Thread: Another identifying wood question!

It kinda looks like another Cypress, Cupressus macrocarpa aka Golden or Monterey Cypress, but I doubt that would have been around in 1880 as it is an imported species (and by that time probably either not here yet or not big enough yet). However, it could have been replaced I suppose.

C.macrocarpa doesn't have all the knots of Aussie Cypress, so that is consistent with your pics. What about the weight and hardness of it? (say compared to the Aussie Cypress). Any characteristic smell of a fresh cut?

Thanks for the reply!

It is quite similar in hardness to the normal cypress, weight I think similar as well.

If I look at the whole floor there are certianly knots, maybe not as many as cypress but hard to tell as it is old and painted so I may not see the smaller ones.

Definitely smells like cypress.

Cheers

It'll be cypress, most probably coastal cypress:
just the good stuff from long clear stems that you can't get anymore.

Good to see you John. Do you know when macrocarpa was introduced, or when it started in commercial use?

Thanks so much both!

Now to decide if I re-do in cypress.

Are there any other timbers from that era that were used that aren't crazily expensive?

Cheers

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Good to see you John. Do you know when macrocarpa was introduced, or when it started in commercial use?

Wood was a pretty common trade commodity (still is) and trade between the US west coast and the east coast of Australia was quite active. Wool out, wood back, or wood to peru then nitrates back ex Valparaiso.

Cypress Mac is Macrocarpa (ex NZ origin) is Monterey Cypress which originates in Califonia. I'd say its been in trade at least as long as oregon/D.F. has, just in smaller quantities.

EDIT: actually the only difference between the wood trade now and before is what we were talking about the other day - now we export logs to places with cheap labour and lower environmental standards rather then sawn products. But it's booming, and export of log timber is the fastest growing wood commodity ex Australia, and mostly ex the secondary ports that used to load wool or beef or grain in the days of sail. The more thigns change the more they stay the same huh?

Originally Posted by garrathj

Now to decide if I re-do in cypress.

Are there any other timbers from that era that were used that aren't crazily expensive?

I would have thought that Cypress would have been at the cheaper end of the price curve.

Originally Posted by cava

I would have thought that Cypress would have been at the cheaper end of the price curve.

It is, was just seeing what other options would suit, I don't mind spending a bit more though so if there are better options then I'd like to take a look.

Cheers

Well authentic is good I suppose, but I don't think it is that important. Spotted Gum makes excellent decking and floors, and is readily available from just about any hardware store. Exceptionally durable, but a bit harder to work.

Cypress usually hates being nailed, depending on how dry it is when the nailing takes place (although I've never worked macrocarpa - just bought a coupla slabs recently - still in the timber shed). Even if semi-green when nailed it will split later, so if it's a smallish area then go the extra yards and pre-drill the nail holes - for a 3mm dia nail drill a 2mm dia hole - that way you are only pushing out ½mm timber all around, and it's the head that really holds the board down. Even if you screw them down make sure to pre-drill, and countersink for the neatest job. (even though Cypress isn't too hard like Spotty, you'll get a better result by countersinking the hole first).

The chance of anything you buy being properly dry down to around 12% moisture are almost zero, so you can probably expect some shrinkage. Flooring is generally mass produced for the big hardwares and there is not much attention to detail, especially if it slows the process down. It's the smaller millers like John that do the proper job with maybe a bit of air drying first before going into the kiln.

Thanks for the feedback.

It is a heritage listed property so I expect they will require me to use the original timber type, I'm just not sure it was there the whole time or has been replaced. Will look into spotted gum as well.

I've laid floors and decking with cypress before so am aware of the challenges with splitting.

Cheers

My house was built in 1916. All the floor boards and door jambs are Cypress. Trim timbers and doors are cedar but the outside veranda floor boards were jarrah but now tallowwood as I had problems getting jarrah milled to the size required.

Shouldn't dry cypress (white or coastal but anyway Australian, not the macrocarpa stuff) before use. You are supposed to fell it, mill it, mould it, then nail it in as quick as you can with no stops around a kiln or air drying on the way.

it has a very low shrinkage rate, and if laid down green you avoid a lot of the brittle issues it develops once dry. It also means that as it dries it pulls down onto the shanks of the nail so there's more then just a head holding them. Both, but white cypress in particular, are prone to chip out around the arris if you try and dress or mould it once dry.

Just sayin'

Originally Posted by John.G

Both, but white cypress in particular, are prone to chip out around the arris if you try and dress or mould it once dry.

Not sure what you mean by "around the arris"?

I have a bunch of 60 yo White Cypress floorboards from out of the Bowling club down the back, and they machine really nicely. Very well behaved on the jointer/thicky and handplane. The knots might tear out a little bit but not too bad. A small (very small) percentage of chocolates in there too (some are just beautiful). Recently I've been talking to a few millers about Cypress, and I mentioned these chocolate boards - they didn't know what I was talking about! I suppose they may have been older growth or something? Whatever it is, they don't seem to exist these days.

Arris is the term for the corner between an edge and a face (or 2 faces if it was a square). Probably handles a bit different with woodworking tools but with high speed equipment like a throughfeed moulder where you are trying to hog off excess and finish in one pass - say feeding in nominal 100x25 rough and getting out 90x19 shot edge. .. it can want to chip the corners. Green machining will alleviate that, and the very low shrinkage means that is an option.