Members of the Men’s Shed made a ‘resonance board’ for a young client of Isa Therapy Services, who provide occupational therapy for children and adults.

Occupational Therapist Jennifer O’Neill approached the group with the request, explaining the purpose of resonance boards.

“Resonance boards are used to enhance tactile and auditory feedback in children with visual impairments,” said Ms O’Neill.

“When moving whilst lying on the board, the child receives a magnified sensory experience which encourages them to experiment with movement, and explore and respond to their environment,” said Ms O’Neill.

Men's Shed member Richard Lane is a fitter and turner by trade who now enjoys making wooden toys, but says any kind of hobby is welcome at the shed.

“We’ve got a carpentary workshop but that’s just a starting point. If anyone has an interest, we hope we can help them enjoy doing that here,” said Mr Lane.

As well as creative crafts, the shed offers a rare opportunity for local men to socialise in a group setting.

“It’s a place where you can go to enjoy men’s company, which is hard enough to get anywhere. It’s like having a crib break on a Saturday,” said Mr Lane.

David English is a skilled craftsman and turner, who makes beautiful wooden bowls and pens with a large high quality lathe at home.

“We do have a small lathe here so if you wanted to learn turning, Dave could teach you,” said Mr Lane.

Mr Lane and Mr English plan to build more projects for Isa Therapy Services, having previously produced therapy sandboxes for Centacare Queensland.

Originally known as George’s Shed in Shackleton Street, the group moved to Isaacson Road off Alma Street last year.

The shed also supports the Prostate Cancer group located upstairs at Mount Isa Cancer House.

The Men’s Shed is open at 2 Isaacson Road from 11am to 2pm on Thursdays and 10am to 1pm on Saturdays.