. It nags at me knowing there is a perfectly good lathe sitting idle.

I want to build a shed. A good one, capable of producing fine furniture from salvaged Australian hardwoods, garden statues in steel and timber and complicated metal components to convert a car from petrol to electric. I want to test some big ideas, about 'direct use' of renewable energy, applying wind energy, without electricity, to some common tasks.

I want it to be a teaching space too, so others can make their own things. Use a hand saw, drill a hole and drive a screw. Learn how to sharpen a chisel, how to weld and even how to cut dovetails. Help people break the confidence barrier and start filling their lives with their own objects, made from recycled materials and their own hands.

I have the skills. I'm a mechanical engineer. I've worked as an iron worker, renovation consultant and assistant, production engineer and engineering designer. I have made furniture for my house and my friends.

I just need a new shed. Somewhere I can put my skills to regular good use. Somewhere I can teach people new things. Somewhere I can tinker, fiddle and hammer, turning salvaged materials into functional and sometimes beautiful objects.

I know this sounds cheeky; "this guy wants us to pay for his shed", which is why I have put rewards in there that I think are genuinely valuable. The Pozible is just a nice way of lumping a lot together. If I did 15 energy efficiency assessments and made a coffee table to reach my target I would be ecstatic, and 15 households would reduce their energy use.

I will build a shed. From scratch, with my own two hands.

Most of the funds will go on a concrete slab for the floor, which will be close to $2000. The mill and lathe need a very secure base, preferably bolted to the floor, and furniture jobs really benefit from a flat floor as a reference.

Aside from the slab I want to use salvaged materials throughout. One wall will be glass, looking over the garden. Walls will be reclaimed timber, which I will buy from the Tip Shops in Canberra and by scouring Gumtree. I am even thinking about shingling the house in salvaged fence palings, an almost limitless resource in Canberra. Many materials will be free, but I'll still budget about $1000 for materials. As much as it pains me I might have to buy roof steel to make sure it's watertight.

I will also leave about $1000 to get an electrician in to wire it all up properly. I'll need 15 amps for the welder and want a kill switch on everything but the lights. Then if there's money left over I'll buy a dust extractor.

I will blog all of this. Finding the materials, what I'm looking for and why, how to use them, how to keep the weather out.

There are a couple of major risks. Materials availability is always a risk with upcycling projects, best mitigated by always searching the classifieds and being prepared to hold something until you need it. I already have the timber for the slab formwork and have been keeping an eye out for windows and fences being torn down.

The other major risk is finding the time. I work 4-days a week which helps. But if by 2 months after close I don't have the slab poured I will call in some assistance to get things moving. Same again if 2 months after the slab is ready I don't have a roof over my head. I want to be making things by 6 months after the campaign closes.