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Australia's Turpentine Tree (Syncarpie glomlifera)

Started by CHARLIE, July 03, 2003, 08:36:41 AM

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CHARLIE

This article was in Wood Magazine's, Wood Online News. It allowed members to e-mail it to friends, so I thought y'all might enjoy reading about Australia's Turpentine Tree.  Sounds like a difficult tree to work with.
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Although durable, turpentine's wood proves nearly impossible to work.
 
In Australia's Blue Mountains and the coastal districts of New South Wales, there grows a tree so difficult to cut that lumbermen practically limit its processing to sawing it down (and that takes considerable effort). With a hardness said to be 100 times greater than red oak, the tree's wood unmercifully dulls saw blades and other cutting edges that encounter it.
 
Luckily for those with the job of sawing this timber, the wood of turpentine (Syncarpia glomlifera) lasts nearly indefinitely. It defies attack by beetles, termites, and the fungi that causes decay. Under water, turpentine fights off marine borers, too. In fact, if the timbers are used with the bark left on; as in dock pilings, for example; the wood enjoys an even longer life.
 
Oddly enough, only a drying kiln can extract a toll from turpentine wood. For some strange reason, turpentine's cellular structure reacts horribly to kiln heat. Without a prolonged session of air-drying, turpentine wood actually
collapses in the kiln. And even air-drying it doesn't guarantee success because flat-sawn turpentine wood badly checks during the process.
 
It's no wonder then that Australian wood processers throw up their hands in disgust when it comes to the turpentine tree. They declare, "Less is better," and leave the recalcitrant wood alone for use in heavy construction.
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

malhyp

Very good article.

Just to think that in some areas of NSW and QLD we use turpentine for posts and rails in the fencing industry.

Cheers
Malcolm
Cheers
Malcolm
www.timberseek.com.au

Tom

Why in the world do they call it a turpentine tree if turpentine isnt't being extracted?

mdvaden

Quote from: Tom on January 17, 2007, 07:30:12 PM
Why in the world do they call it a turpentine tree if turpentine isnt't being extracted?

If I was a botanist who had the priviledge to name it, I'd have give a genus or species name...

Achillesana

Achilles + ana

Almost mythical strength with a small weakness.

SwampDonkey

Yellow cypress (Alaskan cedar) is very resilient also. Grows very slow up in the mountains. The wood is yellow and I think most of the market is in Asia. I seem to recall it's desired for some of the old designed temples and palaces traditionally made from wood. Hinoki is a Japanese tree used in Asian temple construction with similar wood properties.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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