Category Archives: Projects

Quilt Stands

Thanks to all those involved in the quilt stands, once again a project manufactured on time 48 uprights and 48 horizontal bars. The stands where built to support a quilt exhibition, which was held 31st August – 1st September at the Woodmancote Village Hall. The exhibition raised over £3000 for Maggies Cancer Centre and the Butterfly Garden.

Delivery Bike

Some of our members recently restored for the Butterfly Garden what was a dilapidated delivery bike, the images below show the bike’s original condition followed by the fully restored bike.

Monkscroft Shed

We have just finished the design and build of a bespoke workshop for the Gentlemen of Monkscroft Care Centre, the centre managed by The Order of St John commissioned us to manage and build a workshop that compliments the gardens. Hobbies don’t simply stop when living at the care home. They have a dedicated activities staff who work closely with the residents to create a programme of fulfilling activities and events, tailored around each resident’s requests, hobbies and interests. The programme of events and activities provide a source of fun and laughter, to help each resident live their life to the full and make new friendships.

Shed construction start.

Side view of Shed

Shed flower planters

Civic Award – High Street Planters

at the Cheltenham Civic Awards earlier in the month, we received a Commendation for the planters that we built for the High Street, it was in recognition to the environmental contribution to the town.
In other categories we were alongside John Lewis, One Bayshill Road Apartments, 51 the Park and the Ivy Brasserie.

Humphrey the Camel

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Okay, yes it was not the most expensive plane to build. Here it is at the 2016 Fairford International Air Show. It did however; win the prize for the cheapest, as “Humphrey”, our half-size Sopwith Camel plane, with its wingspan of 16 feet, cost NOTHING, ZERO, ZILCH.

The challenge the Men in Sheds Cheltenham & Gloucester were given, it had to be build from recycled material. This often meant scrap and stuff found in skips. The Airframe and wings came from old wooden pallets, cut, planed and formed into many shapes. The engine was a flowerpot painted a metallic grey, the cylinders’ used to be baked bean tins, the landing gear came from an old pram. The pilot’s seat was a child’s wicker seat, the pilot a trusty old teddy bear. The propeller was an old builder’s cement mixing board sanded to shape, the propeller shaft a broom handle, and the main body came from an old wardrobe. Dozens of bits of scrap were used, right down to the tail landing skid, a large soup spoon.

A lot of people that viewed the plane both at Fairford and the Jet Age Museum were surprised, to quote one “When you said it was a model, I was thinking of something that would fit into a cars boot” and were amazed at the thought and planning that had gone into its preparation, by The Men in Sheds of the Cheltenham branch.

“Humphrey” was never intended to fly, as if it could, with a flowerpot as an engine and baked bean tins as cylinders, but it has been on a few “trips”, the last one was to Cheltenham Racecourse November 2018 to commemorate Armistice Day. Since then it has been back in its hanger at Dundry Nursery.

Click image to see Slide Show