RichardH

The matching headstock looks great to me - not "too much" at all. The spalting on there almost looks like slightly tangled strings!

PM incoming!

I'll see what I can arrange.... I'm over in Lewes, but might be able to get the band's singer to pick it up as he lives in Brighton.

By all means you grab it over me, @3below - it shouldn't cost much to arrange a courier to ship it via Interparcel if soldersqueeze is willing to package it up.

I'm interested! What sort of pocket does it fit, any ideas?

As I understand it, it's not a proper regulation as such, but around 450mm seems to be an accepted depth for general work. However, for gardens where it is less likely to get disturbed by deep digging, then it's not as hard and fast - I've seen "a spade's depth" mentioned. Where it's covered by your paving slabs I suspect the electrician felt it was safe under there as it was unlikely to be accidentally disturbed. I'll ask the electricians what the deal is when they come along to get it sorted.

We're on clay here, and until we had the rain come through over the last couple of weeks, it's been mega dry, so the soil's been like iron. Now things have softened up, I could probably do the "spade in, wiggle around to create slit and repeat" method, but it's near enough 50m, and although it would be across grass in the main, who knows what digging might be done in the future, so probably safest to have it the recommended depth.... they have said they should be able to get here for a day fairly soon, so fingers crossed.

Oh dear! We've been waiting for the guy with the digger to be available for blimmin' ages now.... Even if I clipped the cable to fences where I can, I'd still end up having to dig trenches, so for the moment I'm waiting for a digger to come and do it all for me.... especially as the feed for the workshop is coming from the other outbuilding which also needs cable run to it before that has power anyway.

Good grief! I've only gone and done it.... ...Actually put the bench in! In fact this is the second build of it - the first time I put it in place the bench was too high, so I took it all out again and reset the height - it's now at just under 36" to the top surface. I've used the worktop offcuts - so I have a joint in the middle which is a bit ugly - I guess I could have tried to clean up the edges of the two meeting surfaces, but I had a feeling they'd not get that much better than they are at present. The bench is supported on a 2x3 bearer fixed to the wall - I had the stud positions marked so was able to fix into the studs rather than the 11mm OSB. 3x2 along the front edge as well. Shelf is supported on some 2x1 batten on the wall and 3x2 at the ends, plus also a bearer on the back of the central leg. Again, this had to be jointed as the length of the bench is just shy of 3m. I had thought the front edge of the shelf would need a batten, but it's 18mm OSB, and once it was screwed down into the back and side bearers plus to the back of the central leg, it's really stiff. I may run a piece of 2x1 along the underside to ensure it stays stiff if I feel it's needed, though. Bench surface is fixed from underneath using brackets and swearing. Apart from the 3x2 and the 2x1, the rest of the bench was made of "free" materials - the OSB was left over from when the shed was built, as were the lumps of 6x2 used on the legs. Worktop was offcuts from the kitchen fitting. I decided to turn the worktop upside down as when using the worktop as a temporary bench on a couple of sawhorses, I realised the "proper" surface was way too slippy. Now all I need is power!

Yeah, I need to dig a trench for the cable though..... and it will be around a 40m run. We are supposed to be having a patio put in and I was going to get them to dig the trench when they had the digger here. Though the soil is softer now we have had some rain, so it might be feasible to do it myself. For WiFi I have got some Tenda MESH hotspots - they are pretty good, and so I will be adding one more into the mix to extend the wifi further. Already works OK in the workshop, and I won't be doing anything that needs major bandwidth so they should do. I may well run some ethernet into the studio building though - "just in case".

Missed your post before - yes, I realised that PVA wasn't right for this stuff - particularly as this paint is spirit rather than water based unlike the stuff I used at my old place. I thinned the first coat with white spirit, and it really sunk into the concrete, so should have keyed in nicely. The second coat went on nicely and gave a decent finish. I used pretty much the whole 5l tin for both coats - floor area around 3.6 x 5.8m

I'll do another thread on that.... I'd thought about doing that - particularly ceiling - even if it's just a quick roll of some masonry paint we have knocking around. D'oh! I still have to get a cable run to the workshop, at the moment I have an extension lead running over to it from an outdoor socket just so I can run some lights to see what I am doing when on my early morning painting exploits.

....and yes - I did paint the rest of the floor..... just put the second coat on. I'll let it harden off for a few days and then I can get the shelving put in its proper place (if I can decide where that is, of course!)

