h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I just realised I mentioned 8 feet by 4 feet sheets of plywood, but that was 35 years ago I doubt they are even made that size anymore.
What I do remember is the boat yard bought rough saw planks of mahogany, when it was still legal to buy it, in planks of several inches thinkness. I think they used Aframosia(sp?) wood, Utili(sp?) wood...a fantastic grained dark red Mahogany type wood. They even used Burma(sp?) teak in planks of what looked about 3 or 4 inches thick.
I don't think you can legally buy most of those woods anymore in UK as protected or banned , not sure though. The Teak had a lovely smell when being cut and perhaps the best of all was some Rosewood venir(sp?)they had which smelt like heaven when sanded as well as looked beautiful.

We used to bring whole, hard wood logs back from West Africa. Quite a job to load them from wht were called surf ports. We just anchored and the logs were brought out from the beach. Dangerous work to load them due to their weight and shape and often difficult to unload.

A lot of those woods you can get at reclamation yards.... think most are in metric now, think a lot of th smell in the ply wood comes from the glue.a particular fishy type comes to mind recalled from also rememberng the typical building site comments.

reading Aframosia..trying to think of one saw/smelt being burnt whilst cut with electric saw..think it came from burma particularly fragrant and nice feel and deep colour very tactile...

Ltp, your right about reclaimation yards being good for wood. I have remembered that in the boatyard a company that fitted out/repaired things like libraries in expensive private houses asked us to cut up very large reclaimed ceiling joists from very old buildings and turn them into copies of mouldings found in old buildings.` Things like fancy architraves were shaped on a "spindle", a machine that span a cutter in shape of required moulding. As the old joists were of course seasoned and old wood it matched and renovations the company did.
The wood used for say new floorboards these days just doesn't seem the same as original floorboards in buildings of only 4o years old.
I rember a wood called Pitch Pine which had a loverly pine smell which disinfectant makers would love to be able to copy. I bet it would smell loverly on a log fire, Cedar wood was another great smelling wood when cut and aparantly used in Victorian/Edwardian furniture draws as keeps moths away.

You don't buy 8'x4' any more, just 2400mmx1200mm (or a little bit smaller than the original dimensions).

In Denmark, wood also used to be sold in inch dimensions - somehow, to me, a 2x4 still sounds more right than a 50x100... Screws, too, used to be in inches and (whatchamacallit) some number giving thickness. Something like a 2" x 8 - I guess today it's be a 5 x 50 mm or so.

*puts on light trekking shoes*

(Z anagramming his name )

I have ordered several 4m lengths of 2x2 before now from the local builders merchants (and you could ask for an 8x4 or a 6x3 sheet of platerboard (but is it 12.5mm or 1/2inch thick?))

I can still get a better image of the size of something in inches rather than metric.
.
There is a formular for working out the gauge, size 8, 10, 12, etc of a woodscrew if you have the screw but don't know the size number. I can't remember exactly how to do it, it was more than 30 years ago, but it is something like.....
measure the head of screw in eighths of an inch, double the number and take away two. Strangley it does work.
.
I have a small book from 30 years ago that gives all sorts of information on screw gauges, what certain wood cuts are called and even the way to saw a tree trunk lenght wise to give the correct planks for carpentary. It has information on some now disused wood glues and even formulars for making some wood glues. It is a really useful book for those working in carpentry and even home DIY people. It is interesting just for a general information book. I believe it has the correct names for complicated carpentary tools too.

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*still chuckling over "tool box"

[GDZ]

Top 13.4%

Huh? a box for keeping one's tools in and my mate had a very fine one.

::laces up her orange high-top sneakers::

Practising takeoff

fg, the mental image of those shoes, on you, made me smile.

Sorry, did I miss something about wages?

Lucky is quite comfy at the moment, ensconced in her nesty bed on the porch with a full belly and D petting her. Somehow, I don't think she's going anywhere! Ox is still not happy, although his hissing is pretty much show right now, I think.

*Matina and Chloe stand in the foyer with their hoovers at the ready*

"You don't buy 8'x4' any more, just 2400mmx1200mm..."
Oh yeah, that is SO much easier to say to the Home Depot staff.

Clean cups! Clean cups!
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...stop stop stop! Zeppo, Gummo, there's a squirrel in the new thread! other way other way...F38024?thread=4326757?thread=&latest=1