Date: 16th November 2011

Wednesday Session
• Discussed my plans to officially finish with I, thanks for involvement
• Started approaching members about interviews
• Being taught about sharpening chisels
• Reconditioning plane
• Visit from local childcare center to thank shed for recent trolley project. Morning tea provided
• Further plans for Christmas Do at smoko (cost issues)

This was the first Wednesday session I had attended for a few weeks. Numbers at the shed were reasonable today (approx 20 members). As the woodshed and loft project were at an end or being worked on by someone else I had brought along a plane of mine that needed to be reconditioned as well as my set of chisels that needed to be sharpened. These are chisels that had been passed on to me by my late father in law and from his father in law in turn. I’d always wanted to get them sharpened but was reluctant to do this myself as I did feel I had the knowledge skill and experience. I was hoping to get one of the experienced tradesmen at the shed to help me/ teach me.
At the beginning of the session I talked with I about when I would finish up my data collection. This would officially be on the day of the sheds Christmas trip. I also discussed with him the people I had in mind to do theme checking interviews with, himself being one of these people. We talked about my taking more photos as well as getting permission to use some of the sheds photos and records which include the community project work and newspaper clippings. My interviews as well as theme checking would also look to record an accurate account of the sheds history and development. I informed I that I planned to interview BB as one of the official members of the steering committee. I thought this was a good idea.
After talking with I I also talked with J as a person I planned to interview. J said he would be happy to oblige. J voiced some frustration about ongoing projects and the multiple views of members which got in the way of things progressing. This has been commented upon on numerous occasions by J.
I talked with some of the other members about what they had planned for the day John was going to remow the parking area. I noticed he also got precise instructions from I about this. Colin was starting work on a woodworking bench for a local kindy and other members were working on individual projects. I then started to recondition the plane I’d brought along this involved dismantling it and using a fine sand paper to remove the surface rust. After completing this I planned to oil all parts and reassemble the plane. I checked this plan with Peter a retired joiner with many years of experience and he agreed. Peter was sharpening some of the sheds chisels so I showed him my set and asked him if he could help me sharpen them after smoko. He agreed and also offered to sharpen the plane blade as well. I observed him working on the shed chisels and he talked me through the processes involved in cooling the blade in water, removing any chips from the cutting edge and grinding to a straight and even angel. All of this required skill which was obvious in his work. Other members later noted that this isn’t an easy job but it would be easier if the shed had wider grinding stones or fixed guides on the grinders.
After smoko Peter sharpened all my chisels and the plane blade. Originally I was keen to have a go at this myself but realizing the skill involved and the preciousness of the chisels I was happy for Peter to take charge here. He showed me how to smooth off the gowned edges on the soak stone so I took on this role and tidies up all chisels and the plane blade. I then reconstructed my plane using one of the shed planes as a guide. Peter assisted me at the end to set the height of the cutting blade.
After working with Peter I thanked him for all his help. He told me to practice on older blades at home. He said that the steel in my chisels was of high quality and they should be looked after. I was impressed that he could make this distinction. We then got talking about old woodblock planes he used to work with and I told him about my great great grandfather who was the builder and coffin maker in Akaroa. Peter said that this was common practice in the small villages of Holland where he came from. Where builders and joiners were expected to ‘lend their hands’ to a number of tasks. He then told me an amusing story about one builder who got the coffin dimensions wrong and the lid would not shut properly when the body was inside. He had me laughing at his account of the men trying to force the lid shut which resulted in the body dropping through the bottom of the coffin. I talked with I and C about how much I appreciated P help. They were both quick to note that this was one of the functions of the shed. Something I duly acknowledged.
Just before smoko I introduced a lady from the local childcare centre. She had come to thank the shed for a trolley they had built for the centre and I was giving her a tour of the workshop. At smoko we found she had also shouted baking as a thank you for the shed members. Talking with the members it was evident that this was not an out of the norm event and had happened before. To me it further evidenced the strong ties the shed has with groups in the local community and how these are of reciprocal benefit. Colin noted that he vary rarely gets complains about the cost of projects with the vast majority of groups being extremely thankful.
At smoko I raised the ongoing plans for the Christmas do. He explained the costs of the mine tour and the bus hire. Both were more than originally expected. The bus costing $500, the meal $27 and the mine tour $25 per person. This would not be covered by the social fund. A discussion followed about the costs and it was decided not to go to the mine instead having a meal in Palmerston with visits to the Orakanui sanctuary on the way. I was also going to look into one or two other spots to stop at that would be free of charge. This would reduce the bus cost and most of the meal would then be covered by the social fund. I put my name down to attend as this would mark the formal end of my participant observation at the shed.
I left the shed at 12.15.