I'm an Yank woodworker who visited Australia last month and saw lots
of great looking wood that I didn't recognize. For example, the
Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay has walls covered with
a tight curly veneer that looks a little like maple but darker and
more tightly curled - a beautiful wood. What is it? I also saw a lot
of a wood that reminded me of Koa from Hawaii but it wasn't Koa - what
wood would that be? Also, a lot of wood floors were made of a same
type of wood which occasionally had a reddish hint to it. What wood is
that? I spent the bulk of my visit in Adelaide and didn't really see
many trees down there that looked like they were hardwood lumber type
trees. And how come all the electrical outlets have tiny little
switches on them?
Thanks,
-Scott
Tyke wrote:
> I have not been to Oz or NZ myself, but if this is the same code as the UK,
> the outlet plate cover has a little finger size rocker switch, typically in
> the upper right, which does disconnect the outlet.
We have both: those with switches
http://www.mkelectric.co.uk/images/products/K2657WHI.JPG and those
without http://www.mkelectric.co.uk/images/products/K780WHI.JPG.
--
Henry Law Manchester, England
> >I'm an Yank woodworker who visited Australia last month and saw lots
> >of great looking wood that I didn't recognize.
>
> I'm in NZ, and don't visit Oz/Sydney very much, but much of the wood
> there is a variety of Ecalyptus. Often it's known under a more "fancy
> name" ie, Tasmanian Oak is the name used for three almost identical
> species of eucalypts. E. delegatensis, E. regnans and E, obliqua
>
> A lot of flooring is Jarrah aka Eucalyptus marginata It's quite
> hard and distinctly reddish.
>
> >And how come all the electrical outlets have tiny little
> >switches on them?
>
> How come all the USA switches go the wrong way? :>)
>
> Barry
Thank you Kiwi - you guys use the same plugs as the Aussies, right? I
did the drive from Auckland to Christchurch a few years ago but don't
remember the plugs. I remember beautiful countryside, sheep, glaciers
and glow-worms. And thinking that this would be a great place to
retire to...
And yes I did notice that those little switches were opposite - up is
off, down is on. After getting used to those delicate little switches,
the ones in the States seamed big and clunky when I got home.
I found a website with photos of native Australian wood and think that
maybe the wood in the hotel is Golden Satinwood
http://ajh-knives.com/xylo-australis.html
I think the wood that looked like Koa to me may also have been Jarrah
that was brown instead of red.
I went into several bookstores looking for an Australian woodworking
magazine but none of them had one. They had lots of classic car
magazines like "Classic Holden".
I'm going back to Australia in November - this time Perth - where do
you buy your woodworking magazines if not in bookstores?
Thanks,
-Scott
On Jun 2, 11:28 pm, John B <[email protected]> wrote:
> onoahimahi wrote:
> >>>I'm an Yank woodworker who visitedAustralialast month and saw lots
> >>>of great looking wood that I didn't recognize.
>
> >>I'm in NZ, and don't visit Oz/Sydney very much, but much of the wood
> >>there is a variety of Ecalyptus. Often it's known under a more "fancy
> >>name" ie, Tasmanian Oak is the name used for three almost identical
> >>species of eucalypts. E. delegatensis, E. regnans and E, obliqua
>
> >>A lot of flooring is Jarrah aka Eucalyptus marginata It's quite
> >>hard and distinctly reddish.
>
> >>>And how come all the electrical outlets have tiny little
> >>>switches on them?
>
> >>How come all the USA switches go the wrong way? :>)
>
> >>Barry
>
> > Thank you Kiwi - you guys use the same plugs as the Aussies, right? I
> > did the drive from Auckland to Christchurch a few years ago but don't
> > remember the plugs. I remember beautiful countryside, sheep, glaciers
> > and glow-worms. And thinking that this would be a great place to
> > retire to...
>
> > And yes I did notice that those little switches were opposite - up is
> > off, down is on. After getting used to those delicate little switches,
> > the ones in the States seamed big and clunky when I got home.
