# Aussie timbers



## BobL (Jun 15, 2010)

I've been meaning to do this for a while but only recently got around to doing it.


All of these timbers (except one) are native aussie timbers milled by yours truly. Can you guess which one is not. I have already posted most of these pics before so if you have nothing better to do, you can trawl pack through my 4000+ posts and work it out this way - or you can guess.


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## tomtrees58 (Jun 15, 2010)

nice bob


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## BobL (Jun 15, 2010)

tomtrees58 said:


> nice bob



Though you'd like like it.

There are thought to be around 700 Eucalyptus, 200 Bloodwoods, 960 acacias and 17 casuarina species in Australia, so only 1843 more species to try out!

EDIT: Whoops - forgot the Allocasuarinsas - 60 species, and the Mellalucas - 200+ species, I'm sure there are more that others will mention. 

Of the 34 timbers on that diagram there are Eucalyptus. Bloodwoods, a Mellaluca, an Acacia and some Allocasuarinsas.
I might add the names of the species and genus later if I get around to it.


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## mikeb1079 (Jun 15, 2010)

some of the most beautiful wood i've ever seen. worth all the hard work no doubt.
cheers bob.

btw, the socceroos looked awful on sun. and i was rooting for em.


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## mtngun (Jun 15, 2010)

You make my milling activities seem pretty boring by comparison, Bob. 

I can only mill two species. 

Maybe someday I'll get lucky and find a tamarack that I can legally harvest, then I'll have three species under my belt. Tamarack is supposed to make good flooring, and I need a floor for my living area.


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## jimdad07 (Jun 15, 2010)

Beautiful pictures Bob, I am going to guess that #18 is not native. You could make a great contest with the guessing game I never tire of seeing the pics you post, keep up the good work.


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## BobL (Jun 15, 2010)

mtngun said:


> You make my milling activities seem pretty boring by comparison, Bob.
> 
> I can only mill two species.
> 
> Maybe someday I'll get lucky and find a tamarack that I can legally harvest, then I'll have three species under my belt. Tamarack is supposed to make good flooring, and I need a floor for my living area.



Yeah it is hard work and the milling is slow, but I can't believe how lucky we are in terms of variety. Even the variety between logs of the same species is very high. Queensland also has the tropical woods but the West coast where I am is extra special - we are one of the 25 world biodiversity hotspots. 



mikeb1079;2284751
btw said:


> The socceroos are rubbish - I'm not a fan of the round ball game - well not until they start winning anyway
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## HUCKLEBERRY (Jun 15, 2010)

mtngun said:


> You make my milling activities seem pretty boring by comparison, Bob.
> 
> I can only mill two species.
> 
> .



I'm right there with you. I grew up in S.C. and the forests there were pretty diverse. Nothing like Bob's area, but alot more species than Co.

Beautiful pics. Bob.


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## 7oaks (Jun 16, 2010)

Pretty Cool Bob...Pretty Cool!


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## Daninvan (Jun 16, 2010)

Hey Bob this is tough one for us. You'd probably get better answers if you posted this on the Aussie forum! (Just checked, it's not posted there - darn!)

21 looks very spalted quilted maple-y to me, but I know you don't have any maple in your neck of the woods. So I will guess 17. Macrocarpa? Even though the bark looks too thin for macrocarpa. It's about the least exciting one in your photo. If that's wrong how about a hint?

So you have milled 33 different native Aussie woods - that's pretty good. I did a quick count I think I am at 25 indigenous Canadian woods. Plus a bunch of non native woods from the US, Europe, etc. 

Did you remember macadamia in your list of species? I don't mean to brag (any more), but I do have a small piece of macadamia kicking around somewhere. 

Dan, hoping that there are 8 more native Canadian woods growing here that I can mill so I can catch up with Bob!


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## derwoodii (Jun 16, 2010)

Ok I throw the racket at one. Hmm 3 draws my eye, more open n large growth rings and a color I not seen. BobL this is hard and a great game I hope you will let us know in good time.
Bob I am not a wood miller nor a carver but I came across a local chap who is and was amazed at his skills, here's a few pic to show. I now very much appreciate your craft.
Wood chains from single logs no links. A snow shovel one piece n that's a bit of Lignum Vitare Guaiacum officinale told is the hardest wood in the world.


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## BobL (Jun 16, 2010)

Daninvan said:


> Hey Bob this is tough one for us. You'd probably get better answers if you posted this on the Aussie forum! (Just checked, it's not posted there - darn!)
> 
> 21 looks very spalted quilted maple-y to me, but I know you don't have any maple in your neck of the woods. So I will guess 17. Macrocarpa? Even though the bark looks too thin for macrocarpa. It's about the least exciting one in your photo. If that's wrong how about a hint?


17 is Swamp Sheoak - only one pic of that in the composite.
21 is Western Australian Marri, as are 4 and 20.
The amount of kino present in Marri depends on the long term stress the tree is under. #4 was an old park tree which probably received very little water in summer. The other 2 were from trees in domestic gardens that received a lot of water so they produced very little kino although I did find a big fat pocket of it in one that I could fit my hand into.

The fiddle on that tree is kinda special. There is a new church in the Perth Suburb of Applecross where all the church pews are made from this stuff - it looks so good. Marri used to be considered just a junk tree and millers used to leave them standing. More recently, as it still readliy available it has been flogged off to the Japanese for would you believe wood chips for making cardboard. Meanwhile boutique furniture makers cannot get enough of it.



> So you have milled 33 different native Aussie woods - that's pretty good.


Sorry - from my response above you have probably worked out that the pictures in the composites are not all different species (there are only 17 species represented). The pictures are taken mostly from different logs. I'd guess I have milled about a similar number of native species as you have but I only started taken an interest in knowing what the species were more recently and because I did not take photos of all of them I have no idea exactly how many I have milled. 



> Did you remember macadamia in your list of species? I don't mean to brag (any more), but I do have a small piece of macadamia kicking around somewhere.


According to Wikipedia Macadamia has 7 species, unfortunately none near my place.


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## BobL (Jun 16, 2010)

Thanks for posting the pics - the chains do look pretty amazing.



derwoodii said:


> Ok I throw the racket at one. Hmm 3 draws my eye, more open n large growth rings and a color I not seen. BobL this is hard and a great game I hope you will let us know in good time.
> Bob I am not a wood miller nor a carver but I came across a local chap who is and was amazed at his skills, here's a few pic to show. I now very much appreciate your craft.
> Wood chains from single logs no links. A snow shovel one piece n that's a bit of Lignum Vitare Guaiacum officinale told is the hardest wood in the world.


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## Ted J (Jun 16, 2010)

I say it's number 28.

Ted


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## hazard (Jun 16, 2010)

30 looks like a type of oak. Probably sheoak.

34 looks like cherry crotch wood. Also there looks to be circlular saw rings on the board.

Chris


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## BobL (Jun 16, 2010)

Ted J said:


> I say it's number 28.
> Ted


28 is Acacia Acuminata, Amazing wood - smells like raspberry jam when cut and hard as hard as hard. 



hazard said:


> 30 looks like a type of oak. Probably sheoak.


Correct - Western Australian Allocasuarina Fraseriana.



> 34 looks like cherry crotch wood. Also there looks to be circlular saw rings on the board.


34 is Western Australian Red Gum (tree planted by me 34 years ago in our back garden) and taken down a few years ago. I milled some of it up and then let it dry out and had some pieces resurface using a Lucas mill - hence the circular saw marks


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## smithie55 (Jun 17, 2010)

Hey Bob,
31 looks like western juniper?


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## BobL (Jun 17, 2010)

smithie55 said:


> Hey Bob,
> 31 looks like western juniper?



Cheers smithie
#31 is Western Australian Red Gum. Not because the wood is red but because of the pockets of blood red resin sprinkled throughout the wood. Those dark patches are all resin.


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## betterbuilt (Jun 21, 2010)

I'm gonna guess its 3 or 10. They look similar to this elm I milled a few years back.


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## BobL (Jun 21, 2010)

betterbuilt said:


> I'm gonna guess its 3 or 10. They look similar to this elm I milled a few years back.



3 is sugar gum, a hard eucalypt with variable color.
Here is a link to where I milled one.
10 is Rose gum, much softer than sugar but just as attractive.


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## little possum (Jun 30, 2010)

I still dont know the answer 

But sure is pretty wood


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## BobL (Jun 30, 2010)

OK - It's number 22 - It's found in North America and has been discussed many times on this site.


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## little possum (Jun 30, 2010)

Oh, skipped right over that one Bob.

Thanks for sharing


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## imagineero (Jul 1, 2010)

Hey Bob, 
Nice pics! I'm wondering how to go about getting more knowledge of aus native trees, especially the ones in my local area. While it's easy enough to pick a stringy bark from a gum, I really don't know much beyond that. Couldnt identify blue gum, red gum, spotted etc etc... are there any good sites or have you got knowledge you can share?

Thanks,
Shaun


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## BobL (Jul 1, 2010)

imagineero said:


> Hey Bob,
> Nice pics! I'm wondering how to go about getting more knowledge of aus native trees, especially the ones in my local area. While it's easy enough to pick a stringy bark from a gum, I really don't know much beyond that. Couldnt identify blue gum, red gum, spotted etc etc... are there any good sites or have you got knowledge you can share?
> 
> Thanks,
> Shaun



Hi Shaun, 

Short answer is "no", and I don't know that much either. The reason I know something about (mainly western) australian trees is that I grew up in WA timber country and spent a lot of time following my tree falling dad around the WA bush. But now that I am here in Canada for a while I realize I know practically nothing about trees. 

The fact that many Aussie trees look very similar on the outside means that it is very difficult to discriminate between many of them by just looking at one or two features. The same tree growing in a different environment, and different aged trees can also look quite different. 

If you want to get a basic idea from on-line resources then wikipedia is a start, but even there a lot of the descriptions are too brief and some are too technical and often sound like the descriptions of many other trees. 

Here's the Wikipedia entry for the description Tassi Bluegum,


> Eucalyptus Globulus, is an evergreen tree, one of the most widely cultivated trees native to Australia. They typically grow from 30 to 55 m (98 to 180 ft) tall. The bark shreds often, peeling in large strips. The broad juvenile leaves are borne in opposite pairs on square stems. They are about 6 to 15 cm long and covered with a blue-grey, waxy bloom, which is the origin of the common name "blue gum". The mature leaves are narrow, sickle-shaped and dark shining green. They are arranged alternately on rounded stems and range from 15 to 35 cm in length. The buds are top-shaped, ribbed and warty and have a flattened operculum (cap on the flower bud) bearing a central knob. The cream-colored flowers are borne singly in the leaf axils and produce copious nectar that yields a strongly flavored honey. The fruits are woody and range from 1.5 to 2.5 cm in diameter. Numerous small seeds are shed through valves (numbering between 3 and 6 per fruit) which open on the top of the fruit. They do not form taproots.



While it provides a basic idea it doesn't help that much does it? If the tree is not flowering and you cannot see the roots then it can be quite tricky. The other problem with any resource is it does not work well or at all in reverse. For example, I saw a 6 m high tree with brown grey fibrous bark and bottle green narrow leaves. How the heck can Wiki be used to identify this tree? - the reality is it can't. The images provided in Wikipedia are also generally not that helpful and there are simply not enough of them.

My guess is that you don't want to be an expert, just to learn to identify a few trees, but learning even a little bit of something complicated from scratch is not easy, and some extra supporting knowledge is needed. Serious arborists will undertake a technical college short tree identification course where they also learn some basic botany so they can then at least read the technical descriptions. 

There are some really good books around, like "Forest trees of Australia" but it is not cheap (~$140). To give you and idea of this book it has more than 750 pages to describe just 300 trees, so each tree gets an average description of more than two pages ! The quality and size of the images are very good - there is also a DVD version, but once again some additional knowledge is needed to understand the technical terms. There is nothing like this available for free but chances are you local library will have it or can get a copy in for you to read.


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## smokinj (Jul 1, 2010)

BobL said:


> I've been meaning to do this for a while but only recently got around to doing it.
> 
> All of these timbers (except one) are native aussie timbers milled by yours truly. Can you guess which one is not. I have already posted most of these pics before so if you have nothing better to do, you can trawl pack through my 4000+ posts and work it out this way - or you can guess.






Wow very well done and some awesome wood!


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## imagineero (Jul 2, 2010)

BobL said:


> Hi Shaun,
> 
> Short answer is "no", and I don't know that much either. The reason I know something about (mainly western) australian trees is that I grew up in WA timber country and spent a lot of time following my tree falling dad around the WA bush. But now that I am here in Canada for a while I realize I know practically nothing about trees.
> 
> ...



Thanks for a very detailed reply Bob! 

You are right, I was hoping for something that i suspected didnt really exist. I've searched around, and read through most of the entries in wikipedia on native Australian trees. Its pretty thin.

I do have trouble distinguishing between trees up here because so many are similar looking. It gets even harder after they've been on the ground for a season or two - all the leaves now gone, maybe some of the branches too. That only gives bark and the look of the timber once cut to go on. 

I think an afternoon spent walking through the woods with a local person who is knowledgeable would probably be all I'd need. Hard to find people like that though! I'll keep looking 

Shaun


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## BobL (Jul 2, 2010)

imagineero said:


> I think an afternoon spent walking through the woods with a local person who is knowledgeable would probably be all I'd need. Hard to find people like that though! I'll keep looking



Ask around at your local tree nurseries, technical college or community centre to see if they know of anyone running a tree identification short course. There was a one day course offered here in the South West of WA last year that I would have attended if I was available. It was basically an hour or so of basic intro to trees and then a walk through the bush look in at trees, they do it when the trees are flowering which helps with ID.


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## pastryguyhawaii (Jul 2, 2010)

Great thread Bob! That's some beautiful wood. We have a lot of eucalyptus here in Hawaii that is nice but I have been able to dry any without it just splitting everywhere.


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## BobL (Jul 2, 2010)

pastryguyhawaii said:


> Great thread Bob! That's some beautiful wood. We have a lot of eucalyptus here in Hawaii that is nice but I have been able to dry any without it just splitting everywhere.



Do you know what the species are? Some do better if you let the log dry off for a few months or even a year first. It becomes as hard as nails but you sure learn how to sharpen properly.


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## Daninvan (Jul 2, 2010)

BobL said:


> OK - It's number 22 - It's found in North America and has been discussed many times on this site.



Still watching with interest to see what it is. Something "discussed many times on this site", _found _in NA as well as in Western Australia. But not necessarily _native _to NA I am guessing.

Perhaps its a fruitwood like apricot. Otherwise something that grows in the southern US or Mexico? Mesquite? Acacia?


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## Sawmill_Bill (Jul 6, 2010)

*Guess #22*

Is it Osage Orange?


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## BobL (Jul 6, 2010)

I'll put you all out of your misery - it's black locust.


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## Daninvan (Jul 7, 2010)

Well, can I claim partial victory? Acacia was one of my guesses, and black locust is Robinia pseudoacacia, so at least it has the word 'acacia' in it (granted, preceded by psuedo). 

Seriously, the colours in that piece would not lead me to locust. Very well disguised. Oh, I've slabbed up some locust, I'm thinking now it was honey locust, one of the HARDEST woods I've ever slabbed!

Cheers! :yourock:


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## BobL (Jul 7, 2010)

Daninvan said:


> Well, can I claim partial victory? Acacia was one of my guesses, and black locust is Robinia pseudoacacia, so at least it has the word 'acacia' in it (granted, preceded by psuedo).
> 
> Seriously, the colours in that piece would not lead me to locust. Very well disguised. Oh, I've slabbed up some locust, I'm thinking now it was honey locust, one of the HARDEST woods I've ever slabbed!
> 
> Cheers! :yourock:



Yep Robinia PA, that was it. Funny I didn't think it was that hard.


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