It’s been a busy start to the new year for the Serpentine Jarrahdale Men’s Shed.
Skilled hands have been flat out creating mud kitchens and bespoke toys for the littlies. And a few have been polishing up their resin craft.
A menagerie of emus, kangaroos, wombats and possums were constructed as part of a commission for the Water Corporation, and another batch of beautiful picture frames crafted from 100-year-old Jarrah were completed for the Old Engineers House at Canning Dam.
Some members have taken on large jobs in the outside slabbing area, with a beautiful 1100x3000mm table heading down south to one lucky new owner, with more slabs on the go for the Jarrahdale Tavern. And the new Serpentine Primary School benches are just about complete.
The shed itself is beginning to transform, with a raft of upgrades.
The shire donated another 20ft container which has been set up as a storage unit, freeing up the ‘chainsaw container’ for more mechanical work, with the saw and blade sharpeners now relocated into it.
An ablution block which was also donated by the shire nearly a year ago is now in situ, and there are hopes that it will be connected soon to free up space inside where the existing toilets are situated.
The kindling machine was recently upgraded with a new motor and electrics and has been flat out ever since with a new operator dubbed ‘Jarrah John’.
There’ll be no shortage of kindling for sale this winter, with Jarrah John on the case.
But it hasn’t all been hard yakka – there’s been plenty of time for socialising too.
In January, the shed hosted a sundowner send-off for ex-Vice President Barry Johns, who has relocated to a new life in Busselton.
And in February the Shed had a visit from around two dozen members of the Kalamunda Men’s Shed – all impressed with what has been achieved.
Their visit offered an opportunity for a bit of training on the new CNC Router which had been sitting idle since its purchase last year. Members are finally getting to grips with what it can do.
Serpentine Jarrahdale Men’s Shed secretary Ray Schmidt said new members are starting to trickle into the ‘Shed in the Scrub’, but there’s always room for more.
“If you think you have a skill that that could be of use, or just wanted to pop in for a visit occasionally, we’d love to see you,” he said.
“It is hoped that once we get the new toilet block commissioned, we will be able to create a lounge area for those that just want to chat and chill out.”
The Serpentine Jarrahdale Men’s Shed is located at 213 Baskerville Rd in Mundijong.
