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I've worked out why some Eucalyptus gets a bad rep

Started by Ianab, August 14, 2006, 12:41:20 AM

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Ianab

Working down the wood stash and got to a whack of bluegum eucalyptus we sawed up a while ago.
Now although it's usually a huge and straight trunked tree it has a reputation of being pretty much useless as timber. Of course I dont that that stop me sawing some  ::)

Well.... I've never seen anything move and check like this stuff  :o
Now I'm sure this board was a nice straight 4x1 when I sawed it. And then there where the pockets of pitch embedded in the wood at random etc.


Of course I'm too stubborn to let a little thing like that stop me ....
Had to to a bit of sorting / trimming / ripping and the neighbour got a good sackfull of firewood offcuts, but end result is



The glued up top panel. Talk about unstable, I lent it against the wall after it was glued up, next day it has a 1" bow in it  ::) . No worries, turned it over, came back next day it was straight again  ::)



Closeup of the grain on the top.



Anyway the wood is about the density and hardness of oak, so although I had to plane it a little thinner than I would with the cypress, the cabinet is SOLID. Maybe not portable, but I think I've set a new standard for earthquake proof furniture  :D

Cheers

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

VA-Sawyer

Very Pretty, but will it be in one piece next week ?

getoverit

Does it open up your sinuses like the cough drops do?

Beautiful Cabinet Ian!
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

asy

Looks magnificent :D

Are you going to make another one?

asy :D
Never interrupt your opponent while he's making a mistake.
There cannot be a crisis next week. ~My schedule is already full..

Ianab

Here's hoping it will stay together :D
I've used all the tricks I know to account for movement in the wood, the sides are shiplap panels and the top is fixed with sliding tabs etc.

The wood doesn't actually have a eucalyptus smell, the oil is only in the leaves. The wood has a faint odour, especially when you are cutting it, but it's more just a 'woody' smell.

I've started on a baby's cot made of the same stuff. Again it's a challange to work, but it seems to be coming together well enough  :)

Cheers

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

UNCLEBUCK

UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

dundee

Ian, I see ( I think) that the lumber was milled crown cut, there is a company in Christchurch that have just put a vacuum kiln in, they have been drying Euc veneer and I think solid dimensions with this species, they are also doing trials of our Red Beech which, you know, is vitually impossible to KD with conventional kilns. This chamber was built and installed by a FF member

Cheers
Richard

treecyclers

I get a lot of that eucalyptus, and the stuff I have is really red, and often has a bees wings grain pattern in it.
Got about 1500 boardfeet on hand right now, if anyone wants to trade.
Keep in mind that it's really dense wood, very heavy to ship, and loves to dance in the humidity.
Sliding dovetails work really well on it, in my humble experience, when dealing with tops and the like.
SD
I wake up in the morning, and hear the trees calling for me...come make us into lumber!

CHARLIE

Ian, you sure do nice woodworking. I also appreciate that you saw the wood into boards, design your project and then build it. The grain is especially beautiful. I sure hope it stays together. Hopefully the finish will slow down the movement a lot.   
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

Ianab

The eucalyptus group is about 200 different trees, with lots of different timber characteristics. But it's all hard, heavy and strong. From the tree I cut it seems that the quartersawn boards are more stable, but it's still a pain to dry. A vacumn kiln might be the ideal way.

Cheers

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

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