Handy Pete

08/10/2025

It is Dr Pete now 😊

Sorry folks. No more fencing etc, but it was fun.

24/01/2025

I have ceased trading as Handy Pete. It has kept me in pocket for ten years!

Once I submit my PhD thesis, in a few months, it will be time to start something new.

Any suggestions?

29/11/2023

I am afraid that in recent months my time has been given over to writing up my PhD.

My regular customers already know and won't mind; most others won't know or care. But I do have to eat, so please don't hesitate to ask if there is a job you'd like me to look at. I am getting fat in my office, so apart from anything else, the exercise will do me good.

01/07/2023

Thank you to those clients who have been in touch to wish me well after my surgery and convalescence. The aspect of life I was most anxious to get back to was bell ringing, and doing that again has definitely strengthened stomach muscles and arms and generally made me feel fitter and more physically confident.

I have returned to work gently and in the last month or so I have installed a couple of heavy steel cabinets using chemical bolts, repaired some plumbing, installed a shower tray, constructed and tanked a shower cubicle, repaired some floor, fixed a faulty cistern, done some waste pipe plumbing and done some masonry painting. But generally speaking, I have kept things light. What I haven't yet done is any fencing.

17/03/2023

I thought I should mention that I am not taking on any work, if it needs to be completed within the next couple of months, as I have just had surgery. I will be convalescing for 6 weeks.

07/11/2022

This is one of those personal jobs. My desk was too high, so I was getting neck ache and headaches. I did a bit of ergonomics research and ended up taking 10cm off each leg of the desk. This created a problem because the supposedly solid legs ended up being hollow, so that I couldn't fit adjustable feet. I had to cut and fit a core in each leg.

I adjusted the feet, set the desk and it was level, first try. The room now feels larger and I can sit far more comfortably. :)

04/11/2022

Today I have been varnishing one of my floors. This job involved replacing the brick pads supporting replacement joists, then insulating, then boarding, which I have done with countersink drilling and then, after fixing with a screw, filling the hole with a plug cut from some cherry for contrast. However, this involves jigs so that my lines are straight.

01/09/2022

Today, floor laying - with securing holes to be plugged with a hardwood dowel.

30/08/2022

When I am not handy-manning, I am building a cyclekart, a scaled down car with a 200cc engine, inspired by a pre-war racer. In my case the inspiration car is a 1910 Bédélia. Have a look at my blog.

https://peteskart.blogspot.com/

12/08/2022

12/08/2022

Nice little job on a couple of very hot days. A 5m rail and featheredge fence and gate (plus shed roof felting). In this case Mr G wanted a gateway which allowed wheelie bins through between two concrete posts. I constructed the gate in-situ. Gate furniture presented several problems because the gate was at an angle. It has a Suffolk latch and two bolts, one of which can be padlocked.

29/06/2022

My least favourite Handy Pete activity today.