History of The Rocky Region & The Rocky Shed

Our services are varied; from our community organisation skills involving manual trade predominantly wood work to customer services, this includes:

Carpentry: This involves in implementing trade and construction tasks for eternal and outside commissions, and also for other clubs and organisations.

Arts and Crafts: is described once as a movement that started in the European and American design during the late 19th and early 20th centuries promoting handcraftsmanship over industrial mass production

Work for the Dole: Involves implementing information technology tasks in corporation with Jobactive government organisation.

Carpentry

Carpentry can be defined as the art of working with timber in order to construct and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. Their are many types of Carpentry, the Rocky Men’s Shed main focus would be furniture making or cabinet making, which will be summed as Woodworking.

The comparison between Carpentry and Woodworking is essential, here are some difference.

Carvers – Carvers typically work in free-standing forms in addition to working on flat surfaces. They are artists, and woodworking is their medium.

Framers – Framers aren’t typically considered artists, as their function lies in building the roof, floors, and/or walls of a structure. There isn’t too much room for creative license when it comes to the structural integrity of a home.

Luthiers – Luthiers make musical instruments from wood. That’s neat.

Furniture makers – This could be you! That is, if you feel like taking our Introduction to Furniture Making Class. More to the point, furniture makers are sometimes included in the cabinet-making category. This can include rocking chairs, desks, tables, cabinets, etc.

Turners – Turners are a specialized group of woodworkers who are adept in working on the lathe. They make bowls, dishes, and all sorts of turned items.

Whittlers – These are folks, usually amateurs or hobbyists, who chip carve small objects out of wood. The very best can make impressive objects, among which are chains, book rests, containers, and all kinds of little trinkets.

At the end of the day, here’s what you need to remember: carpenters fit floors, staircases, fix window frames, and install shelving, cupboards, and the like. Joiners can build stairs on site, but typically make doors, window frames, and unfitted furniture in their own shop as opposed to on site.

The pictures on the left are some images of past commissions – it outlines some of the various skills Rockhampton Men’s Shed can accommodate. The wooden Coffee Table for example was sold to a happy customer.

If any of these designs catch your eye; Rocky Men’s Shed are more than willing to make these orders for you.

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The wooden Ramp spanning three meters long was a commission work that Rocky Men’s Shed was happy to make construct.

Arts and Crafts

Arts and Crafts; there are two specific arts and crafts work being done at the Rockhampton Men’s Shed. Pyrography and Ceramic Ornament making.

Ceramics are those things made from materials, which are permanently changed when heated. Changes are on the molecular level, which also changes the physical characteristics of the object. Here’s where it gets a little tricky as ‘all clay is a ceramic material, but there are other ceramic materials as well’. Some elements such as carbon or silicon could be considered as a ceramic (ceramics are always non-metallic materials). But we’re here to talk about clay and in the traditional sense, ceramic raw materials include minerals such as kaolinite (sometimes known as china clay).

Pyrography is the burning of sketches or drawings into wood. Colour is sometimes added with oil pencils after the burning is complete, but it is normally kept to a minimum. Although some skill is required, good work on pieces is mostly gained through practice and one will learn their own style and best ways to get the results they desire.

The Ceramic Group that’s associated with the Rockhampton Men’s Shed Inc. is called the Ladies Auxiliary; (if you have an interest in Ceramic making; the Ladies Auxiliary members can be found in the Rocky Men’s Shed located at the CQU campus – shed / building 72 – from 8:30 am to 12 noon.

It is during this time that all the arts and crafts like ceramic painting and pottery are being carried out.

Part of the Ladies Auxiliary’s function is to support the men with fundraising; such as raffles, sausage sizzles and grant writing. Combined with morning teas, which are held regularly, the ladies Auxiliary cater the events.

The ladies contribute to the Shed by way of sales of artwork, specialised ceramics items, mugs and coasters as well as wood craving from the men who run this project.

The Ladies Auxiliary do not use machinery in the men’s shed section, but do come together for any functions held for or on behalf of the shed.

New projects will be offered when the second building is completed and the members move into it.

With the second building we are currently looking for a benefactor to help with the purchase of the Kit as well as the construction – we currently have the funding for the Slab.

Further information regarding Ladies Auxiliary; please phone 049 7221121 or browse the website: rockhamptonmensshed.org.au

Pyrography: Rockhampton Men’s Shed member Paul Percival is the Rocky Men’s Sheds own Pyrograph illustrator; below are some of his works.

Work for the Dole

Work for the Dole is a governmental program that places job seekers in activities where they can gain skill and experience that give back to the community and can help them find a job.

Eligible job seekers registered with a Jobactive provider need to participate in Work for the Dole or another approved activity for six months in order to keep receiving their income support.

The department runs Work for the Dole nationally by contracting providers to deliver the Government’s employment services, including Work for the Dole. The Deed and guidelines between the department and these organisations outline the services to be delivered, and the requirements and obligations of providers.

Therefore Jobactive organisations works alongside non-profit organisations like the Rockhampton Men’s Shed to provide a place for jobseekers to gain skills.

The Role of the WFD volunteer: participants need to meet their mutual obligations through activities in order to receive payments, as agreed to with their provider. Participants undertaking a Work for the Dole Activity are required to:

Attend and participate in the activity

Record their attendance, if required

Let the organisation know in advance if they cannot attend the activity

Participate in any training needed for the activity, including work, health and safety training and induction

Behave appropriately and in accordance with safety requirements while at the activity.

The Role of the Host:

Provide Work Health and Safety Requirements

Acknowledge specific requirements

Activities: There are two types of activities that department outline for Hosted groups, and that is through individual or Group based. The Individual can have one or multiple Work for the Dole participants doing individual tasks. The Group based has activities that are specific to one off group project that has a specific goal or deliverable with an identified end date, and involves a group of Work for the Dole participants working as a team to meet a common goal, deliverable or end date, and usually runs for six months duration, but can last longer. Can be separated in to different phases, so overtime a larger project is achieved through multiple group activities – can be focused around a seasonal event.

Individual Activity Examples: retail, warehousing, sporting goods such as clothing or electrical, mowing lawns, maintaining a community garden, administration tasks such as filing, reception or customer service, supporting a social enterprise such as filing, building furniture or making jewellery and assisting at an animal shelter in tasks such as dog walking and grooming.

An example of a group based activity can be: building community garden beds, helping to establish a social enterprise, electronic archiving of hard copy files, establishing a community newsletter, designing and preparing a cultural festival, renovating a community hall, setting up a database, painting a structure and landscaping a new development.

While Rockhampton Men’s Shed’s prominent activities is Woodworking and Arts and Crafts, but it’s main philosophy is to adhere to a wider community whole; an organisation that has a goal to be open to any wide of skills people may have that can be adopted as an activity that Rocky Men’s Shed is only happy to promote.

WFD volunteers activities is an example of Rockhampton Men’s Shed flexibility on activities; from IT tasks to Woodwork projects.

This may be of interest to you as an upcoming event that will continue to assist seniors to get a better knowledge of computers