>
> > I found a website with photos of native Australian wood and think that
> > maybe the wood in the hotel is Golden Satinwood
>
> >http://ajh-knives.com/xylo-australis.html
>
> > I think the wood that looked like Koa to me may also have been Jarrah
> > that was brown instead of red.
>
> > I went into several bookstores looking for an Australian woodworking
> > magazine but none of them had one. They had lots of classic car
> > magazines like "Classic Holden".
>
> > I'm going back toAustraliain November - this time Perth - where do
> > you buy your woodworking magazines if not in bookstores?
>
> > Thanks,
> > -Scott
>
> G'day Barry,
> In Oz, Book shops sell very few magazines, as you've found out. A News
> Agency "where you buy News Papers" is the best bet. The bigger ones have
> hundreds of mags.
> I hope you enjoy Perth. I lived there for a number of years, but a team
> of wild horses couldn't drag me back to the big smoke now. :)
>
> If for some reason your heading 600 kms east of Perth let me know and
> I'll show you around.
> regards
> John
G'day John,
Where I am actually going to be working is Laverton which I think is
about 800km NE of Perth. I'm going to be doing some work at JORN. 600
kms east of Perth sounds like Kalgoorlie - if we have time to be
tourists, we may head down there to checkout the huge gold mine...
-Scott
> > G'day John,
> > Where I am actually going to be working is Laverton which I think is
> > about 800km NE of Perth. I'm going to be doing some work at JORN. 600
> > kms east of Perth sounds like Kalgoorlie - if we have time to be
> > tourists, we may head down there to checkout the huge gold mine...
>
> > -Scott
>
> G'day Scott,
> You nailed it :) Have been to Laverton a couple of times.
> Hope you do have some time to have a bit of a wander around.
> It's truly God's country around here.
>
> The offer still stands mate.
> regards
> John
John - thanks for the offer. I'll take you up on it and send you an
email if we can make the trip to Kalgoorlie.
The Australians suggested that the American visitors don't do any
driving on the remote roads around Laverton. They are afraid we won't
be able to handle encounters with those big road trains on the remote
roads with only one paved lane for both directions. They think we
might pull off the road on the wrong side at that same time another
car may be passing the road train.
-Scott
On Jun 2, 10:54 am, "Morris Dovey" <[email protected]> wrote:
> onoahimahi wrote:
>
> | And how come all the electrical outlets
> | have tiny little switches on them?
>
> Eh? I've never visited Australia or New Zealand -
I have. Door knobs are half-way up the door, women glow, men plunder.
Noticed the wee switches...and the great-big honking plugs.
...and...of course, all routers and drills turn the wrong direction.
They also have two flushing buttons on their toilets...one for small
business, one for big business.. they're also off the ground higher
than here in NA.
All the plumbing I saw is all along one outside wall and goes through
the wall and is all connected up outside. Very accessible, but
wouldn't work worth a damn here in Canauckistan.
onoahimahi wrote:
> I'm an Yank woodworker who visited Australia last month and saw lots
> of great looking wood that I didn't recognize. For example, the
> Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay has walls covered with
> a tight curly veneer that looks a little like maple but darker and
> more tightly curled - a beautiful wood. What is it? I also saw a lot
> of a wood that reminded me of Koa from Hawaii but it wasn't Koa - what
> wood would that be?
Could this have been Black Acacia, AKA Australian Blackwood, which is
native to Australia? Very similar to Koa in grain structure and it's
tendency toward spectacular figuring, but lighter in color.
--Steve
Fri, Jun 1, 2007, 8:31pm (EDT-3) [email protected] (onoahimahi)
I'm an Yank woodworker <snip> walls covered with a tight curly veneer
that looks a little like maple but darker <snip>
Now that's funny. I bet most of 'em down there have no idea what
maple looks like. Hey, I'm in North Carolina. We don't have maple here
either. What "does" maple look like? LMAO
JOAT
What is life without challenge and a constant stream of new
humiliations?
