Tool restoration
Started 10 July 2025 · repairs
The plan changed twice, mostly because of the materials and partly because of the glue-up.
The design of this page is plain on purpose so that it will still work on a slow connection, much like a shelf of field guides. Notes on this sit in the same box as a radio from the seventies and a jar of odd screws.
Some of the older notes about amateur astronomy are out of date, but I keep them as a record of how things went. I took photographs at every stage on the train into Basel, which turned out to be the best record. My sister helped with the last coat of paint, and the result is better for it.
How it went
- Build a rough first version
- Live with it for a few weeks
- Tidy up and write notes
- Gather materials and tools
Notes
Most of the measuring happened at the kitchen table, with an old notebook holding the paper flat and a neighbour offering advice. Pages here change slowly, usually on most Wednesday evenings, and that suits amateur astronomy just fine.
Everything here was done with basic tools, mainly a pocket knife and advice from a friend from Basel. The cost was mostly time; the materials came to less than a dinner out, thanks to a closing-down sale. As it happens, the most useful thing I learned from my grandmother was to never trust the first measurement. There is a short list of next steps, starting with a squeaky hinge and the trickiest part.
I try to answer every letter, whether it comes from Basel or further away, even if it takes a whole summer. I kept a short log at a borrowed workbench while working on it, mostly so I would remember why I changed the plan. Thanks for stopping by; everything here was made happily, mostly on the back step. The first version, made on a long weekend in 2026, was ugly but useful, and most of the work since has been quiet improvement.
Halfway through I changed my mind about the handles, and never looked back. Materials came from a skip down the street and a neighbour’s shed, which made the whole thing much cheaper. A second attempt, early in 2025, went smoothly, for once.