Dalek/DIY compost bin.

Been after a compost bin for quite a while now, but didn't want to pay the £20-30 price tag. So I made one for £6.99. I bought the bin (80 ltrs) from the man whose shop sells everything... everything! Then just drilled drainage and ventilation holes in it. Done! I need to add a small door at the bottom to get to the compost, but that can wait till next year.

Next door's pears.

Winter coat.

Time to give the iron* giant his annual treatment. A quick sanding and a coat of black, hammered effect, Hammerite paint. "Any old iron*, any old iron*, any, any, any old iron*..."

*steel.

LET'S PLAY DARTS!

A while ago my Dad gave me a big sheet of plywood, which has been attached to the landing spindles to stop Lukey from falling down the stairs. Anyway, because he's bigger now, there's no need to keep the wood up there. So, I thought about making a darts cabinet with it. Here' s some pics:

She won't win any beauty contests, but she'll do for me. Just need to get the dart board now.

Let there be light (Pt. 2 - phase 2 - water pump)!

Finished.

Small water pump in sink.

Planter with the bottom sealed, pump and plant pot also fitted.

Plant pot drip tray to hold pebbles - later replaced with clear plastic picnic plate.

Pebbles/stones collected from New Brighton beach. Here, I've drilled a hole in sandstone to fit the water pump tube through. The pump didn't come with tubing so I bought a syphon kit.

Test.

The pump came with this jack which was cut off and the exposed wires soldered to complete the circuit.

Heat shrink warmed over connection to make soldered joints waterproof.

Control panel, including; battery, fuse box, switches and solar panel controller.

Fitted inside the shed.

Complete - with Lukey's frog and marbles.

Let there be light (Pt. 2 - phase 1)!

"Captain, we need more (solar) POWER!"

I've been wanting to increase the overall effectiveness of the garden solar lighting, and having consulted with my technician (Adam), I've invested in a new solar panel, 12v rechargeable battery, LEDs and various other accessories to beef things up a bit. The old lighting was OK, I suppose, but it wasn't practical as it didn't provide enough light.

This post relates to the lighting only. I'm also hoping to run a water pump/fountain from the same set-up too.

Wire

Bits

Hole in glass jar

High-tech kebab skewer to hold LED

LED

Junction box

Connector blocks

Solar panel

Old light

New light - Although it looks like a supernova (in a jar),
 in reality, it's not so dazzling.

It all worked out brilliantly and the new lights are awesome! They add so much more light, but aren't too obtrusive. Cheers Adam.

Next to come...the water pump.

    

115 seconds of my life (time lapse)

More time lapse now; me doing the garden. Awesome! 1 hour 10 minutes real time, time lapse - 115 seconds. 817 frames total (1 frame taken every 5 secs), play back 7 frames per second.

Let there be light!

I've been wanting to do something a bit different with cheap garden solar lights (89p - B&M!), as I'm not entirely keen on their traditional casing. So, I already had some empty jars in the house and bought some cheap ones too. Although not life changing, they work a treat and create enough free light to find your wine glass after the sun goes down.

Here's what I did and the end result:

Glued with all-purpose adhesive