Make your own chunky knitting needles... ...

If you've read the last post I did you'll know I have been adventuring into the realm of knitting, with pretty good results (I'm happy at least) We now make our own floor and dish cloths, mainly because ours our better than bought ones, and last longer, and when finished with they can be composted, sounds like a winner to me.

Anyway I mentioned in the post about other applications for knitting, and I came up with the idea for knitting hanging baskets, admittedly this isn't a new idea, but I decided to ponder it a little, and after trying to knit with some fairly thick string I figured I'd need bigger needles to actually have a proper go, either that or some thinner string, I was feeling creative so I went for making the needles in the end, and here's how I did it.

Okay so I've kind of cheated a little, mainly because I bought two lengths of 12mm dowel for the needle shafts, at a cost of 68p each, so £1.36 for the pair, I could have turned the shafts on my lathe, but if I'm honest it was the last qualifying session of the 2010 formula 1 season and I didn't want to miss it, and in my defence I didn't actually have any wood as long as this, or that I wanted to turn down to 12mm, I have plenty of wood, it's just marked for other projects and such like.

So with my two lengths of dowel I trundled down to the mole cave and set about putting a point on the end of each needle.

Picture time -

Starting the point.

I started the point off by clamping the dowel in a vice and using a small block plane to shave the ends down, again this was done as it's less time consuming than sanding, again had I turned them I could have made the point at the same time.

Once I'd got a rough point I then sanded the ends using the sanding disc I made for my lathe, and with a fine grade sanding disc on it I was able to get a nice smooth point on each needle.

Finishing the points - 

I should have removed the bar code sticker first.

Both ends done - 

Pretty much equal, ish :-)

After I'd finished the ends it occurred to me that I would need some kind of stopper on the opposite ends, so that anything I was knitting wouldn't just slide of the end, I had some rough turned pieces of wood lying about so I measured a couple until I found a bit that I felt was big enough to fit on the end of each needle.

For the needle ends I got two sections of wood from the roughly turned piece I chose, and then marked the centres of each part, by drawing lines across each bit to find the centre, the same way you would find the centre of a circle on a bit of paper.

Then using a spade bit I made a hole in the centre of the needles end, and as it turned out the dowels were a little larger than 12mm, either that or the spade bit is wrong, a large drill bit would do just as well.

Needle end and spade bit - 

Spade bit and needle end.

The dowel turned out to be closer to 13mm according to my vernier which was okay as it meant I could get a nice tight fit on the needles ends, and with a spot of wood glue they wouldn't come off easily.

I did however have to sand the ends of the needles so they would actually go into the holes I'd made.

Sanded needle end and end - 

Needle and end.

Once that was done it was just a matter of finishing the ends, I did this using the sanding disc on the lathe, and then I gave each needle a good sanding with a finishing pad to make them nice and smooth, and below is what I ended up with, which is a set of knitting needles that are more or less 3feet long.

Knitting needles - 

Not the best picture, but you get the idea.

I think they turned out okay, and for about £2 and 45minutes work they are pretty good, and they work, they are a little strange at first because of the length of them, but after a while you get used to holding them, and just to prove they can be used I did a quick few rows of string.

String knitting - 

Much easier to use this type of string.

Of course you can use chunky wool as well, but I made these for the purpose of knitting hanging baskets, and yes you did read that right, I have already made a prototype which I will post about eventually, it actually looks quite good as it goes, but I'll let you be the judge of that when I get round to writing the post.

You can easily make something like this yourself even with out the lathe and such like, all you need is a drill a spade bit and some wood and sand paper, or you could just use a large drill bit, 10mm would be about right, of course with out the lathe sander it may take a little longer to make them, but there is a lot of satisfaction to be had in making your own tools.

I will get round to doing the hanging basket post as soon as possible, so stay tuned.

Thanks for reading.

Just a quick re-cycling tip ... ...

