blue gum uses

[nifty]

I get offered blue gum logs to me on a regular basis from farmers with over grown windrows. Not being one to like seeing good wood being burnt Im trying to work out what other marketable product I can cut from it other than flooring and other internal mouldings. The logs are usually 20 yrs plus. Does it have any structural purpose. The varieties usually on offer are Tassie, Sydney and sometimes yellow stringy as well. They are usually offered free you remove so its a viable thing if I can work out how to market it. Any advice appreciated:2tsup:Nev

[Sigidi]

Hey Nifty, bluegum and yellow stringy are both really good versatile timbers. If I where offered them for the price/effort of removal only, I'd jump at it as I already did (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=88843)


Take a look here for some common uses for your bluey's. (http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dpi/hs.xsl/26_5380_ENA_HTML.htm) and also here for your yellow stringy (http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dpi/hs.xsl/26_5725_ENA_HTML.htm) or as I like to call it, white mahogany:2tsup:

I expect to see some pics soon of your first haul! :D

[glenn k]

Sidigi wrong blue gums.
Tassi Blue Gum Euc. globulus
Sydney Blue Gum Euc.saligna
The two have nothing in common gobulus has light wood and interlocking spiral grain. So it moves a lot as it dries. It is used as pier pilongs. I cut 4 x 3's from it and most ended up diamond shaped. I asked my old instructor at Cresswick and he said don't cut square sections from Blue Gum because of inter locking spiral grain.
saligna is basically Southern Mahogany with smooth white bark. They have red hart wood. The wood leaves nuts and buds can be the same just different bark. Used for flooring building.
After being dried and dressed you can do anything with them. Sorry but I'm an arborist not a miller so this is not my field so I could be talking sh**.

[Stopper]

Think you might be right Glenn. E.saligna (Sydney Blue gum) doesn't grow in WA.
But neither does E. Globulus (Southern Blue Gum)
What exactly are you being offered Nifty?

cheers
Steve

[weisyboy]

what type of blue gum?

sydney bluegum
tassie blue gum
qld blue gum
sompthing else called blue gum?

[Burnsy]

Think you might be right Glenn. E.saligna (Sydney Blue gum) doesn't grow in WA.
But neither does E. Globulus (Southern Blue Gum)
What exactly are you being offered Nifty?

cheers
Steve
Not endemic to WA but both grow here:wink:

Nifty I milled some bluegum back in Dec and it has shrunk heaps just as GlennK reported. I think it was E. Globulus it is light with spiral grain as Glenn says and I think would make beautiful furniture.

[Burnsy]

what type of blue gum?

sompthing else called blue gum?

This is special crack filling blue gum.

[Sigidi]

ok Now I'm confused???

So after being confused I went back over it to see what the heck everyone was talking about.... and then I notice Nev specified both syd and Tas bluey's:doh:

So now I can say Carl - he's talking about Sydney and Tassie bluegums (ya should read it properly then you'd know hey:;)

Ok not so confused now....

[rotten_66]

Working in a lab that used to do alot of testing on them, they are grown everywhere that there is a sufficient rainfall, in theory that is.
There were huge plantations springing up all over the place in the last 10-15 years, Mt Gambier in South Aus, Albany in Western Aus, and all over Victoria. Lots of older farmers that had kids that didn't want the family farm to run, were selling up properties to the tree plantation companies like Timbercorp and Treecorp to name a few, a bit like a superannuation package.

Lots of perfectly good and productive land that once grew sheep and crops is now under blue gums, what a waste!

(PS Useless fact of the day:Young E globulus leaves smell like cat pee, and it is very hard to get off your hands DAMHIKT :yuk:)

[Pusser]

I used Sydney Blue gum for a mantlepiece last year and liked it som much I have just finished an entertainment unit and toay started ripping some up for a large coffee table and three occassional tables. It is fantastic furniture wood - especially when you get it highly figured. It planes well with HNT planes anyway, cuts well and finishes beautifully with oil or wipe on poly. If it is Sydney blue gum then it is worth the difficulties to dry it because it is beautiful furniture timber. I wish I could get it for free - the drying difficulties are obviously reflected in the price.

[weisyboy]

teach me not to read thing properly.

sydney blue gum cant be used as fence posts i know that it rots off.

but its good for structural timber and flooring, furniture making if you can get it to dry flat and streight without cracking. it is good for battens in boats as it bends well.

i wouldnt have a clue about tassie blugum.

[Sigidi]

teach me not to read thing properly.


I didn't either, it had me writing a reply for almost 11 minutes, when I had to read over Nev's first post, the went DOH :doh:

[nifty]

Thanks for the info so far guys, fell some sydney blue gum a couple of weeks back and havent milled any yet. have learnt that it should be milled as soon as it hits the ground. Have had the sprinkler onthem almost all day every day and the splitting in them is out of control. Ive got a guy interested in trialing spotted gum for making drums. Just sold him some sheoak as well which is apparently going into a drum kit for Elton Johns drummer. Will post pics of the kit when its done, they look stunning.

[Stopper]

Thanks for the info so far guys, fell some sydney blue gum a couple of weeks back and havent milled any yet. have learnt that it should be milled as soon as it hits the ground. Have had the sprinkler onthem almost all day every day and the splitting in them is out of control. Ive got a guy interested in trialing spotted gum for making drums. Just sold him some sheoak as well which is apparently going into a drum kit for Elton Johns drummer. Will post pics of the kit when its done, they look stunning.

I cut a lot of Sydney blue gum and agree it should be cut as soon as possible to reduce loss from splitting and because it is a lot softer to cut when green. Like most, the bigger the log the more stable to saw. Small fast grown logs are very free.
Great timber for exposed beams, furniture and panelling. Photo shows trees on my block under management.
cheers
Steve

[nifty]

Now thats a back yard Steve, nice work:2tsup: