Weird transport.

[facthunter]

It became a fissile missile so we split up.   Nev

[old man emu]

Failed its annual MOT inspection due to woodworm infestation.

[willedoo]

8 hours ago, nomadpete said:

Speaking about wood......

How about this wood framed bicycle?

And before the knockers say it isn't practical, it isn't just a show pony, the builder rides it daily.

I wonder what type of wood it is. Spotted Gum would be good for that sort of thing. 

[facthunter]

Yes it's good for mallet Handles. Cranky grained though.  Nev

[old man emu]

Speaking of Australian timbers, did you know that it 1920 an Australian aircraft manufacturer based at Mascot had a contract to build six Avro 504K aircraft for the RAAF, and the material spec'd for the timber frames was Australian?

 

I have seen and entry in Arthur Butler's apprentice notes listing the uses for various types of wood for aircraft manufacture. He was "The Kid" working on those 504s. In the book he wrote about the history of civil aviation in Australia, he mentions the name of the person who did the research into these timbers. I'll have to read the book again to get the bloke's name so I can do a search for his published works. 

 

So much research to do. So many interferences!

 

A minute later ....

Well that was quick. I think I found it: https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/557803. It's at the National Library. Call Number: Npf 629.1342 AUS

[old man emu]

4 hours ago, facthunter said:

Message to facthunter

Go back and read my edited post re aussie timber

[facthunter]

There's no doubt Arthur Butler was a significant person to Aviation in Australia.

 OME I was a woodwork teacher in a past life. Nev

Edited August 23, 2023 by facthunter

[old man emu]

Here's more. A newspaper article from WWII https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17723366

[nomadpete]

4 hours ago, willedoo said:

I wonder what type of wood it is. Spotted Gum would be good for that sort of thing. 

Made by an American.  He used black walnut, laminated, in two halves. Routed out the centre of the tubes, shaped the outside to give the desired wall thickness, then epoxies the two halves together.

For the full story, google epoxyworks. The full story is in the magazine.

[facthunter]

The aircooled Franklin CAR in the late 20's had a Hickory Chassis. Franklin also made aero engines for Helicopters and the Republic SEABEE..  Nev

[Bruce Tuncks]

My great-grandpa was a blacksmith and they made wooden wheels with wooden spokes. I think they heated up the iron tread to get it on, gosh I would like to see that operation.

AND don't forget that the wooden "mosquito" was one of the best aircraft of ww2. It makes you realize the limitations of a dictatorship if you think how the Germans had lots of wood and woodworkers but they didn't try a wooden plane because Hitler had made a remark that the country would no longer make wooden planes. ( I think he said this after seeing a Heinkel which was a bomber and at the time, faster than any interceptor.)

I would like to see some  wooden car plans. Imagine if you could order a new car from the local men's shed.

[Bruce Tuncks]

One of the most tragic stories of WW2 was that of the Australian Mosquitos.

 

[facthunter]

CASA have an Article on  local wood for aircraft construction  dated  Mar  2021. Sitka Spruce is considered the Best and is from the USA..  Nev

[willedoo]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

Sitka Spruce is considered the Best and is from the USA..

It's also used in a lot of musical instruments like guitars, violins and pianos.

[old man emu]

Don't you blokes ever import stuff from the USA? The cost of Sitka Spruce itself is pretty high. A board, 1800 x 150 x 42 costs about $US300. That piece would weigh about 5 kg. Take your own guess at the freight cost.

 

Look what was said by experts, about the Australian timber Bollywood (Litsea spp.). Using it in the construction of a DH Tiger Moth, which was being done in Australia, would only add 20 - 30 lbs (10 - 14 kg) to a completed aircraft.

But, once again there would be an outcry of "Woodsman! Spare that tree!" from certain quarters. https://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/good_wood/oz_avoid.htm

 

[onetrack]

I've seen some of the most unpromising-looking, hardy little local scrubby trees, yield wood that is far tougher and stronger than anything I've seen in the bigger timbers. Wodjil is one of them.

 

However the problem of weight and getting sizeable timber lengths, plagues nearly all Australian timbers, as our "hardwoods" are real hardwoods, unlike American "hardwoods", and our trees often don't develop the height of U.S. trees.

