Full Report - Welcome Mat, Midge's 4000th post, The big day OUT!!

[bitingmidge]

Since this is actually my 4000th post, I thought I wouldn't waste it on anything flippant.

Then I thought: why change now?

Here indeed is the first photo off the press, to mark the opening of a thread which may go on a while, and may well have many more photos before the night is out!

It seems a good time was had by all, except for ONE.

One particular guest arrived looking for none other than Zed himself, when she realised he wasn't coming, sat in a corner and didn't say a word all day, before succumbing to strong liquor before the sun went down.

Some may say that it was the XXXX, and of course I've seen the effect it has on Canadians, so could not disagree.

Stay tuned!!

Cheers,

P

[ozwinner]

Poor Zed missed out big time......


Al

[Grunt]

Ah well Zed, if you still want a bit, you know where to come.

[dan_tom]

Some photos from the day at the home of Biting Midge - many thanks to Peter and Jo for putting on such a generous spread at their gorgeous house. It was great to meet people from the forum that we hadn't seen before and to see some old faces again.

The pics are of the failed attempts to break the joint that Rocker did - even after 4 blokes had stood on the joint and bounced, it still held on! That was pretty amazing. We all had a sit on Rocker's chair too - it was very comfy and looked superb.

The group photo was taken by Mrs Major Panic (Daphne). Now I hope I get the names right... L to R... Matthew A (the Canadian sharpening genius!), Biting Midge (Peter), Teejay (Trevor and son), Wizened of Oz (Brian), Rocker (David - the joint master!), Tom and Dan (Dan_Tom - yes we are two people, not a gay couple!), Major Panic, Ruffly Rustic (Wendy), Caliban (Jim), Soundman (Joe), Krunchy (Ben), Keith53 (Keith) and Bob Wilson.

David L and Barnsey missed out on the photo shoot!

Biting Midge, you have a very clean workspace!

Cheers
Dan and Tom

[bitingmidge]

Did I mention the post above was my 4,000th post??

Maybe I need another hobby... a few of the people who came today are into woodwork, might give that a go!

Oh, Alright then here's a bit of a summary of the day (half of you are probably watching football anyway!)

The day dawned bright and sunny as it usually does at the Home of the Biting Midge, and yours truly had a LOT of cleaning up to do before the mob arrived!

Mrs Midge, being a bit (OK a LOT) more organised had spent yesterday doing what she does very well: catering for a bunch of people.

And what a lovely bunch we had too!! Thanks ever so much, particularly all who travelled so far.

Furthest to travel were the Calibans (Mr & Mrs) from Kempsey, which was not a bad effort!

Next furthest, Ruffly Rustic, a mere 3 hours away, and Barnsey who wasn't much closer.

Then in no particular order the Brissos: dan_tom (Dan &Tom), Krunchy, Soundman, Major & Mrs Panic, Bob & Mrs Willson (remember him?), Teejay and family.

Finally the Sunny Coasters: Rocker, DavidL, PhilMcCrackin, Kieth53 & Mrs53, Wizened of Oz, and of course, MathewA (and MrsA) and the Midges.

First to arrive were dan_tom & Krunchy, who must have been up earlier than yours truly, then Rocker complete with ZChair, jigs and all sorts of other gadgets, after that, well there weren't any minutes kept.

Apart from the usual hanging round, eating, drinking and yakking, we had sharpening demos (thanks Mat), Rocker's jig demo, Teejays fabulous "test-Rocker's-joint-to-destruction-Jig" demo, Ruffly's newest photo albums, Teejay's incredible redgum burl give-away, and of course the door prizes:

The wonderful Major Panic marker gauge was won by none other than Major Panic, who immediately donated it back for another draw, which was won by a delighted Bob Willson!

The Rocker Mortice jig (and everyone needs one of these!) was won by Krunchy, who was equally delighted.

Of course in the background, I saw a few Rocker CD's going to new homes, and a rubber mat and Soundman bits changing hands.

It is safe to say that if we were a different sort of person, copies of well known BandSaw and other DVD's would have been reproduced, right there and then. Maybe if we were the sort of people we are, and had some blank DVD's that might have happened too, but we didn't, so we'll never know!

Suffice to say, we are now home, tired but happy! I know that there are a few others with photos to share, so hopefully this thread will grow a bit overnight or later in the week!

I'll get to them shortly!

Cheers,

P

[bitingmidge]

Did I forget to mention....yes!!

