The Orange Toolbox

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An award winning construction workshop designed to help develop a child’s knowledge and practical ability towards construction, resulting in valuable skills to utilise throughout life.

Thursday!Picked up surplus timber from on route to the workshop first thing this morning. Always thankful to have Newto...
16/10/2025

Thursday!

Picked up surplus timber from on route to the workshop first thing this morning. Always thankful to have Newton & Frost Fencing, Horam as an active supporter of our work here at The Orange ToolBox.

Private 1:1 session and the wing chun is almost done. It is looking very good!

SEN group and there was a small boat made as well as a nice height side table complete with routed out edges and a smiling face. Brilliant!

Junior session and we had the potting shed ship lap cladding being installed by one of the children and it is starting to really look the part now. We had a well made wooden round shield and a well made sword which was rounded at the edges using the flappy disc on the 4" grinder. The nice sized fox house was finished! Lucky foxes!! Lots of new skills learnt in this session today for the children.

After-school Primary group and the children were full of beans as ever and we had lots of smiles, chatter and fun throughout. One awesome looking wooden motorcycle, nunchucks and two signs were created. There is a series of wooden boxes being made and a bird table. Even a fantastic ongoing tractor barn project. Mind blowing how creative these children are.

Busy day for our team here at The Orange ToolBox.

Wednesday Uckfield College students had the task of installing fence posts this week, ready for the rails next week and ...
15/10/2025

Wednesday

Uckfield College students had the task of installing fence posts this week, ready for the rails next week and palisade slats to go on. This involved digging out holes to 600mm using the post hole diggers, putting in the posts, in this case it's 4" x 2" post and rail fencing and then concreting them in place with a lean semi dry mix and leveling them off using a spirit level. Part of the group also installed the palisade slats to a previous run of post and rail, using drills, levels, string lines as a guide and a spacer for spacing the slats out.

14/10/2025

Tuesday

Private 1:1 and we started on making a pull around cart. We also watched Taylor's Builders Merchants Lorry use it's hiab to off load our bulk bag of sharp sand. I have used Taylor's Builder Merchants who are based out of Crowborough since I started in the Building trade over 22 years ago now. Nice family run business.

SEN group and it was a jam packed one, lots of creations including a Heman styled battle axe, a shelf, a display unit and much more. Great to see the wooden Playmobil house almost finished now which can split into two separate floors.

Juniors and one of the children who installed the shuttering with me last week, got stuck in with mixing up the concrete and pouring it into our shuttering creating a raised footing for the brick edging to be installed. What a worker this lad is! Really physical work that he just brushed off as nothing. The other children also started working on their pieces such as a dragon castle and a dragon and the wooden cart got it's cage designed that will be housed on the cart. We also had did a bit of brick laying as well. Fantastic!!

Private 1:1 and the light soviet machine gun wooden replica got finished today. Used in WWII by the Germans it was known to be reliable and went by the name 'Record Player's, so called because of the round magazine on top. - I promised I would give some historical information on this, fed to me by the maker of this piece today. I love hearing the passion this individual has for their interest and their knowledge of history on the subject too.

Monday.Mixed Primary Aged group finished making a bird box. We also had a small rowing boat made to accompany the larger...
13/10/2025

Monday.

Mixed Primary Aged group finished making a bird box. We also had a small rowing boat made to accompany the larger vessel from two weeks ago. A good contemporary designed table and a creative aeroplane have been produced and taken home.

11+ group worked on learning their lap joints and there were some excellent lap joints today, nice and tight and very neat. The elephant water feature is almost there. The potting shed has started to be clad, a small tench was dug to divert a waste pipe some brick laying occurred also.

Ukrainian children made a shelving unit for their bathroom and a bird house was made. The hedgehog house is 90% complete and they are going to be very lucky mammals once it's finished.

We are to have a donation collection box in The Orange ToolBox workshop as of next week. Just to help parents who will ...
10/10/2025

We are to have a donation collection box in The Orange ToolBox workshop as of next week. Just to help parents who will be struggling especially this time of year.

6th December is the cut of time for their Christmas collections as Baby Bank & Beyond have to then sort through donations to distribute out in time.

If you can spare any items then I know they would be so grateful.

Friday!!11+ group carried on working on the sink and WC plumbing cabinet for next term. There is an infinity mirror bein...
10/10/2025

Friday!!

11+ group carried on working on the sink and WC plumbing cabinet for next term. There is an infinity mirror being created, a mini skate ramp and a box also being made.

SEN session was quite possibly the busiest we have had and everyone got stuck in making all manner of things including a pull along cart and a toy pony carriage. A boat in the process of being mad, plus a cabinet and many many more different items.

Tiny Tools session followed and lots of screwing, drilling, nailing, sawing and creating towers out of the foam building bricks and magnet tiles. Love these sessions!

