Making a phone box .. ?

[T i m]

Hi All,

Mum mentioned the oter day (right out of the blue) that she "would like a phonebox at the bottom of the garden to uses as a greenhouse ... " (well she is 75 ..) ;-)

A Google about shows K6's (later style UK red box) from 300-3000 pounds so the idea of making something came to mind?

Q, How 'waterproof' is waterproof (assuming there really is such a thing?) MDF please?

I have found "Medex" MDF sheets but at 39 quid a pop it might be cheaper to buy a real box?

Alternativly, a bunch of angle / T section and the MIG welder and a bucket of red paint could make a passable (stand-off) replica and be pretty durable?

I would be surprised if there aren't any replica makers out there (Google finds mention but mostly dead links)? ;-(

All the best ..

T i m

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Trouble is they're made out of cast iron, so a replica is likely to cost. A lot.

I've seen TV versions made out of wood and wood glazing bars which are good enough for a country job and don't have to last - and are easy to move around. But I don't give much for your chances of making one for 300 quid if you can buy one for that no matter what the condition. ;-)

[Andy Hall]

There's always that blue one sitting at the back of one of the studios in TV Centre. Tim would have to make sure that his Mum didn't also get the control column, mind you.

[Andy Hall]

Are you sure that she really does want a greenhouse, Tim, and not "The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse"? :-)

[T i m]

I think the link I spotted mentioned a fibreglass (replica)?

Looking at the shape again some 2"x2" framing, some floorboards (cheap planed pine) for the 'corners' / door and some lighter stuff for the glazing bars maybe (I'd make the glazing bars 'dummies' and glaze it with 3 single sheets).

It only needs to be 'garden shed' quality and water tightness. If I give it a good soak in Cuprinol before painiting .. (leaving the Cuprinol to soak in / dry of course ..) ?

That was my fear Dave (but would be a nice surprise for Mum none-the-less). I think a real one would be more difficult to get in the back of the Rover and into their back garden ;-(

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

No, don't .. she still can't cope with the Freeview box let alone "Time and Relative Dimensions in Space"! ;-)

And talking of d-i-y ..

the best ..

T i m

[Andy Hall]

IIRC, the console is stashed just along from the T.A.R.D.I.S. for generations of schoolchildren to see. It is nowhere near as sophisticated as the one made by the trainspotter mentioned above.

[Mary Fisher]

The time of life when we can do what we want and not worry about what anyone else thinks. Bugger them as wants to be conventional.

I like your Mum.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Would be no good for growing tomatoes.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Or perhaps is using that as an excuse.

Mary

[Owain]

To recreate the actual glazing pattern of a classic phone box will be rather complicated. For the suggested use, I would suggest using some of the "georgian" glass-panelled doors (the ones that have about 28 rectangular panes) which can be had quite cheaply from the sheds.

If budget and departure from verisimilitude would permit, a two-door x one-door (rectangular in plan) with the two doors on one side opening outward would provide more bench space than a square box.

Six doors from the sheds, bolt together at the corners, paint red, a border round the top (with a crown routed in) and a pyramid roof of tri-wall should do the job reasonably well.

Of course, you could cheat and copy one of the late 70s/early 80s ones that had one large pane per side.

An authentic coinbox mechanism will probably cost nearly as much again, but old phone directories come up quite cheaply on ebay and one from the time/location of her youth might provoke happy remiscing.

I leave it to your imagination how best to provide the authentic aroma of sunwarmed bakelite and stall beery piss of the originals.

Owain

[Andy Hall]

I'm nowhere near 75 and am still unconventional. Well mostly.

[T i m]

Indeed .. ;-)

So do I .. she doesn't stop .. unfortunatly Dad come from the 'old school' .. Man goes out to work, woman stays at home ... and waits on him ... ? But, because she has stayed active she's still pretty fit .. my 15 year old daughter has to trot to keep up with her walking!

You only get one Mum and I try to look after mine .. ;-)

Bless her .. while I was round there the other day sorting her boiler she kept showing me all the things she had made .. a big bag full of woolen scarves, several small kiddy outfits, etc etc .. I actually had to say at one point .. "Mum, I am trying to do something here you know .." ;-)

Then there the matter of trying to get away without sandwiches, cake, tea .... ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

No, I don't think so .. she calls me in because 'Father' can't get the box to work .. (she rarely watches TV .. never get's the chance)

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

I don't think she's into produce (atm) Mary (her brother had the allotment and was a 'nurseryman') .. her front and back gardens are awash with plants / flowers and I think she would use a 'telephone box' like a cloche for seedlings?

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

lol

My next one will be the big 'five o' but I still feel 20 in my head .. it's just my knees that remind me I'm not .. ;-(

All the best ..

T i m

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Very long time since Dr Who was made at TVC. It actually started at Riverside, and perhaps the majority were made at Lime Grove. ;-)

Could we have an FAQ on sonic screwdrivers?

[T i m]

That's a good idea Owain! ;-) I had thought of just doing the glass with one big single pane each side with dummy glazing beads where ther should be if real .. but your suggestion sounds easier and once painted red ... ;-)

(That's near St Albans isn't it?)

would permit, a two-door x

Got ya .. not sure she's got the space but that could be done to look like two phone boxes side-by-side couldn't it! (and you could probably make the two opening doors become 'pillarless' ..?

And or with the 'outer' facets of the roof painted red (for effect, say left and two front) and the others left clear ;-)

Yuck, they aren't real phone boxes they are phone boothes ;-(

Or make something the rough shape out of MDF painted gloss black (with some initials carved into it) as a little 'cupboard' for storing small hand tools etc. And, howabout on top an old handset modified with a length of thin black hose as as hand water sprinkler! Little Whale foot pump from the water butt ... (calm down imagination ..)!

That was a 'special' smell wasn't it ..

All the best fella .. and thanks for the ideas .. ;-)

T i m

[T i m]

What, we haven't had one yet! ;-)

T i m

[Mary Fisher]

Ah - so it's a man who can't work it :-)

Mary