[old man emu]

Australia's problem is that the only idea people have about utilising our native resources is to be extractive. No thought is given to identifying what is useful and then learning how to manage the resource sustainably.

 

If you drive down the Hume Hwy from Sydney, or the Great Western Highway to Bathurst and you will drive through extensive forests of Radiata pine, growing for construction timber. These forests have been planted on land totally cleared of its native vegetation. The pine grows for about 30 years before it is harvested. The soils beneath the forest don't support native vegetation after that because of the resins dropped by the pines. So the harvested areas now cannot be sown with useful native species.

 

Once again we have wasted decades during which we could have 'domesticated' a natural resource and possibly helped preserve it.

[facthunter]

The fuselage of the DH 82A is steel tube. The earlier  Gypsy Moths were all wood with the motor mounted with the heads on top and exposed rocker gear and a long exhaust pipe down one side. I have flown one of these out of Broadmeadow (District Park) aerodrome at Newcastle.  Lot of Info On Wiki. Built in many places and a very popular type of aircraft 1925 on.  Nev

[facthunter]

OME  it's OK to resow Radiata but they have to keep the rabbits etc away with poisons. A lot is done near Bright  in Victoria.  The slope of a lot of it is too steep but is still being done.   Nev

[red750]

Gordon Three Wheeler.

[facthunter]

Dangerous at any speed. Like many of it's ilk.. Nev

[spenaroo]

Wonder why cyclecars aren't making a comeback.
I reckon a little 1 or 2 seater powered by a motorcycle engine would be great as a commuter,
plenty of 600cc-700cc twins that would do the job with great efficiency

 

Something like a Renault Twizzy
especially as you normally only get 1 car park with a 2 bedroom unit/apartment

.

so would make sense when 2 cars are needed

Edited August 24, 2023 by spenaroo

[Old Koreelah]

1 hour ago, old man emu said:

Australia's problem is that the only idea people have about utilising our native resources is to be extractive. No thought is given to identifying what is useful and then learning how to manage the resource sustainably...

 

Once again we have wasted decades during which we could have 'domesticated' a natural resource and possibly helped preserve it.

I protest! My grandad managed State Forests sustainably; they would still be yielding logs and supporting a thriving timber industry if Bob Carr and others had not turned them into National Parks.

[facthunter]

Twizy.  Electric?  Keep you out of the weather.  Bit vulnerable to bumps by BIGGER vehicles. Who is going to give way to you? Nev

[willedoo]

10 minutes ago, Old Koreelah said:

I protest! My grandad managed State Forests sustainably; they would still be yielding logs and supporting a thriving timber industry if Bob Carr and others had not turned them into National Parks.

Thirty years ago we didn't know how good we had it with quality Australian hardwoods readily available. Since that time, the logs on the back of the timber trucks have been shrinking in diameter. At one stage, good lengths were so hard to find that they were milling lengths with a percentage of sapwood on them and pressure treating them.

 

I was just looking at a 7.5 metre 6x2 Ironbark plank that I have left over and thinking that it would be near impossible to buy one that length now. All the framing on my place is recycled Ironbark. The wall frames are all 4x2, roof rafters and verandah joists are 6x2, and the ridge boards are seven metre long 10x2 sections. When I built the place 27 years ago, the Ironbark was already hard and well seasoned as I sourced it from the local RSL demolition when they redeveloped it. You couldn't drive a clout into it. Every nail and clout had to be pre-drilled. When I got the 4x2's, 6x2's and 10x2's, they were all at least 7 metres long from memory and it's a shame to have to cut long lengths like that. The verandah flooring is 5x1 Spotted Gum in single lengths the full length of the verandah, the weatherboards are Gympie Messmate, and the inside floor is mixed species. The floorboards are mainly spotted gum, but there's some Blackbutt and Brushbox amongst it. If my memory serves me well, the bearers are Blackbutt. Blackbutt is good for bearers because it has a very gnarly, interlocked grain which gives it very good load bearing strength. 

 

I miss those days when we had good timber. Most of what I have couldn't be bought these days. Apart from lack of availability of quality new timber, in my area the demolition yards are all disappearing which makes building with recycled materials hard to do.