Private 1:1 needed our day and we have changed a bit of the water feature design from a couple of weeks ago. Using natural branches instead of a machined round for it's upright stem, drilling out and feading the water tubing through. Mostly done now, just needs to finish the spout.

Another jam packed, fun filled week. Have a lovely weekend everyone.

09/10/2025

Thursday

Private 1:1. Not able to make it in today

SEN group. The children couldn't make it in today.

Juniors tested out their trebuchet, lots of fun had on that one. Also a fox house is in the making. We had a Pokémon card organiser made and even managed some brickwork.

After-school Primary Aged group did some brickwork, made a helicopter, started making a bench and another tote toolbox. The toy tractor barn is coming on well. We had a boot jack finished and lots of experimental bits and pieces which is what we like.

Wednesday Uckfield College students, recessed in butt hinges and mortice door locks. Also got digging out for fence post...
08/10/2025

Wednesday

Uckfield College students, recessed in butt hinges and mortice door locks. Also got digging out for fence posts.

07/10/2025

Since April 2025 we have welcomed all Ukrainian children residing locally to our construction workshop. These are 100% free after-school sessions for those who attend and we will continue for the foreseeable whilst the war continues. Our aim is to help provide essential practical life skills to many Ukrainian children who one day will have to pick up the pieces of war and rebuild their homeland. No child ever deserves to be in this position! The Orange ToolBox values the futures of all children.

BBC South East Interview:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0kgyr3165po.amp

Our Ukrainian construction workshops for children aged 2 - 16 years inclusive of SEN are on every Monday after-school 4pm to 5pm.

Bookable via our online booking system
https://bookwhen.com/theorangetoolbox/e/ev-st6o-20251013160000

Ben Hurst
The Orange ToolBox

З квітня 2025 року ми раді вітати всіх українських дітей, які проживають у нашій будівельній майстерні. Це повністю безкоштовні позашкільні заняття для тих, хто їх відвідує, і ми продовжуватимемо їх відвідувати, поки триває війна. Наша мета — допомогти надати необхідні практичні життєві навички багатьом українським дітям, яким одного дня доведеться зібрати уламки війни та відбудувати свою батьківщину. Жодна дитина не заслуговує на таке становище! The Orange ToolBox цінує майбутнє всіх дітей.

Інтерв'ю BBC South East:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0kgyr3165po.amp

Наші українські будівельні майстерні для дітей віком від 2 до 16 років включно проводяться щопонеділка після школи з 16:00 до 17:00.

Можна забронювати через нашу систему онлайн-бронювання
https://bookwhen.com/theorangetoolbox/e/ev-st6o-20251013160000

Майбутнє ваших дітей важливе для нас. Вони мають нашу підтримку, Україна.

TuesdayPrivate 1:1 session and a nice little bird table left the workshop for some more lucky birds and wildlife to feed...
07/10/2025

Tuesday

Private 1:1 session and a nice little bird table left the workshop for some more lucky birds and wildlife to feed off. Great job.

SEN group. One of the children put together their hydraulic model they brought in and did very well to finish it in one sitting. A cool bird box was finished off from last week as was the car ramp which has two tunnels bored or with the hole saw today. A nice katana sword was made for this child's friend.

Juniors! More work on the pull along cart tool place including installing a handle salvaged from a disused cart. Another child has asked to do some concreting, keen to use the mixer! Love it! So we spent the session installing some shuttering ready for the concrete footing to be poured next week by the very same child. Brilliant to get to to do this with them.

Private 1:1 and we have begun making a replica historic wooden record disc gun.

Monday Mixed Primary Aged group where there is a bird box in the making. We also had a storage cabinet lovingly made and...
06/10/2025

Monday

Mixed Primary Aged group where there is a bird box in the making. We also had a storage cabinet lovingly made and put together, using the air brad nailer and track saw in the process.

11+ group had a go at recessing hinges and mortice out door catches. There was a great looking contemporary floor lamp made and wired up. We also wired up a double plug socket and plug. Love the range of diverse skills that the children learnt today.

The Ukrainian group made a lovely dante shelving unit! Plus the hedgehog house is really coming on. Fantastic stuff by all.

Friday11+ group started work on building a unit to house our sink and WC set up ready for next term's plumbing workshops...
03/10/2025

Friday

11+ group started work on building a unit to house our sink and WC set up ready for next term's plumbing workshops. I can always rely on this bunch to deliver a project set out for them using the their skills they have developed with us here at The Orange ToolBox, many have been with us since the very start in September 2024. We also had a nice little contemporary wooden lamp wired up today after it was crafted last week. Currently there is also a miniature wooden skate park being built too.

SEN session followed and there is an intricate little wooden robot being made! We had a nice wooden toy car with 6 wheels created and pretty decent sized wooden stables to house 'Biscuit' the horse, weighty but built to last. Honestly you can't beat a SEN session for variety and good fun.

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The Orange ToolBox, Brownings Farm Workshops, Lewes Road, Blackboys
Uckfield
TN225HG

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