Don't Stand So Close To Me - Police

I tried them too - no help to me either, so sent them back. Weren't very comfortable either, and I could see them falling out without me noticing.

....another top tip. Don't paint anything in the garden at this time of the year, unless you want it to be decorated with dying daddy longlegs - just had to go and pluck about half a dozen from the (now dry) floor paint 🙄

....Knowing my luck, soon to be filled with crap and never to be used as a workshop ever again. Nearly painted myself into a sticky situation adding the second coat yesterday. It stopped raining, so I opened the big doors to get better light, and thought I would take my boots off (since they were wet and muddy), then paint from the far end out to the doors then close them from the outside once I had re-booted. Of course it started raining again just as I got to the last strip, so I had to close the doors quickly and stand on a narrow strip of unpainted floor waiting for the rain to abate. Thankfully it was only a few minutes so I could open up again, get my boots on and do the last bit before fleeing to the comfort of the house... and other DIY jobs... I'll give it a couple of days then move the gear over to the painted side and get the other section done. Then I can build the bench!

Ahhh - yes, when "shed" is mentioned, I guess the assumption is that it will be on timber. We keep the ride on mower in there though, so it is really more of a garage (it's single garage size - 3.6m x 6m). Forgot to say, this initial coat was thinned with white spirit as per the instructions on the can.

First coat of Leyland Frigate Grey applied to about 70% of the floor - with the weather as it is, there is no way I was going to empty the shed Hope to get a second coat down this afternoon and then I can leave it to harden until next weekend, when I might even get to start making the bench!

Yep, that's what I reckon. I guess the mower won't end up with hot tyres like a car does, so it will have less impact on the paint, too - as well as being lighter etc. Pretty much what I was thinking re anti fatigue matting etc. Brother in law was trying to get me to make a duck board for the same reason, but this matting is a load easier

Yeah, I think I need to stop worrying about needing an epoxy - it's just the "if I'm doing it I might as well do it with something super long lasting" thoughts that crowd my brain. Also comments about wet/warm tyres causing paint pick up on non epoxy coatings. Having said that, the mower is a lot lighter than a car, so it may well not be an issue. Also, I've just been enquiring about epoxy, and it seems that minimum temp for proper curing is 15c - maybe down to 10c, and this ain't the right time of year to be doing that! I have a load of PVA, so I think I will seal with that first and then go for the Leyland stuff (though the Screwfix no nonsense stuff seems to get good reviews too). [EDIT] - no, not going to use PVA as on further digging this may not be appropriate. Will thin the first coat of the Leyland stuff with white spirit, and give the floor a good vacuum before starting work.

I know exactly what you mean (and also partly why I'm considering epoxy to avoid the need to do it again in 3 years time) - but with the weather as it is I'd be hard pressed to find a window of opportunity to clear the garage and not get everything soaked, though I do have various tarpaulins I could cover stuff with. The main reason to paint it is to stop the constant dust that comes off the concrete. Now is the time to do it while the shelving etc is already moved to one side from when we boarded out - so I don't think I would just do half and leave it , as the garage is not set up for use yet anyway.

Those Halfords mats are loads cheaper than the other garage floor tiles out there - I assume they are less substantial than the others. Can you set shelving etc on them, or are they too wobbly? Also looks like you can't interlock separate sets, is that right? [edit, seen now that they come with edging strips, so ignore that last question!]

Here's the completed shed - already in use as we finish off a new door for a different outhouse - that's my brother in law in picture, who has done most of the work really... he's a chippie, so knows what he's doing ...now I need to decide if I should paint the floor before it gets too covered in crap etc. Seems like epoxy is the way to go, but a lot more hassle.... I will have the ride on mower in this shed, so it will need to cope with wet tyres being stood on it at times.... Had hoped to be able to paint one half then the other, but I think epoxy means clearing the whole space out before starting. Sigh....

Bloody "proper" work getting in the way of everything.... plus more pressing projects. Still no bench, but this weekend my brother and law and I did some work on the shed to insulate and board it out in OSB For insulation we used a mix of superquilt and left over rockwool (from the more pressing work we've been doing - setting up another outbuilding to be used as a music/art studio plus crash pad when the kids come back to visit) Had to kick the ceiling up a bit on the side where the window and door was, as line of the underside of the purlins once counterbattened took us too close to the window