Shed opens door for new services

The Henley Men's Shed, off to a flying start in its first six months of existence, is on the brink of an exciting 2010. Highlights of that include hosting the national Men's Shed conference in April and an expansion into engineering.
The shed, primarily aimed at men at retirement age and older, has been through a consolidation period, building membership and finding out what those people want to do. With 46 men and one woman on the books, it is now poised to expand its services.
Up until now activities at the shed have mainly involved woodworking, with an impressive array of equipment purchased and donated. This includes planers, wood-turning lathes, a compound saw, a bench saw, bench sander, a wide selection of hand tools and jig and band saws - all the equipment you need for even quite complex work. The shed also counts among its members many skilled people willing to share their knowledge and experience.
With the woodworking side of things running smoothly, the Men's Shed is now looking to metalwork. Wairarapa College has donated a surplus metal-turning lathe. There are two arc welders (other forms of welding involving gas bottles were going to be too expensive, especially for beginners), a pedestal grinder, pedestal drill press and a hydraulic press. There is provision for training in small engine maintenance and repair - mowers, rotary hoes etc - and motorists will be able to learn how to maintain and tune older car engines.
The expansion of services gives Henley Men's Shed co-ordinator John Bush a lot of satisfaction. He's an engineering man from way back, and although he has many woodworking skills he calls metalwork and engineering equipment his passion. A fitter and turner by trade, John spent 19 years with Thomas Borthwick and Sons, most of that time at the Waingawa works. He left Waingawa not long before the works closed and spent several years in Wellington before returning to JNL and Kiwi Wood Processing.
During his time as a fitter and turner John was a union delegate, and in that role he accumulated a lot of skills in occupational health and safety issues. That's an important part of his role at the shed - keeping people safe is paramount. He's also a mediator and mentor, a thoughtful man who carefully considers his responses.
His employer is Wairarapa REAP, which is contracted by Henley Trust to run the Men's Shed.
John shares his time between two jobs, the Men's Shed, which is open three days a week, and the Wairarapa Workforce Development Trust. This, arising from an initiative by former Masterton mayor Bob Francis, involves identifying training needs within the community and oversight on youth training and apprenticeships.
The shed itself is a large new building at Henley Lake, but already space is tight, so any new equipment has to be weighed against the space it will take or what it will cost to operate. Part of John's job is to sift the offerings.
"We're tight on floor space now," he says. "Not far into the future we may have to look at extending the shed." Other options include looking at the number of days the shed is open - present hours are 10am to 3pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. "Or we might consider an evening session, or Saturdays," he said.
The membership, through regular users group meetings, will have a say in whatever happens. This is already reflected in some of the tutorials planned for 2010, subjects including spraypainting, cooking - meals for one ("at different levels, from burning water to burning toast", says John with a grin), welding and metal-turning, engine work and the use of a table router.
The popular health sessions, which last year looked at heart and prostate health and diabetes will also continue and be expanded.
Apart from the practical work of the shed, the men enjoy a good fellowship, with many a topic touched on at the morning smoko. Loneliness can be a big issue for older men, so this social time can be important.
That will be reflected in the involvement of the Henley Men's Shed in this year's Mental Health Day. There will be a special open session at the shed to mark this occasion.