Do you have any old plastic cards about ? you know the sort of thing, old credit cards, or even ones that get sent through the post (they really annoy me) well before you cut them up take a minute to ponder this, these plastic credit type cards make excellent filling tools, and can be adapted to work as tile adhesive applicators.
And after you have finished you can cut them up and bin them, might as well get a bit of use out of them first, and sometimes it's handy to have one because you don't always get the applicators when you buy a tub of grout or adhesive.

Here's a picture -

They'll do in a snip.

As you can see I've been a bit rough with one, but it still does the job, you may want to do it a little tidier than me ;-) but you get the idea, using one to fill small holes save time as well, as you can get a really smooth and even finish, which means you don't have to do any sanding or clear up any dust.

So before you bin them, just take a minute to think about how you can use them, do you have any small holes that need filling ? maybe where a picture once hung ? and indeed take a minute to think about how you can use other things before you throw them away.

Thanks for reading.

I can knit ! ... ...

Yes you heard it right, I'm a bloke and I can knit (sort of) so what you going to do about it grrrr ?

Seriously though there is a reason for me attempting to knit for the first time in about 20 years (I learned to knit in school) the reason is that I vaguely remember my nan I think making her own dish cloths and floor cloths, although I think she actually used to crochet them, I tried crochet and failed (I will have another go)

Why bother ? well it goes back to the same thing I've said in a lot of posts, no one makes anything any more, least that's how it seems to me, we tend to just buy it, and usually for as cheap as possible.
I think this attitude (and I'm just a guilty ) is actually harmful, our kids don't know what it's like to pick up a bit of wood and make a tool out of it, why should they ? when they can buy it ? and this mentality means our kids are loosing touch with certain skills, like wood working and such like, and not only that they aren't encouraged to think, to be creative and inventive, this I find is quite a sad situation, I'm not pointing any fingers as to who is to blame, I don't think any one person or group of people are to blame, perhaps it's society as a whole that needs to change ?

Anyway here's a picture of the first bit of knitting I've done in 20 odd years -

I think it turned out okay, after 3 attempts :-)

Okay so it's not perfect, but in all fairness it's a cloth and not a sunday best jumper, it's knitted from parcel string, I had loads of it lying around, I got it cheap from some place or other, and I think you can pick it up by the ball for under a pound most of the time, and for a pretty large ball.

It was easy enough material to knit with (even for me) and the end result is quite pleasing, and not as coarse as you might think, in fact I've seen fancy ex-foliating wash cloths made of rougher material.

As cloths go it works as expected, it's actually better at picking up dirt and grime than any of the bought cloths we have, and I'm not just saying that because I knitted the thing :-) and it can be washed and re-used, unlike some cloths which after a couple of days have to be thrown away, if it gets stained a little soak in bleach will sort it out (if you use it, other wise a very hot wash will do) and when you have finished with it, because of the nature of the string it will degrade, so chuck it into your compost bin and it'll break down pretty fast.

So what about time ? most people these days seem to not have time to do anything (even cook a real meal) well I managed to make the cloths (I ended up with 3 from one ball of string) while watching tv, and a more accomplished knitter would probably have managed this in a few minutes, so time isn't really an issue, even I managed to keep up with the program whilst knitting.

Once I'd finished the cloths I got to thinking about other applications for knitted stuff, apart from clothing, so I started messing around with other materials, here's a picture of some knitted garden string -

Natural garden string.

Now I have to say that this wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be, I think the problem is that the string wasn't quite as flexible as I thought, and I was using small needles, but it was possible, and after a quick bit of research on line I found that some people have tried similar and knitted hanging baskets and such like, only they have used much bigger needles, so I made a set, which I will dedicate a post to, along with a post about my first knitted hanging basket ;-)

I don't think we have any excuses for allowing the loss of skills like this in our children, it's up to us as parents to teach them things like this where we can, and if not find some one who can, I'm lucky I have quite an array of tools which I will show both my kids (son and daughter) how to use, and I will show him and her how to go about making things, I feel I owe it to them as a parent, and lets face it in this day and age certain institutions don't put the effort in, this is probably the reason why skills are being lost.

All in all I enjoyed making the cloths, there's something very pleasing about linking a length of string / wool together in this way, but then I enjoy using my hands for making things, that's what they are designed for, not just picking something off a shelf and paying at a counter, we were given hands and brains for a reason, I think it's about time we started using both a lot more than we do.

