Time to sacrifice the goat and see if everything fits. Bulkhead attached, seat needs to have the top cut out and re-varnished, the draws go in later tonight. All going well.




Time to sacrifice the goat and see if everything fits. Bulkhead attached, seat needs to have the top cut out and re-varnished, the draws go in later tonight. All going well.




I can only sand and varnish so much. COVID’s been knocking me around. Knee hasn’t been much better. Too much over doing it and not enough rest. Crashed out at 530 last night. Probably be the same tonight. Had a short walk today along the beach and the knee just didn’t want to work. More rehab than I hoped in the near future. One more week of work left on the van, then back on the road.


A morning breakfast and walk along Kingston beach.




Had a more productive day. Started out catching up on smaller jobs and almost had the furniture built. Dry fitted the bulk head and bench seat and started on the cupboard internals. Many, many coats of plastic primer, etching primer and flat black to finish off the maxi air vent surround building up layers of paint. Finally fitted the brushed stainless ends to the flooring.




Began today with setting up a rough pattern out of MDF before moving onto a final paint job of the walls before laying the vinyl flooring and starting to cut the bulk head and seat.






Wasn’t of much help today COVID had me with head spins, 02 level still low effecting concentration at 95% under load.
Been in hospital for the past 3 days with COVID. It didn’t really hit me like I thought it would. Slight tiredness and a dry cough.. One of the guys here came down positive and the hospital said I should come in for a checkup and I came back positive aswell. They were more worried about me getting rejection or pneumonia and pumped me full of Remdesivir. Still a little tired and unsteady on my feet. My mate has been hard at work installing the walls with backing insulation and installing the ceiling. This was the last place Id ever thought I would catch it. Not much between here and Antarctica. From what I was told being a transplant patient I would have ended up on a respirator. Wouldn’t let them put me on oxygen unless I dropped to under 90% oxygen level and refused a wheel chair. After 12 years on nasal prongs and 4 in a chair they were going to have trouble convincing me. Took me a little effort to keep my level above 92% but managed it.

Still having a little trouble concentrating but back into work tomorrow. I was going nuts inside a small room for the three days.

Ive been shown two ways of fire starting over the past few years that are not exactly bushcraft related but well worth knowing. The first is when your starting a fire bucket in a caravan park and all the timber is wet. Soak a toilet roll in diesel (no other form of fuel) the diesel doesn’t explode in your face.Do this away from the lighting area. The second is using a rag soaked in mentholated spirits and lighting the wood with a butane torch. This is for the fireplace in any workshop. Use caution with each method.

Using the fireplace to keep warm of a night to to dry the paint on the panels.
The next two days I will be doing the top coat of the wall panels. I choose the color Immersion, an off black to make the hardwood ply stand out.
















I was sitting around the fire watching varnish dry after the umpteenth time of sanding and rolling with two beers in me and saw the anvil and hammers for the first time out of context.
We dry fitted the walls after undercoating to drill the holes ready for installation. Ill be doing the topcoat all weekend. I have also sanded and varnished the door panels to an extent that it must have been 9 times per panel. I’m done with varnish.



© 2026 Serat Bushcraft
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