- Peter Egan
On Sat, 2 Jun 2007 09:54:10 -0500, "Morris Dovey" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>onoahimahi wrote:
>
>| And how come all the electrical outlets
>| have tiny little switches on them?
>
>Eh? I've never visited Australia or New Zealand - and this is the
>first I've heard of this. Do the switches disable the outlets?
>Can/would someone post a picture?
Done, take a look at
http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm#plugs_i for a
comprehensive guide to the world's power. So much for "standards" !
Scroll down to Type I for Aust/NZ. The outlets come in a number of
styles and switch sizes, and some have no switch.
Barry
onoahimahi wrote:
| And how come all the electrical outlets
| have tiny little switches on them?
Eh? I've never visited Australia or New Zealand - and this is the
first I've heard of this. Do the switches disable the outlets?
Can/would someone post a picture?
Thanks!
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/
Tyke wrote:
| I have not been to Oz or NZ myself, but if this is the same code as
| the UK, the outlet plate cover has a little finger size rocker
| switch, typically in the upper right, which does disconnect the
| outlet.
|
| Drive me crazy when I travel back to the UK. The hotel cleaning
| staff turn each one off every day. So I have to turn on the ones I
| am using every day.
Thanks, Dave - it seemed like a reasonable guess. I'd have liked to
install something like when my kids were "ankle-biter" age.
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/
Henry Law wrote:
| Tyke wrote:
|| I have not been to Oz or NZ myself, but if this is the same code
|| as the UK, the outlet plate cover has a little finger size rocker
|| switch, typically in the upper right, which does disconnect the
|| outlet.
|
| We have both: those with switches
| http://www.mkelectric.co.uk/images/products/K2657WHI.JPG and those
| without http://www.mkelectric.co.uk/images/products/K780WHI.JPG.
Very interesting! I'd never seen one of these before.
Thanks.
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/
"J T" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> Now that's funny. I bet most of 'em down there have no idea what
> maple looks like. Hey, I'm in North Carolina. We don't have maple here
> either. What "does" maple look like? LMAO
>
The syrup comes in different grades from very light to dark. I'd have to
assume the trees come in those shades also.
The switch turns off the power to the outlet. It's a safety thing
as the line voltage there is 240/250V. I've seen the same switched
outlets in Europe.
Art
"onoahimahi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> <snip>
And how come all the electrical outlets have tiny little
> switches on them?
>
> Thanks,
> -Scott
>
"WoodButcher" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> The switch turns off the power to the outlet. It's a safety thing
> as the line voltage there is 240/250V. I've seen the same switched
> outlets in Europe.
> Art
>
> "onoahimahi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> <snip>
> And how come all the electrical outlets have tiny little
>> switches on them?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> -Scott
>>
I have US outlets that are switched.
Took a little googling for "combination switch outlet", but here is 1
answer:
<http://electrical.hardwarestore.com/14-53-switch-recepticle-
combos/combination-switch-and-grounding-outlet-102962.aspx>
One of the uses is to wire a shoplight-type fixture that comes with a plug
so flipping the switch makes the ficture go on or off, rather than having
to plug the light in and unplug it.
--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid
"onoahimahi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I'm an Yank woodworker who visited Australia last month and saw lots
> of great looking wood that I didn't recognize. For example, the
> Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay has walls covered with
> a tight curly veneer that looks a little like maple but darker and
> more tightly curled - a beautiful wood. What is it? I also saw a lot
> of a wood that reminded me of Koa from Hawaii but it wasn't Koa - what
> wood would that be? Also, a lot of wood floors were made of a same
> type of wood which occasionally had a reddish hint to it. What wood is
> that?
Did you also notice the grain swirls in the opposite direction too? That
happens on trees below the equator.
Morris Dovey wrote:
> Tyke wrote:
> | I have not been to Oz or NZ myself, but if this is the same code as
> | the UK, the outlet plate cover has a little finger size rocker
> | switch, typically in the upper right, which does disconnect the
> | outlet.
