faFFing around - The Tour de SEQ - photo & fun heavy

[NCArcher]

AND fletty’s contenders...

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Fletty, why did you take a photo of a weird old homeless guy? Are you making a statement on social issues in SEQ?

[NCArcher]

Thought you might like to know Brett, we had snow here on Friday. Not much but Lady and Mini NCA were excited.
I'm so jealous of you two. Looks like a great trip.

[fletty]

Friday we drove from Coffs to Casino, which was really pleasant (Grafton-Casino road). From there we headed NW to Kyogle and then across the Mt Lindesay Hwy to Warwick and then Millmerran, where we are currently being superbly looked after Bushmill and Leanne.

TOD was nominated as 13:17 which found us on the Mt L hwy.

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AND, fletty’s contenders...

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[FenceFurniture]

The Risk. Curious name for a township, and we may re-visit in the morning to closely check out a building that has pressed metal walls (!).

On the way down to The Risk from the Qld border we could see that we were going to get some pretty great light. (those landscape clouds often deliver the goods at the very end of the day).

This was a little hard to resist. However when f set foot in the paddock to shoot the not-so-squashed building with the rainbow behind it (as I was also going to do) a broadly accented, self important voice from across the road came to me:
"Yez can't go in there"
"What's that?"
"Yez can't go in there"
"Well would you minf if we did?"
"Nah, Yez can't go in there"

I suspect that the reason was "because I'm enjoying my little power trip just north of Kyogle where power trips a very few and far between".

Apparently my "conversation" with still Unseen Voice was long enough for f to complete his shot
I satisfied myself with shots from the road.

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Tempting though it was, I resisted the very strong urge to "present" (in the strictest baboon sense) to Unseen Voice before I got back in the Disco.



We drove on, knowing this beautiful light was coming to an end, and we wanted to get to The Risk City Centre to use the very last of it.

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[fletty]

Fletty, why did you take a photo of a weird old homeless guy? Are you making a statement on social issues in SEQ?

He’s not homeless .....

[FenceFurniture]

Thought you might like to know Brett, we had snow here on Friday. Not much but Lady and Mini NCA were excited.
I'm so jealous of you two. Looks like a great trip.

Oh! Good thing the cats are black then.

Yes, it is indeed a very excellent trip, but drawing to a close. Mind you, it may finish with a bang....that trailer is still pretty empty.....

Fletty, why did you take a photo of a weird old homeless guy? Are you making a statement on social issues in SEQ?

Not so much of the old thank you.

[IanW]

The tree to the left of the shed is one that Xanthorrheas should be able to nail for us, with some more detail. Clearly a Myrtaceae, and I believe a Eucy, it has foot long leaves but skinny little trunks, and big hooter flowers. That's the scientific analysis - David can provide the lay interpretation

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David may correct me, but I'm pretty certain it's E. ficifolia (it's from W.A. & not native to the east). Had one outside my office window back in the day when I worked for da man - a spectacular parrot caffeteria when in flower!

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Yes indeed Ian, I believe that you are correct. You beat me to it. Very spectacular flowers and large leaves. In the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th century the leaves were often pressed and dried for use as a substrate for miniature oil paintings of (usually) Australian scenes.

[Bushmiller]

E.ficifolia, common name Western Australian Flowering Gum, which leaves little to conjecture, I think has the largest flower of all the Eucalypts. A very impressive tree when in flower. I think we have some as street trees in our divided road outside our house here in Millmerran.

Loving the pix. I hope there are still a few more to come.

Regards
Paul

[FenceFurniture]

I had spoken to "Hayden" last week, and he seemed pretty keen to show us some good timber. Red Stringybark and Bloodwood were the ones that caught my eye. They have around 8 species that go through the mill. Very accommodating people, and we spent about an hour or so there. Completely different to our experience of the week before last.

I picked a few Red Stringy boards, and a Bloodwood board. Milled within the last 6 months, so still well green.

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All of those boards were destined to become garden sleepers.....

[FenceFurniture]

Tuesday TOD....11.50 .....I think....

Yes well you know things got a little confused, but what follows is a true story. I would NOT lie about anything concerning wood.

So at 11.50 I was driving and had to look for the first available place to stop. We were on our way to the Slab Factory at Mullinbimby, and were most probably on the outskirts of town. As I was pulling up I said to f "Look at those stacks of something under black plastic. Looks like it might be timber."Meanwhile, the 10 minute TOD window had to be satisfied. A Fig and a Eucy joined at the hip.

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I walked along the road in to the property to ask the owner if he would mind if I took the pics I had already taken. Probably about n 80 metre track/driveway in. As I'm getting closer to him I start seeing things like

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which is starting to look mighty interesting. Reading words on the boards like "Hoop", "Bunya", "Blue Fig", "Quandong", "Silver Ash" et al were somewhat encouraging. (and that btw completes my 3 entries for Tuesday)

Went to have a chat with "the chap" and soon after had to whistle in f, as this was starting to look like we were going to have a Slab Factory Triple Bypass.

Turns out that "Ken" used to work at the SF.

From here f can take over, but I will say that it involves < 6° of separation, and was brought about all because of TOD! As he is currently stretched out in front of the TV back at Boambee (Coffs - Fletty's Girl's house again) after another another crackling good roast dinner, he may be "quite some time".

STOP PRESS: f is now up and about, sitting next to me with iThing at the ready.

[FenceFurniture]

From there we went to see Terry Gordon in Alstonville who gave me a tour of his exceptionally well organised facility. Things stacked in order there, ordered piles of planes parts there, vises all in the same state of assembly in another room. What's not to like eh?

I believe f has some pics of the visit to post. Terry was showing me around the "different" version of his face vise that we had been discussing and planning, which involves a wider face and a heavy hand wheel. It is more or less ready to go, and seems to work as planned which is great.

From there we pushed on to Coffs without much of a pause, and here we are.

Tomorrow we will be breakfasting with 62wollybugger in Macksville, and then pretty much hot-footing it home.

[fletty]

OK, the message stick has been handed to me.
Day 6 of faFF started at Kyogle and we drove towards the mill at Uki cleverly named the Uki Mill. The early morning scenery was spectacular and the views only confirmed that everything in this area is dominated by Mount Warning...

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We we arrived at Uki Mill and met up with ‘The Boss’ and the young man who had already spoken with FF. In spite of this, we were allowed in!

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One of our aims of faFF, was to find relevant timber suppliers who would be of interest to ALL on the forum and Uki Mill certainly fills the bill. FF notes in the post above the timber that we bought, in my case 2 planks of bloodwood, but they also have old slabs of silky oak and camphor laurel which are just quietly drying and waiting for someone to take home and cherish.....

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As for most of our morning however, Mt Warning sat above us..... brooding...

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IT WAS FFs turn to select a time for TOD ...... and that’s where serendipity started. We stopped the car at the announced time and I headed off taking random pictures....

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... however, just above where we had stopped to TOD, there appeared to be stacks of slabbed timber...

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FF got there first by breaking one of the Rules Of TOD (TOD rule number 7 = you must be in sight of the vehicle!) and met the owner of the timber who invited him in......... (he obviously hadn’t spoken to the men of Uki Mill)?
FF called me up by a combination of hand symbols and whistles having obviously mistaken me for a sheep dog, and I too entered the mill. Far from being “dark and satanic”, it was quite simply fantastic! We started talking and I felt immediately that I had met him before (the mill man that is, NOT FF!). I asked his name and we quickly both realised that a mere 16 years before, he had sold the timber to my daughter to make a coffee table train set for her HSC major work...

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While this in itself was not particularly amazing what was amazing is that;

• he rembered her
• he remembered the coffee table
• he remembered that my daughter’s teacher then discouraged her from a career in woodwork AND...
• he had only been talking about her to his wife the week before!

What was amazing to me was that;

• If FF had chosen a minute earlier or later to TOD, we wouldn’t have found the mill
• I rembered him AND...
• I had only shown the picture of the coffee table to others last weekend!

Whilst the new mill has been operating for 2 years to build up stock, it isnt ready yet for general sales, however FF bought a HUGE cypress pine slab while I just wandered around drooling at beautiful timber and veneers being readied for sale. There were piles of hoop pine, cypress pine, Norfolk Island pine, quondong, Blackwood etc....

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AND containers loaded with MUCH more exotic and rare timber!
We’ll keep in touch with him and let everyone know when he is ready for general sales. We have also encouraged him to sell through the forum as well.
Those of us on the East coast will soon be blessed with the current commercial city-based sellers, Boutique Timbers for sawn slabs and this new mill for partially dressed boards and exotics. It was quite a day and my daughter was also thrilled. A great day for a woodworking Dad.

fletty ( aka f and F1)

[Bushmiller]

Oh...It was THAT coffee table. Sounds like the third law of coincidence raring it's head yet again. Amazing!

Regards
Paul

[rwbuild]

I must protest vigorously, you blokes are having way too much of a good time while us poor unfortunates have to be content with your commentary and pictures.
This situation must be addressed at the earliest convenient opportunity and a posse organised to confirm that such entities etc are up to the stated standards that you have described.