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Don’t laugh. I want to show you, for the first time in the magazine’s 123-year history, something made from a cereal packet, string and electrician’s tape! Let me explain and, later, offer some thanks and a surprise.

For the best part of 50 years, my workshop has been in the cellar, a location which – even if you’ve never seen it – you’ll understand is now impossible to access from my wheelchair. As such, I’ve ended up either selling or giving away the majority of my tools; I can’t use them standing up.

Wheelbrace & carpenter’s brace

And now we come to the point. I reckon I could still make a dowelled joint on a portable bench and therefore I’ve kept hold of a wheelbrace and carpenter’s brace. It’s quite possible you may not be acquainted with a wheelbrace because these days, most people use an electric drill, but the photo will tell you all you need to know: put a drill bit in the chuck, tighten it, point it in the right direction, and turn the handle. The wheel has the initials ‘SIF’ in the casting, which I guess stood for ‘Suffolk Iron Foundry’, and the date 1945, which would be about right.

The twist bits for the wheelbrace are pretty obvious although there are many different metals available today for varying uses.

And the carpenter’s brace, again pretty much self-explanatory, except to say that if you’re not already familiar, the chuck works on a ratchet principle so that you can use it for withdrawing tight screws or when working in tight corners, using half a turn at a time.

Cardboard creation & bit inspection

Now I’ll mention my cardboard creation. I have to ask my wife to bring up tools from the cellar: need a small box for the bits, haven’t got one, make it. With the materials to hand. And that’s it, so now on to inspecting the bits.

My thanks go to Norwich-based Tooltique for providing the biggest of these. I gave them a call, explained what I wanted and the postman delivered it less than 40 hours later; well wrapped and sharp as new. For only £10. Impressive service. Most have a threaded tip for pulling the drill through the timber.

Also 1in and 5/8in centre bits, quite old; one stamped 'guaranteed', the other possibly Hancock, useful for shallow holes or going through the workpieces. Another Ridgway, a 3/8in Forstner bit, useful for when you want a hole with a flat bottom. And all English made; I like that.

To finish off, the surprise I mentioned earlier. One shell bit - picked up cheap decades ago - all now well past its use-by date, or so you'd think, but a few years back, I was helping to fix a fencing post to a brick wall and didn't know what to use for drilling through both materials, so picked it up and bingo! No problem.

Admittedly, here in Suffolk we have some fairly soft red bricks and it was a softwood post, but I was very surprised. You can re-sharpen these shell bits til they're too short for use.

And a final thought on that cereal packet box: useful though it is, I really wouldn't want to carry it onto a building site...