> |
> | Drive me crazy when I travel back to the UK. The hotel cleaning
> | staff turn each one off every day. So I have to turn on the ones I
> | am using every day.
>
> Thanks, Dave - it seemed like a reasonable guess. I'd have liked to
> install something like when my kids were "ankle-biter" age.
>
> --
> Morris Dovey
> DeSoto Solar
> DeSoto, Iowa USA
> http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/
>
>
G'day Morris,
In Western Aust. all electrical outlets must be switched.
Until a few years ago external and 3 phase outlets where not required to
be switched but under new codes, all must be now.
You can still buy unswitched outlets eg:
http://www.hpm.com.au/products/Images/1900_35W.jpg
but they must be combined with one of these
http://www.hpm.com.au/products/Images/1900B%20Nostalgic%20Switch.jpg
regards
John
onoahimahi wrote:
>>>I'm an Yank woodworker who visited Australia last month and saw lots
>>>of great looking wood that I didn't recognize.
>>
>>I'm in NZ, and don't visit Oz/Sydney very much, but much of the wood
>>there is a variety of Ecalyptus. Often it's known under a more "fancy
>>name" ie, Tasmanian Oak is the name used for three almost identical
>>species of eucalypts. E. delegatensis, E. regnans and E, obliqua
>>
>>A lot of flooring is Jarrah aka Eucalyptus marginata It's quite
>>hard and distinctly reddish.
>>
>>
>>>And how come all the electrical outlets have tiny little
>>>switches on them?
>>
>>How come all the USA switches go the wrong way? :>)
>>
>>Barry
>
>
> Thank you Kiwi - you guys use the same plugs as the Aussies, right? I
> did the drive from Auckland to Christchurch a few years ago but don't
> remember the plugs. I remember beautiful countryside, sheep, glaciers
> and glow-worms. And thinking that this would be a great place to
> retire to...
>
> And yes I did notice that those little switches were opposite - up is
> off, down is on. After getting used to those delicate little switches,
> the ones in the States seamed big and clunky when I got home.
>
> I found a website with photos of native Australian wood and think that
> maybe the wood in the hotel is Golden Satinwood
>
> http://ajh-knives.com/xylo-australis.html
>
> I think the wood that looked like Koa to me may also have been Jarrah
> that was brown instead of red.
>
> I went into several bookstores looking for an Australian woodworking
> magazine but none of them had one. They had lots of classic car
> magazines like "Classic Holden".
>
> I'm going back to Australia in November - this time Perth - where do
> you buy your woodworking magazines if not in bookstores?
>
> Thanks,
> -Scott
>
G'day Barry,
In Oz, Book shops sell very few magazines, as you've found out. A News
Agency "where you buy News Papers" is the best bet. The bigger ones have
hundreds of mags.
I hope you enjoy Perth. I lived there for a number of years, but a team
of wild horses couldn't drag me back to the big smoke now. :)
If for some reason your heading 600 kms east of Perth let me know and
I'll show you around.
regards
John
onoahimahi wrote:
> On Jun 2, 11:28 pm, John B <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>onoahimahi wrote:
>>
>>>>>I'm an Yank woodworker who visitedAustralialast month and saw lots
>>>>>of great looking wood that I didn't recognize.
>>
>>>>I'm in NZ, and don't visit Oz/Sydney very much, but much of the wood
>>>>there is a variety of Ecalyptus. Often it's known under a more "fancy
>>>>name" ie, Tasmanian Oak is the name used for three almost identical
>>>>species of eucalypts. E. delegatensis, E. regnans and E, obliqua
>>
>>>>A lot of flooring is Jarrah aka Eucalyptus marginata It's quite
>>>>hard and distinctly reddish.
>>
>>>>>And how come all the electrical outlets have tiny little
>>>>>switches on them?
