Thread: Help Wanted - New Online Aussie Woods Database

Darryl, wow, this is interesting. Follows on a bit form apost we had a while back.

I can help you in some way as i have been having similar ideas. I have alos collected some data and pictures of avrying kinds ?

what kind of DB setup are u thinking of using, as in PHP/mrsql, ASP/>Net, JDBC or nwhatever. ?

Will you have an input/admin screen for updates ?

what kind of media addition and loyout are u thinking of....?

etc etc...


cheers
john

I'm building it in ASP, currently with an Access back end database, but I'll upsize it to SQL I think.

I've got the basics working - search and display. Working on the admin forms at the moment.

So far it has image attachment working - allows an unlimited number of images per wood type, with descriptions. Going to extend that a little to provide galleries of finished articles, cross linked back to the woods used in their construction.

By the time it goes live I want to have open public submission working - so anyone can contribute, with a back end review process before it goes on the live site.

It's not quite ready for a public viewing yet, but it should be in a reasonable state for a sneek peek this weekend - I'll PM you then with the address.

Originally Posted by DarrylF

I'm building it in ASP, currently with an Access back end database, but I'll upsize it to SQL I think.

thats good, access is good for colecting data baut crap for delivering it..as u probably already know

I've got the basics working - search and display. Working on the admin forms at the moment.

cool

So far it has image attachment working - allows an unlimited number of images per wood type, with descriptions. Going to extend that a little to provide galleries of finished articles, cross linked back to the woods used in their construction.

ok

By the time it goes live I want to have open public submission working - so anyone can contribute, with a back end review process before it goes on the live site.

ok, we have built a few like that at workk, no worries

It's not quite ready for a public viewing yet, but it should be in a reasonable state for a sneek peek this weekend - I'll PM you then with the address.

ok thanks Darryl..

heres a link with some info and picks they may beusefl.

http://www.brisrain.webcentral.com.a...abaseindex.htm

check out this data from Noyces guitar site

http://www.noyceguitars.com/Technotes/Articles/T2.html

thats the kind of thing lutheirs wnat to know,mmpore techo stuff about properties and tensile behavour of the wood..

my thoughts on a DB have been more long the lines of usability and to how people would use the reseource. IE the needs of a begginner to a pro are differnet as are the info needs of a luthier or kitchen maker...

data based details of usage issues and workability would be useful connected to the basic details of the name, type, family, enviroment and pics etc.

Alos categorisations based on usage, wppd work, craft, turning, furniture , boat building, poo cue, kitchens etc etc...along side info on whaere these timbers originated or now grow, arid desert timbers, rainforest timebers..

trees that are not commonly used for woodwork and a focus on ones that are.
A history of timber usage in australia, ( remember botany bay wood?) plus some professionsal views on irritant value, working problems, warnigs, allergies etc etc etc

just afew thoughts..

i think ist a very worthwhile project mate, looking forward to seeing how it evolves

cheers

DarrylF,

As one with a systems bent especially on data integrity and an interested lover of timber I'll offer whatever help I can.

As an input I remember the AWW producing articles on a number of species over many months and that might be a good source. If you want me to search through all the back issues it might cost a slab or two though

In any event I think it's a great idea and believe there may be some around here who might even be potential sponsers :eek:

Let me know where to go - every one else does

Jamie

Hi
I assume you have seen http://www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/ and all the info in there.

Dave..

I've found a bunch of sites that approach the subject either from a botanical viewpoint or from a forestry/logging point of view - not much focused on the sorts of things we need to know as woodworkers. But I guess as the guitar site shows that might just be different according to what you're planning to make.

My basic starting point was the desire to know what a particular type of timber looks like finished before I go buy it, or identify a piece I already have. Seems I'm always trying to achieve one or the other

Plan is to try to make it as flexible as possible and plain language wherever possible. I'm going to add a bunch more fields to the database to handle the suggestions (health warnings etc).

Basically just point me to any sort of useful non-copyright info and I'll drop it in. I'll have an admin interface working shortly for anyone who wants to get more involed.

Sounds very interesting, good luck with it all.


Al

tree identifcation would be a handy tool to have ie: picture of tree, leaf and bark and milled . i just spent last week end on a river down the rugged west coast of tassie, trout fishing. i was told the tree's down there are sassafrass, celery top pine, myrtles ,huon ect.but i didn't know which was which unless i cut the tree down and looked . also would you believe i was collecting this timber off the beach to use as fire wood :eek: btw got some nice trout

Following from Goat's post above, there was a book produced on US timbers that showed photomicrographs of end grain, cross grai and side grain, plus the views Goat mentioned. Often these are the only way to definitively identify a timber. Remember thinking at the time how nice it would be to have something like that for Australian timbers. Would be great if people with the expertise could contribute.
Afraid I don't have those skills, but if I can help with data entry etc i'd be happy to.
Congratulations & thanks for coming up with this idea & puting it into practice.

Definitely intend to have as large a range of images as we can put together - plain & figured, burls, finsihed & unfinished, tree, bark, leaves etc. Plus definitely finished articles.

I'm not sure we're going to find too many experts - but mostly we don't need it I don't think. The hard bit is going to be collecting the basic information on enough timbers, and of course collecting the photos.

So if you have a tree in your back yard, and you know what it is - take some photos and send them in. Even if you don't know what it is. Maybe have a 'name this tree' section on the site? Photos of logs, boards, veneers, finished articles - all will help.

Goat - congrats on the trout - lucky bugger

Big job but good luck with it.

Id'ing eucalyptus, angophora, corymbia etc - all 'gum' genuses - is a job for experts though. You need samples of leaf, flower, nut, and descriptions of the tree size, shape and bark. Then of course they hybridise like, well, rabbits. So knowing for sure what a piece of milled timber came from is a big ask.

There are some other web resources out there that I've bookmarked and posted somewhere on one of these forums. Will track it down when I've got a bit more time.

If your intending to serve the information across the net, then I would suggest that Access may not be the best option as a database. I use mysql/php combination (the same as this bulletin board), and would be happy to help in that case.

Sounds impressive though - best of luck.

yes i second that, PHP/mysql on UNIx will be much better and flexible.

I cna help with colation of data, image processing userbility issues, relational formatting, testing and getting a plan happening for specific usage viewpoints..

keep it rolling..

BTW goat, the trout sounds great, whereabouts wer u ?

did u really use Huon pine for firwood ?

DarrylF I think you might be taking a bit much on. There is a disk set available “Eucalypts of Southern Australia” or “Euclid” it’s in its second edition done by the University of Queensland. They have not covered all Australia yet and it has been a mountain of work and they have only covered Eucalypts, including Corymbia, Angophora Etc. This is a very good program for people with very limited botanical knowledge to identify trees. To key out trees from books you need to know a point to move on, with computers you can skip what you do not understand and go on to what ever you do understand.
Well what I am saying is IDing trees is a massive job especially Eucalypts as they do not have distinct species things found in-between are called hybrids usually this is crap. Eucalyptus botryoides (Southern Mahogany) grows in Eastern Victoria this species gradually changes to Eucalyptus saligna (Sydney Blue Gum) as you move north there are trees in-between that can not be identified. Eucalyptus botryoides has rough bark almost to the leaves at times and Eucalyptus saligna is often smooth bark to the ground but the leaves, nuts, buds, and wood are very similar. There are other variations of these species that have different names. The true species exists only where the botanist first named the tree. Part of my job is writing tree reports and naming trees and it can be a prick of a job and often I am doing it for people who call it a ghost gum because it has a white trunk.

Well good luck a tree picture sounds like a good idea and maybe nuts buds and fruit but don’t get bogged down in ID. The wood collectors association may be a good place to go for wood pics. If you need help with something specific feel free to contact me.

Glenn