Ironbark

[Mark Woodward]

Hi guys,
Just wondering if ironbark is a good wood to use to make outdoor furniture? I know it's a very hard wood and would have thought that would be in it's favour. I have the choice of Ironbark or cyprus pine. I'll probably finish with a clear laquer of some sort ( any suggestions? :-)). If I use cyprus I'll probably stain it a darker reddish colour if fokes think that's the better option. Is this a good idea?
Cheers,
Mark
PS - 2 projects down and going strong. I put together a workbench out of 4x4 and 6x2 Cyprus, then slapped 4x18mm sheets of MDF on the top ( nothing fancy but at least it means I'm not sitting on the garage floor!!).Probably went over the top and bought a Record 53 quick release vice that grips a bit better than my feet. (You should have seen some of the positions I ended up in. Also made a cockpit grating bathmat out of jarrah. (One of the triton projects ). I love this woodworking!!


[This message has been edited by Mark Woodward (edited 27 October 1999).]

[ubeaut]

Hi Mark

Don't know about Iron bark for outside but a chap in Maryborough Vic has been making some interior furniture out of it and the grain and colour etc. is absolutely amaaazzzzzing.

I believe he had to modify a thicknesser head to take 4 blades and slow down the feed speed to a crawl just to get a reasonable surface on it as it is almost unworkably hard.

I have a feeling it might be inclined to surface checking if used outside. It might not be too good on a Triton sawbench either.

Cheers
Neil http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif

[lushy]

My brotherinlaw uses it green for fence posts on the Darling Downs in QLD and he has posts in the ground put their by his great grandfather so it should be ok for external use, he uses no finish at all and it turns a beautiful grey over time.

[RETIRED]

Ironbark is hard on cutting tools but sands exceptionally well.

Lacquer would probably "fall off" after a short time given the density of the stuff, a better choice would be an oil like deck oil from organ oil.

To Lushy. Your uncle is pretty game putting them in green. The timber is that tough it would probably start growing again. They built a railway bridge over the Thompson River out of it, but they had to send out rail gangs to trim the branches off and keep moving the deck down the tree as it grew. In the end they got jack of it and replaced it with steel. It is still there. http://ubb.ubeaut.com.au/ubb/smile.gif

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Ian () Robertson
"We do good turns every day"






[This message has been edited by (edited 29 October 1999).]

[Mark Woodward]

Thanks guys,
I'm going to give it a try. Most of the time it will be under the verandah anyway, so I'm tempted not to finish it at all and let it age. On another point, our properties got a few hefty ironbark logs that have fell over. I've attacked one with a chainsaw and it's still a rich red colour throughout. Is it worthwhile splitting these and taking them to the local mill? They've probably been down for a while ( they're grey and barkless and some have started to rot in parts) so maybe the moisture contents too low. Any ideas?
Mark

[Mark Woodward]

All these fancy icons!! I've been away for too long! I ended up using ironbark and spotted gum (F27 - hard and heavy!). I bought large boards and ripped them on the triton. ( If I was to make another one, I'd probably just buy to size!. The poor little triton would have preferred that!)I ended up bolting the saw to the sled they provide rather than use those little plastic locks, making sure it was set to 0 (it won't move now!!) anyway, the tables made and finished with a couple of coats of decking oil. If I decide to get fancy I'll give it a coat of fine buffing oil and polish it up. BTW I grabbed a small branch of ironbark from down the back probably no more than 4 inches thick and tried to feed that through the triton after splitting it with an axe so it was probably half a circle with 2" radius. I can't believe how HARD it is. It's way too hard I think to make anything from so I guess it'll keep me warm next winter! I appreciate the chain saw heaps more now, it ripped through it.
Cheers,
Mark