>>
>>>>How come all the USA switches go the wrong way? :>)
>>
>>>>Barry
>>
>>>Thank you Kiwi - you guys use the same plugs as the Aussies, right? I
>>>did the drive from Auckland to Christchurch a few years ago but don't
>>>remember the plugs. I remember beautiful countryside, sheep, glaciers
>>>and glow-worms. And thinking that this would be a great place to
>>>retire to...
>>
>>>And yes I did notice that those little switches were opposite - up is
>>>off, down is on. After getting used to those delicate little switches,
>>>the ones in the States seamed big and clunky when I got home.
>>
>>>I found a website with photos of native Australian wood and think that
>>>maybe the wood in the hotel is Golden Satinwood
>>
>>>http://ajh-knives.com/xylo-australis.html
>>
>>>I think the wood that looked like Koa to me may also have been Jarrah
>>>that was brown instead of red.
>>
>>>I went into several bookstores looking for an Australian woodworking
>>>magazine but none of them had one. They had lots of classic car
>>>magazines like "Classic Holden".
>>
>>>I'm going back toAustraliain November - this time Perth - where do
>>>you buy your woodworking magazines if not in bookstores?
>>
>>>Thanks,
>>>-Scott
>>
>>G'day Barry,
>>In Oz, Book shops sell very few magazines, as you've found out. A News
>>Agency "where you buy News Papers" is the best bet. The bigger ones have
>>hundreds of mags.
>>I hope you enjoy Perth. I lived there for a number of years, but a team
>>of wild horses couldn't drag me back to the big smoke now. :)
>>
>>If for some reason your heading 600 kms east of Perth let me know and
>>I'll show you around.
>>regards
>>John
>
>
>
> G'day John,
> Where I am actually going to be working is Laverton which I think is
> about 800km NE of Perth. I'm going to be doing some work at JORN. 600
> kms east of Perth sounds like Kalgoorlie - if we have time to be
> tourists, we may head down there to checkout the huge gold mine...
>
> -Scott
>
G'day Scott,
You nailed it :) Have been to Laverton a couple of times.
Hope you do have some time to have a bit of a wander around.
It's truly God's country around here.
The offer still stands mate.
regards
John
On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:31:26 -0700, onoahimahi <[email protected]>
wrote:
>
>I'm an Yank woodworker who visited Australia last month and saw lots
>of great looking wood that I didn't recognize. For example, the
>Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay has walls covered with
>a tight curly veneer that looks a little like maple but darker and
>more tightly curled - a beautiful wood. What is it? I also saw a lot
>of a wood that reminded me of Koa from Hawaii but it wasn't Koa - what
>wood would that be? Also, a lot of wood floors were made of a same
>type of wood which occasionally had a reddish hint to it. What wood is
>that? I spent the bulk of my visit in Adelaide and didn't really see
>many trees down there that looked like they were hardwood lumber type
>trees.
I'm in NZ, and don't visit Oz/Sydney very much, but much of the wood
there is a variety of Ecalyptus. Often it's known under a more "fancy
name" ie, Tasmanian Oak is the name used for three almost identical
species of eucalypts. E. delegatensis, E. regnans and E, obliqua
A lot of flooring is Jarrah aka Eucalyptus marginata It's quite
hard and distinctly reddish.
>And how come all the electrical outlets have tiny little
>switches on them?
How come all the USA switches go the wrong way? :>)
Barry
I have not been to Oz or NZ myself, but if this is the same code as the UK,
the outlet plate cover has a little finger size rocker switch, typically in
the upper right, which does disconnect the outlet.
Drive me crazy when I travel back to the UK. The hotel cleaning staff turn
each one off every day. So I have to turn on the ones I am using every day.
Dave Paine.
"Morris Dovey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> onoahimahi wrote:
>
> | And how come all the electrical outlets
> | have tiny little switches on them?
>
> Eh? I've never visited Australia or New Zealand - and this is the
> first I've heard of this. Do the switches disable the outlets?
> Can/would someone post a picture?
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> Morris Dovey
> DeSoto Solar
> DeSoto, Iowa USA
> http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/
>
>