Thanks for reading.

Cold frame from free cycled windows ... ...

Here's yet another thing I've made using recycled things, this time four square windows I got from free cycling.
As it happens they are actually quite nice windows, wooden framed with hand made glass in them, the glass has a slight blue tint to it, I also got a couple of replacement glass panels with them, which is handy in case any of the panels get broken.

It wasn't a difficult thing to build, it's basically a 2x2 frame covered with 10mm tongue and grove, the windows sit on top, and open upwards, I made the 2x2 from some sections of wood I had lying around, I used a table saw to rip the lengths of wood down to size, a handy tool to have, you can pick a half decent one up for about £100

Here it is -

This was taken when I'd just finished building it.

I have fixed the whole thing to the wall of the house, but it's only held with 4 screws, so it can be moved pretty easily. I fixed the windows at a slight downwards angle, to help any water that collects on the glass flow away, and it also increases the amount of sun light that gets into it.

Finally it was given a coat of black paint, again there was method in my madness, if it's black it will absorb more heat, meaning (fingers crossed) I will be able to start things off a little earlier come spring.

All in all it was a bargain cost wise, only cost about 10 quid for a cold frame 6 feet long and 2 feet wide, it didn't take long to construct, and it will hold a good few seed trays, and some pots, and probably (again finger crossed) it will out last any cold frame I could have bought.

Here's another picture -

It seems to be weathering quite well.

It currently has a very large cucumber plant in it, with a couple of good sized cucumbers on it, I don't think it'll be too long before the temperature inside the cold frame is too low for the plant, but it seems to be doing okay at the moment.

I finally managed to get the patio slabs laid properly (after 2 years, long story) and the whole section of the garden looks pretty good, even if I do say so myself, by the way the pots in the picture above were also free cycled, they are actually from an old flue, we got 5, foot long sections, which as you can see we've used for pots, there are a few the other side of the cold frame, the band round the top of each pot is copper, it helps stop slugs and such like.

Free cycling is a good way to get things for your projects for free, and you also get the benefit of helping some one out as well, it's a good way to do things, helps stop so much stuff going to land fill to.

Thanks for reading.

I made these for my wife ... ...

My wife has recently started to crochet again, but she only has small hooks (some of which came from freecycling) so I decided to make her some new ones from wood, I've used various types of wood, and I am also experimenting with other types of wood.
I know it would have been easier to just buy some, but where's the fun in that, and besides isn't it better to make an effort now and then ?

Here's the first one I made -

It's pretty basic.

I basically carved it from a piece of wood I had pruned from one of the trees in our garden (it was birch I think) I used a stanley knife to do it, I know it's not perhaps the best tool to use, but it suited me.

Why bother some might say ? well it's simple really I made it as a gift for my wife, I sanded it, made sure the hook part was smooth so as not to catch on the wool, I then used some linseed oil on it, and then waxed it with a lavender scented wax to make it extra smooth, she has used it and she says it works well.

My point I guess that in today's way of doing things people don't do a lot of this sort of thing any more, when it comes to birthdays and such like we tend to just go out and buy things, which let's be honest doesn't require much effort, you just go to a shop hand over some cash and there you go, you don't even have to wrap present yourself either, some shops do that as well.

It's a shame really, this small wooden crochet hook means more to my wife (and to me) than a bought one ever could, why ? because I took some time out from the things I wanted to do so I could make something special for my wife for no other reason than I could, it wasn't for her birthday or any other special occasion, I just did it, and it's not like it took me days and nights of carving either, all in all it took about four hours (split over two days)

I have made two more since (one was more for show than anything else) and they have taken less time because I know how to get the hook part right now, this is what took most of the time, it has to be right or it won't work properly.

Here are the tools I used to make all of the crochet hooks - 

A strange mix ?

Perhaps not the most practical of things to use for this, and in case you are wondering the funny wire thing next to the saw is another saw, it's actually a pocket saw I use it when I'm out when I find interesting bit's of wood that have fallen off trees, or indeed fallen trees, I don't cut down anything specifically for these projects, the purple thing is a very fine sanding pad, gives a great smooth finish to wood.

