Here are a few shots of some Jarrah pieces that I have left over from three beams I cut up.
The grain is really tight and the wood sands to a beautiful smooth finish.
This pic shows the end grain on a few pieces, the three on the right I just freshly cut to show the colouring.
I weighed an off cut which was 100mmx25mmx70mm, it weighed in at 160gms, so a 1m long piece would weigh 10.6 kilos, heavy stuff.
The pieces vary from 20mm to 25mm thick and 70mm wide, although I do have a couple of pieces that are nearly 30mm thick.
I took the pics without flash to try to stop washout of the wood colouring.
This shot shows the variation in the grain. Pieces 1,2 and 4 have got really nice end grain patterns, especially piece 2.
In the shot below, to the right you can see the eight pieces from the previous pic, the pieces laid out are to show the grain patterns lengthways.
Here are the same pieces viewed side on;
And finally, for Brad or any one else out there, got any idea what spiecies of tree this is?
Another angle; as you can see Brad, the heart wood on the main body of the tree is almost identical in colour to the smaller piece I showed you before. As you can tell by the splitting of the wood, the tree has been dead for quite some time.
Here is all that I could find of the leaves from the unknown tree, it’s not much to go on. The lady who I cut the tree down for had cleared most of the debris away, she also said that she thought the tree may have ‘weeping’ in it’s name. I don’t know how much creedance that would hold, but that is all she knew about it. She also said that it did not have any nuts and it didn’t flower, all it did was change leaf colour in the winter from green to a bluey-grey green.
Tom, I like the look of the second length from the top as layed out in your fourth photograph, it has some slight fiddleback (curl) going through it and should add some character to the instrument, I also like the depth of color evident in its end grain. If you’d like to provide me with a couple of blanks from that length then i’ll see what i can buzz up for ya . I’m pretty well shore that the mystery timber is a type of Stringy bark (eucalyptus), it looks very, very similar to striny bark trees that you often see planted as street trees around southern Australia. I’m not shore that it would make much of a whistle though, stringy bark as a rule is not the denset eucalypt timber, 700kg/m3 compared with your Jarrahs 900kg/m3, and 900kg/m3 is normally as light as i like to go. Thanks for your photos Tom, and i’ll look forward to making your Jarrah whistle shortly, cheers, Brad .
G’day Tom,
I’d hazard a guess at the mystery timber being Turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera)…I have some growing on my property here…Mid North Coast N.S.W. and the bark/timber colour is very similar..Turpentine is used in the construction of piers and wharves etc. When immersed in water,with the bark left on,it last for years…
Tallowood (Eucalyptus Microcors) would be another guess…Tallowood is an oily timber (hence the name) that is used in flooring…especially good for ballroom floors…
All the best…weedie…
Not Turpentine, leaves are wrong shape. They look more like an Acacia leaf to me. What about Mulga, that has a weeping habit, although the wood is a bit light coloured. What did you use to cut it with…Ouch!
Hey guys i think i might have a very close candidate for the mystery timber, Tom do a google search on Weeping Myrtle (Agonis flexuosa) and see what you think, though not a eucalypt it is a relative and is a native of WA, but i see that you live in South Australia so it would grow very well where you are and could have been planted as a park/garden tree. If you can cut a sizeable blank out of that block i wouldn’t mind having a closer look at it because if it is weeping myrtle then it’s a timber that you want be finding for sale commercially and would be quite difficult to come by. Anyway let me know what you think, cheers Brad.
Weedie, I don’t think it is a Turpentine tree, ‘Ornamental evergreen tree with a straight single trunk. In it’s native habitat can grow to 40-50m tall but usually no taller than 25m in cultivation.’ This does not sound or look like the tree in question. different leaf type and canopy shape. The pics I have searched for on line of Tallowwood does not look anything like it either .
syn whistles, not Mulga either, according to the lady who owned the tree, it did not flower. (maybe she was wrong?) I had a look around on the ground where the tree stood and could not find any nuts, pods or anything else to give any clues to the identity.