I also gave a short speech, well actually I formally presented Mat with his Muji courtesy of CraigB, and read a message which I was asked to pass on. I'm sure the author wouldn't mind making it public now!

So here it is in the public interest!!

“Dear Matthew,

First of all welcome to Australia – the most beautiful country on earth. You are now eligible for unemployment benefit and disability pension. So drink plenty and take your time to find a job that really suits you.

Becoming a new Australian can be an interesting experience. However, if by any chance, they tell you that it is a tradition to run around naked and shout ‘You bloody beauty’ then don’t do it. It will make you look like a complete idiot. I don’t want you to make the same mistake like I did.

I am sorry I cannot be there to greet you in person. Have a great party and enjoy the friendship there.

Cheers

Wongo”

It must be great coming to a new country and knowing who your mates are!

Cheers,

P

[Rocker]

Midge,

I have a dreadful confession to make; I am afraid I am the Sunshine Coast's Uri Geller; it suddenly struck me on the way home that my joint test was rigged; the screws holding the joint to its test rig would have helped support the joint, so the joint might after all have failed when four people climbed onto that plank. My only excuse is that I wasn't watching that Teejay closely enough. You can't trust these structural engineers

Rocker

[bitingmidge]

Rocker,
I think you are wrong! I've got the photos, and I'll post them in a while (I have to go and find Mrs Midge!)

In the meantime an assortment from today:

1) Did I tell you the above was my 4,000th post?
2)

Biting Midge, you have a very clean workspace!

Well you weren't here yesterday!
3) Some of the Aftermath!!
4) Rocker's Jig Demo (Clockwise!): Rocker, Soundman, Krunchy, MathewA, Major Panic, Keith53, dan_tom, Caliban, dan_tom, and DavidL's head!
5) Rocker's Jig Demo (Clockwise!):Major Panic's head, Kieth53's back,dan_tom, Caliban, dan_tom, DavidL, RufflyRustic and Rocker!

Cheers,

P

[MathewA]

Thankyou very much craigb for the muji. Haven't had much chance to use it yet but my tools should be arriving late this month. Wongo what can I say... You didn't fall for the drop bears also did ya?!?!

[Caliban]

Rubbish
The jig was screwed below the joint. All that strength was real, I've got several photos to prove it, I hope,see when they're developed and I learn how to post them.
Thanks to P. and Mrs Midge for a great day, even if Zed was missing.

[bitingmidge]

Oh Keith, I counted them before I put them on the table!



P

[bitingmidge]

TeeJay's test rig.

I'll post these on the joint thread when I find it!

Note the screw Rocker was concerned about! Nope, if anything they take the deflection out of the "verticle" member, putting even greater stress on the joint.

In the next post, I'll show the loading procedure!

cheers,

P

[bitingmidge]

Rocker's Joint/TeeJay's test underway!

(Note to Southern readers: The blue stuff in the background is sky.)

Photos here are as follows

1) Rig with no load. Understandably, there is no deflection.

2) Now with two headless persons on board. (I suspect that they left their heads somewhere safe, due to an absence of appropriate headwear at the Home of the Biting Midge).

3) Deflection clearly visible with two headless persons on board, but no sign of any movement in the joint.

4) Four headless persons on board. Ruffly Rustic becomes concerned about what they may be thinking. Bitingmidge has seen a similar trick recently in China involving thirteen girls and a bicycle.

5) Failure!!! Well actually not quite, but we did hear a cracking sound and damaged the joint.

With four people (grown men) suspended on the joint, the plank was quite unstable, and considerable racking was induced. Note the outer parts of the joints only have cracked, and in my view a different glue would/should have survived longer than the timber. This is speculation, as the end grain joint is difficult to glue, and it may be on separating them that the timber did fail, but it looks suspiciously as though the glue failed.

Conclusion:

a) Balancing on a plank can be fun!

b) The Z chair joints each carry at best half the load each, so it would take eight headless people rocking sideways in unison to induce sufficient load to even cause damage to the joint.

c) Rocker is a nasty fellow because he didn't leave the chair behind, and it's a BEAUTY!! Much nicer in the flesh, and very comfortable. The Z configuration gives a nice amount of spring: very cool!

Cheers,

P

[Rocker]

Midge,

What a relief! I thought I was a fraud. Now I can sleep easy tomight

Rocker

[ozwinner]

Umm.

Midge, I think you forgot something?
Al :confused: