Koh Tao Diving

"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
news:hOcDb.714158$9l5.369971@pd7tw2no...

> And you said: "I saw one small one"
>
> I know your photog buddy said he saw 15 or so, but you saw one small one
and
> from how far away?

My small one was probably 18 inches around and I was within touching
distance. After all, they don't swim very fast.

"Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> wrote in message
news:3fdd603d$0$75800$6c56adcd@news.qnet.com...
> "chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message
> news:hOcDb.714158$9l5.369971@pd7tw2no...
>
> > And you said: "I saw one small one"
> >
> > I know your photog buddy said he saw 15 or so, but you saw one small one
> and
> > from how far away?
>
> My small one was probably 18 inches around and I was within touching
> distance. After all, they don't swim very fast.

OK, that's cool.

Salty wrote:

>
> I'm told things are generally half-price now as to what they were when
> I was there in 2001. I wish to go back and buy furniture there, then
> have it shipped back via a crate. <g> If only I could.

And then you would join the hundreds of others who buy exquisitely
carved furniture in SE Asia, ship it back to the States and to Europe
and watch it crack in a dozen places because the humidity level is so
different. Most of the furniture sold in SE Asia is made with wood that
isn't properly dried when it's being worked on. We bought a large
(300lbs) carved elephant two years ago, and even keeping it here in it's
original environment, it is beginning to show small cracks in the wood.
Not enough to ruin it's beauty, but if I brought it back to a US house
heated with a wood stove or electric heat, it would be little more than
dozens of pieces of carved kindling now.

> > Actually, it had occurred to me that I might slide up to Tioman for a couple
> > of days and get some diving in there too.

On Tioman, DiveAsia in Kampang Salang, and the Salang Beach Resort...
right next to each other, right on the water, and the owners of the dive
shop, Roger and Dianna Ng, also own the nightclub/bar that out at the
end of the jetty.

Steve Kramer
Chiang Mai, Thailand
http://www.photoenvisions.com

--
"The voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new horizons,
but in seeing with new eyes." - Marcel Proust

"Steve Kramer" <steve@seatraveler.com> wrote in message
news:3FDD7694.61790597@seatraveler.com...
>
>
> On Tioman, DiveAsia in Kampang Salang, and the Salang Beach Resort...
> right next to each other, right on the water, and the owners of the dive
> shop, Roger and Dianna Ng, also own the nightclub/bar that out at the
> end of the jetty.
>

Thank you. I note that you kept all of my criteria in mind. (wg)

Steve Kramer wrote:
>
>
> And then you would join the hundreds of others who buy exquisitely
> carved furniture in SE Asia, ship it back to the States and to Europe
> and watch it crack in a dozen places because the humidity level is so
> different. Most of the furniture sold in SE Asia is made with wood that
> isn't properly dried when it's being worked on. We bought a large
> (300lbs) carved elephant two years ago, and even keeping it here in it's
> original environment, it is beginning to show small cracks in the wood.
> Not enough to ruin it's beauty, but if I brought it back to a US house
> heated with a wood stove or electric heat, it would be little more than
> dozens of pieces of carved kindling now.

what would happen if it were well waxed with a heavy paste wax,
that should form a moisture barrier?

Or keep it near the shower or the indoor pool?

> Steve Kramer
> Chiang Mai, Thailand
> http://www.photoenvisions.com
>
> --
> "The voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new horizons,
> but in seeing with new eyes." - Marcel Proust

Crownfield wrote:
>
> Steve Kramer wrote:
> >
> >
> > And then you would join the hundreds of others who buy exquisitely
> > carved furniture in SE Asia, ship it back to the States and to Europe
> > and watch it crack in a dozen places because the humidity level is so
> > different. Most of the furniture sold in SE Asia is made with wood that
> > isn't properly dried when it's being worked on. We bought a large
> > (300lbs) carved elephant two years ago, and even keeping it here in it's
> > original environment, it is beginning to show small cracks in the wood.
> > Not enough to ruin it's beauty, but if I brought it back to a US house
> > heated with a wood stove or electric heat, it would be little more than
> > dozens of pieces of carved kindling now.


> what would happen if it were well waxed with a heavy paste wax,
> that should form a moisture barrier?
>
> Or keep it near the shower or the indoor pool?

Perhaps if you sealed it in some sort of polyurethane you might have a
chance at keeping it together. But you lose the beautiful finish that
the carving comes with. Most of difficulty comes with the carvings that
are quite large; headboards for beds, dinning room tables, wall murals,
etc., and the shrinkage is huge as the wood dries. The small table top
carvings don't have that same percentage of size change.

As I said, I haven't even taken my elephant out of it's original
environment and it's beginning to crack already. You can't work wet wood
and expect to maintain great finished results when something that size
dries out.
--
"The voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new horizons,
but in seeing with new eyes." - Marcel Proust

"Steve Kramer" <steve@seatraveler.com> wrote in message
news:3FDE4CBC.223694E2@seatraveler.com...

> You can't work wet wood
> and expect to maintain great finished results when something that size
> dries out.

That's the whole point of Viagra, isn't it?

Steve Kramer <steve@seatraveler.com> wrote in message news:<3FDD7694.61790597@seatraveler.com>...

> And then you would join the hundreds of others who buy exquisitely
> carved furniture in SE Asia, ship it back to the States and to Europe
> and watch it crack in a dozen places because the humidity level is so
> different. Most of the furniture sold in SE Asia is made with wood that
> isn't properly dried when it's being worked on. We bought a large
> (300lbs) carved elephant two years ago, and even keeping it here in it's
> original environment, it is beginning to show small cracks in the wood.
> Not enough to ruin it's beauty, but if I brought it back to a US house
> heated with a wood stove or electric heat, it would be little more than
> dozens of pieces of carved kindling now.
<snip>

I see that chilly commented on the wood cracking too. I guess I'll
find out more about it as time goes on since my friends who lived
there had a 14 piece dining room suite shipped in from Sing....table,
chairs, buffet, cabinet and server table. That would truly suck if
they had problems with it.

Regardless, I'd like to mention a few things :

- I brought home 6 pieces from our 2001 trip. Our friends brought home
stuff too. None of it has cracked.
- I have a kitchen set and a TV / stereo table that were custom made
for me...ie I went to the carpenter and said "Make me this" and he
did. Both were made from oak. The kitchen table cracked. I found a
someone to repair it. The TV table is fine even though it takes just
as much abuse since it is close to the fireplace in the winter. The
kitchen table gets abused by the sun.
- My sis in law's kitchen set just cracked too. She had it repaired
without a big deal. The differences were that mine was custom made and
cracked on table surface. Hers was store-bought and cracked on the
leg.
- I think that most ppl fail to realize that wood is fluid. It was cut
from a living thing and therefore, it moves. It expands and contracts
no matter how much drying or prep was done to it. Most ppl don't want
to take the time to oil their wooden pieces. (I sure as hell don't.)
By oil, I mean just that and using a wood oil, not by using a
furniture polish that claims to have oil in it. I oil my kitchen set
maybe once or twice a year. I never oil my TV stereo and the TV is so
heavy that 2 strong ppl need to lift it so that I can dust underneath.
No cracks...yet.
- If you doubt that wood will always expand and contract (and thereby
sometimes crack), then you don't live in my house. I have a house that
changes between seasons. Some of my 6 panel doors will not close
completely depending on the season and the amount of humidity. And if
you live in my climate and someone tells you to buy Anderson Windows,
a very popular brand, tell them they are nuts. Ask them to speak to
the fact that the inside casing is wood and, as such, not efficient
with temperature extremes that we have in PA.
- Many wooden pieces increase in value and become more desirable with
some cracking, just the same as many metal pieces increase in value
with their patene.

So, IMHO, I would opt to purchase the unique piece of furniture from
Asia / Indonesia and hope that it doesn't crack. After all, there are
many antique pieces out from Asia / Indonesia that have withstood the
test of time. If my piece cracked, I'll hire a finish carpenter to
repair it just like I did with my kitchen table surface and my sis in
law did with her table leg. It wasn't expensive, it was fairly quick
and you have the piece back without being able to tell the crack in
most cases.

"Salty" <babette7401@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:e673a058.0312171922.7a00f949@posting.google.c om...
> Steve Kramer <steve@seatraveler.com> wrote in message
news:<3FDD7694.61790597@seatraveler.com>...
>
> > And then you would join the hundreds of others who buy exquisitely
> > carved furniture in SE Asia, ship it back to the States and to Europe
> > and watch it crack in a dozen places because the humidity level is so
> > different. Most of the furniture sold in SE Asia is made with wood that
> > isn't properly dried when it's being worked on. We bought a large
> > (300lbs) carved elephant two years ago, and even keeping it here in it's
> > original environment, it is beginning to show small cracks in the wood.
> > Not enough to ruin it's beauty, but if I brought it back to a US house
> > heated with a wood stove or electric heat, it would be little more than
> > dozens of pieces of carved kindling now.
> <snip>
>
> I see that chilly commented on the wood cracking too.

Did I specifically mention wood cracking? Hmm, well, my cherrywood tea tray
is not cracking, however, the varnish has pulled away from the edges. My
engraved chest, had apparently already been restored and once it started to
dry out over here, all the filling fell out of the worm holes. Oh, yeah,
and the varnish has retracted in some places. Many of my beautiful carvings
just don't have the same finish that they used to have. My cousin's big
elephant cracked, and cracked and cracked despite being kept in the
bathroom. My other cousin's beautiful furniture has for the most part been
magnificently maintained. They have lost a few pieces however. Buyer
beware, that's all we are saying.

(snip)

"chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada> wrote in message news:<vUbEb.740624$pl3.97222@pd7tw3no>...
> "Salty" <babette7401@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:e673a058.0312171922.7a00f949@posting.google.c om...
> > Steve Kramer <steve@seatraveler.com> wrote in message
> news:<3FDD7694.61790597@seatraveler.com>...
> >
> > > And then you would join the hundreds of others who buy exquisitely
> > > carved furniture in SE Asia, ship it back to the States and to Europe
> > > and watch it crack in a dozen places because the humidity level is so
> > > different. Most of the furniture sold in SE Asia is made with wood that
> > > isn't properly dried when it's being worked on. We bought a large
> > > (300lbs) carved elephant two years ago, and even keeping it here in it's
> > > original environment, it is beginning to show small cracks in the wood.
> > > Not enough to ruin it's beauty, but if I brought it back to a US house
> > > heated with a wood stove or electric heat, it would be little more than
> > > dozens of pieces of carved kindling now.
> > <snip>
> >
> > I see that chilly commented on the wood cracking too.

> Did I specifically mention wood cracking? Hmm, well, my cherrywood tea tray
> is not cracking, however, the varnish has pulled away from the edges. My
> engraved chest, had apparently already been restored and once it started to
> dry out over here, all the filling fell out of the worm holes. Oh, yeah,
> and the varnish has retracted in some places. Many of my beautiful carvings
> just don't have the same finish that they used to have. My cousin's big
> elephant cracked, and cracked and cracked despite being kept in the
> bathroom. My other cousin's beautiful furniture has for the most part been
> magnificently maintained. They have lost a few pieces however. Buyer
> beware, that's all we are saying.

Ohhh... correction. I see that you didn't say cracking, just drying.
Do your pieces look bad now ?? I'll bet they don't. I'll bet that
your guests don't even notice the things you've mentioned. You notice
it because you're looking more closely at them to clean them, etc. I
agree, buyer beware.