Ha, fooled ye Steamwalker !! The black on the end grain is the burn markings from my 10 inch electric saw. The end grain is a fairly consistent colour all over, from off white through to a light tan colour at its deepest. I was using a chain saw at first but the tree was so dead and dry it blunted the chain and I got fed up resharpening the chain with my grinder after every cut. So I switched to my electric saw, hence the black markings. The lighter colour you can see between the black bits is as dark as this wood gets.
Thanks for your input you blokes, I shall not be defeated, I will find out what species the tree is… eventually!
I just did a search as you suggested Brad, my head hurts!! Too many possibilities, but going on what I know already, the Agonis Flexuosa seems a likely candidate. Looks just like the tree in it’s habit, and has almost the same type of leaf stagger pattern.
The search continues!
The bark looks a lot like the locust trees which is common here in the mountains of North Carolina. The leaves don’t look just right though, they aren’t staggered, and the wood color is yellowish.
I like it for firewood as it leaves very little ash when burned.
Still no luck with the mystery tree. It is a wonder that I have not had an accident driving around looking at trees that catch my eye, in case it is the same variety I’m looking for!
Here are a couple of other timber pieces I dug out of the depths of my cluttered (not any more) shed. These pieces have been sitting up in the rafters for the last 15 years or so, I was intending to use them for some reason long forgotten .
I’ve no idea what this is, it’s heavy, has nice grain and a nice two toned colouring. This piece is 60mm wide.
This is nice, the grain is like small waves (10mm or so long) and consistent over the length of the timber. Any ‘edumicated’ guesses as to these two types of timber?
…And lastly…this is Jarrah, and it will be on it’s way to Brad tomorrow.
Nice Jarrah blanks Tom, there’ll be some nice little high D’s in that lot . I’m not sure what your other timbers are though, the age on them makes it a bit difficult, though i’d has it a guess that there a eucalyptus species (perhaps a Box or maybe yellow gum). Anyway thanks for your timbers and i cant wait to rip into them, cheers Brad.
Update:
Another guess by another ‘expert’ , The top pic’ with the two tone shading could be Sydney Blue gum. I don’t think so, I have seen Sydney Blue gum floor boards unstained and they were nowhere near as light as this wood.
Another guess by the same expert, the planks at the top of the page in this post are another type of Blue gum. Again, I don’t think so, I have not seen Blue gum that was almost all red never mind completely red.
Well i’ve received Ceili_whistle_man’s Jarrah blanks and here they are, all bored out and soaked in Sweet Almond oil. Check out the gorgeous burgundy colors.
Here they are with there sister blanks that are going through the workshop as a batch. They are from left to right: 2x West Indian Cocuswood, 2x Jarrah and 1x Conkerberry from far west Queensland.
Well its into storage for four-five weeks whilst they settle, and i’ll be shore to post some more pics of the next step of making Tom’s Jarrah Whistle. Cheers, Brad.
. I’m pretty well shore that the mystery timber is a type of Stringy bark (eucalyptus), it looks very, very similar to striny bark trees that you often see planted as street trees around southern Australia. I’m not shore that it would make much of a whistle though, stringy bark as a rule is not the denset eucalypt timber, 700kg/m3 compared with your Jarrahs 900kg/m3, and 900kg/m3 is normally as light as i like to go. Thanks for your photos Tom, and i’ll look forward to making your Jarrah whistle shortly, cheers, Brad 
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The end grain is a fairly consistent colour all over, from off white through to a light tan colour at its deepest. I was using a chain saw at first but the tree was so dead and dry it blunted the chain and I got fed up resharpening the chain with my grinder after every cut. So I switched to my electric saw, hence the black markings. The lighter colour you can see between the black bits is as dark as this wood gets.
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, The top pic’ with the two tone shading could be Sydney Blue gum. I don’t think so, I have seen Sydney Blue gum floor boards unstained and they were nowhere near as light as this wood.
