Thread: What timber is this or what is the closest timber

The flat-sawn appearance of jacaranda (j. mimosifolia), can be remarkably elm-like, it has the same jagged lines of any growth-ring arches exposed on the surface. Jacaranda is almost dead white, so a bit of staining would be required to match an existing elm piece, but I reckon you could fool most people using it as a substitute. The main difference is that jacaranda has finer pores compared with any elm I've come across (which makes it easier to put a fine finish on), but you need to look closely to spot that. However, that's probably useless info since both elm & jacaranda are only available in Oz if you happen to be in the right place at the right time, preferably armed with your own chainsaw mill & prepared to fight off the bowl turners before they chop it into firewood-sized billets.

I've managed to acquire a couple of lots of jacaranda suitable for furniture-making, and it's a nice wood to work with if properly seasoned. I prefer to leave it as-is, being one of the very few blond woods I can get my hands on; it makes a change from the darker woods most of our furniture is made from. I recently made this desk for LOML from jacaranda:

Without drawer.jpg

The design was her choice but we're both happy with the surface on the top.....

Cheers,

I think I can actually get some Elm if that is actually what it is. Otherwise I was thinking... is English/Eu oak similar?

From the few bits of furniture I've seen made from Asian varities of elm, no oak wouldn't be a good substitute. Asian elms have much smaller pores and the cathedral grain looks pretty different. I know Chinese elms are an invasive species in SE QLD - if they are in your area too, maybe a call to your local arborists/tree loppers to see if they'd agree to let you hang on to some on their next job?

Jacaranda would be my recommendation too. Unfortunately the common name bogey strikes with Chinese Elm around SEQ, it is Celtis sinensis, also commonly called Chinese hackberry, not the actual Chinese Elm, Ulmus pavifolia. The later if you could actually get it might do, the former, I don't think so. There is not much info on Celtis sinensis timber apart from its Celtis relatives (Hackberrys) are very good for steam bending. I had a source of fallen Celtis sinensis a while ago but unfortunately didn't get to it.

Another you might try is backsawn rubberwood or Hevea, although this appears most commonly supplied as prelaminated boards for benchtops

The table on the left of that picture looks more like European Beech, but it's a little hard to tell for sure from that photo.

It's a nice timber to work but it is rather bland. I like it but not everyone does.

Yes, the stuff that grows round here known as "Chinese elm" is not an elm at all, it's not even in the same family as the true elms and you would never confuse the wood from Celtis with elm, it's a pale yellow colour when dry. It's ring-porous, but the vessels don't form the same patterns that I see in elm.

Celtis has a very poor reputation as a lumber wood, it's prone to severe distortion as it dries, and it's another of those trees that can't make up it's mind which direction to grow in, so you rarely get straight sections of trunk more than a metre long - you'd be scratching to get furniture-sized lengths. I cut down two largish Celtis trees in my yard some years ago (as Michael said, it's a declared invasive weed), and despite knowing it has a bad reputation, I kept some bits out of curiosity. It dried ok (though take note, the sapwood is especially delicious to borers!). There was some distortion after drying, but not anywhere near as much as I expected. I've decided it's quite a useful wood for some things, very strong for its weight., turns well, & makes excellent mallet handles and chair legs, for e.g. I wish I'd saved more than I did!

Cheers,

Ring Britton Timbers and Mathews timber and ask for Elm . I know Mathews had Red Elm years ago. AFT probably had it as well but they are gone now. I bought some from Mathews I think. I bought a lot more local Elm through the local tree fellers that would mill it and sell it off years ago as slabs. Elm has a warmth about it that Oak and Beech doesn't have . Oak and Beech are a bit cold and plain compared to Elm. In English furniture like Windsor chairs you see Elm, Beech, Ash and sometimes even Oak mixed together in the one chair. Elm Ash and Beech is very common. The seats were all one piece of Elm. They were then stained up brown that bought the colour differences a bit closer together.
I milled a huge ripe old Elm in 2017 with my son. It took a week with two of us. What a job that was.
Old Elm tree . Nice wood - Big Job

Rob