The needle files helped in getting the hook part right, and after that I used sand paper to get it as smooth as possible, my wife says that the wool doesn't get caught up, which is good, means I got it right :-)

Here are the others I have made - 

Two of the hooks are made from the same bit of wood, the curly one is actually a piece of willow from one of our twisted willow trees, I just thought it would be fun to try and make a hook out of a bit of it, it actually turned out pretty good, and oddly it is quite ergonomic, it fit's quite well in the hand, and yes it is usable too :-)

Here's a picture of my wife holding the curly hook - 

As you can see it kind of curls round her hand.

It may not be the most practical crochet hook ever, but it was a bit of fun, below are some more pictures of the ends of the hooks, the hook part is the hardest bit to get right in my opinion.

More pictures - 

The first hook.

The willow hook, the smallest hook of the three.

The largest, this one is 14mm, for chunky crochet.

As you can see I have changed the hook slightly on each hook, and I'm also working on a fourth hook at present, it will be more decorative than the others, I recently bought some small carving chisels for this and other projects, very good, and they give more scope for designs.

My wife wanted the larger hook for chunky crochet, like woolly hats and such like, I measured each hook with my vernier callipers to get them accurately sized as some patterns require a specific size of hook.

All in all it was good fun, and it gives you a great feeling when you make something with your own hands, and we should do more, we should make the effort for our loved ones, make a card instead of buying one, craft things are cheap and it's not hard to do, if you need pointers you can google card making, or hand made crafts, have a go, who ever you make the gift for will love it, and it may not be shiny and polished, and precision made by some robot controlled machine, it will be unique to you, a one off, never to be repeated in the same way again, and that's part of what will make it special for who ever you do it for, they will know that they are the only person who has one quite like that, and seeing the smile you get from doing something like this is priceless.

If you want to make your own crochet hooks then here are some pointers - 

Find a straight-ish piece of wood, not too thick, it will take forever to get it to the size you want, I've so far used, birch,cherry,willow and even a bit of ivy.

Use a sharp knife, a stanley knife is good, or a craft knife, but be very careful these types of knife will cut to the bone, I know I've done it more than a few times over the years.

For the hook part I use a saw to make a 45 degree cut, put the wood in a vice or clamp it to a flat surface, it doesn't need to be exactly 45 degree's as long as it's close, I have drawn a small diagram.

Diagram -

Another dubious diagram :-)

Once you have got this far you can start shaping the wood, you may want to look at pictures of crochet hooks to get the rough shape of the hook, but that's about it, and as long as you leave an inch or two at the hook end smooth so that the wool doesn't get caught up you can put ever you like on the other end, do a google search for hand made crochet hooks for inspiration and to see how others have done it.

Thanks for reading.

When is a drill not a drill ? ... ...

When is a cordless drill not a cordless drill ?

The answer is simple, when it's a whisk of course :-)

This is just a bit of fun I guess, but earlier today my lovely wife was making a Dutch apple cake and part of the recipe involves a fair amount of whisking, which is a pain, especially when you have to do loads of it, and seeing as today I decided to help her I came up with a bright idea (okay I'm lazy) I got one of the whisks we have and pulled it apart (it was already loose) and I stuck the whisky part in the end of my cordless drill, and hey presto instant electric whisk :-)

Improvisation - 

Quick thinking ? Not really.

Now there is a point to this post, apart from if you get stuck for an electric whisk and you have a hand whisk and a drill your in business. The point being that I thought about it, not for long granted and it seems to me that there's not enough thinking going on these days, maybe it's because we aren't taught or encouraged to think any more. We should do more, and yes this isn't the best example of thinking a human has ever done, but it was a thought none the less, and it's thought that put a man on the moon (if of course you believe that actually happened) it's thought that created the internal combustion engine and it's thought that set humans at the top of the pile and if want to stay there then we need to keep thinking.

By the way the make shift electric whisk worked very well :-)

Thanks for reading.

Fluid design... well sort of... ...

I'm the sort of person who spends a lot of time thinking about things, all sorts of things, like how can I make this or that, what's the best way to fix this, and loads of stuff in between.
Building things makes me happy, and I think you get a grate deal of satisfaction when you find a problem and solve it, or when you build something from scratch.

With that in mind I have had to re-think the towing hitch for my bicycle trailer, I hadn't really considered it much before because what I had worked reasonably well and so I decided why fix it if it isn't broke ? that is until I realized it could be better, and because what I had was actually causing damage to my bike.

The first trailer hitched to my bike the same way as the second trailer, but it wasn't until I built the second that I decided to re-design the towing hitch, the trailer and the way it attaches to the bike are constantly being reviewed by me, hence the "Fluid design" post title. Basically I used a u-bolt to attach the trailer to my bike by way of a couple of d-shackles, these were the best option for the first trailer, and they work well for this one.

Here's a u-bolt -

U-bolt, which you can find in most hardware/diy shops.

What I did was to buy 2 of them and use the metal plate from 1 on the other, so I had 2 metal plates which I could use to clamp the u-bolt onto the bike frame, it was a pretty easy way to solve the problem of attaching the trailer to the bike.

Here's a very crude diagram of how I did it - 

Not the best technical drawing in the world.

As you can hopefully see I clamped the u-bolt to one of the rear forks of my bike, this was okay for the most part, but I started to notice that after time the bolt wouldn't stay in the right place, and it eventually moved quite a lot, especially when I had heavy loads in the trailer.

Here's a picture of the damage it has cause to the forks - 

You can see all the paint has gone, down to bare metal.

I had attached the bolt to the higher of the 2 forks, and it eventually started to move up and down, the damage on the lower fork was caused by the end of the trailers tow bar moving more than it should have been.

So not so long ago I set about re-designing the towing hitch, and I think I came up with a pretty good solution, I have managed to make a hitch that is easier to use, stronger and most importantly is very stable, it allows parts to move, but the right parts.

Here's the new hitch - 

It's a little rough, but it works.

As you can see by the picture above I still use d-shackles to attach the trailer, but the hitch is much better, I have re-used the u-bolt and the 2 metal plates from the original hitch, but I have added a strip of metal and 2 bolts, the new hitch now fixes to both of the rear forks (on the left side of the bike) the u-bolt makes up part of how it fixes to the bike. It is stuck where it is, it doesn't move in any direction, and hopefully it will stay that way, I just need to patch up the damage, I may just re-spray the whole bike.

Here's a picture of the back of the new hitch - 

The other side of the hitch.

So basically what I've done is to use the 2 metal plates to clamp the hitch to the forks, the u-bolt is in the middle of the large metal plate and using 2 extra bolts I have managed to make a much more secure fixing, which means increased stability when I have the trailer attached, it still moves a little, but it's the right kind of movement.

A picture with the trailer attached - 

I will explain the blue bar.

As you can see the shackles work well, and allow enough movement to be able to hitch and un-hitch the trailer easily. You can also see that I've used and eye bolt in the end of the towing bar and the shackles basically join the 2 to each other, you may also notice the cable that goes through the eye bolt, this is a safety and security measure, it provides a way to padlock the bicycle to the trailer, and should for some reason the towing hitch fail there is a back up, you may have also noticed the towing bar is bright blue :-) this is because I broke the original bar, and had to use this as a replacement, it's an old part of a climbing frame, very strong, but light weight (don't worry I didn't dismantle the kids climbing frame to build this)

And that's about it really, I had to find a better method, and this is it, well I think so, I have used the trailer several times since I made the new hitch and I have noticed a difference in the way the trailer behaves, it is much more stable at speed (not that I go that fast, but it wobbles less when loaded)

I will spray the hitch when I get round to spraying the rest of the bike, so it doesn't rust.

Now for my next trick....... finding a way to get rid of the bike and hitch the trailer to the dog, like a sledge :-) Just kidding.

Here's a pick of the dog -

Meet Pepper, the family mutt :-)

Thanks for reading.