Thread: What Oz timbers are similar to Hickory?

You have a few options and not all OZ timber either.
A bit of old school ruler. They were usually box wood
An old hickory tool handle and cut out a strip.
Some bamboo. Perhaps best of all. (supermarket salid server )
Spotted gum.
Raid the garden for either Mulberry, apple ,cherry, apricot or pecan. Cut down to a thin strip will be dry in a week or so.
Hope there is some ideas there and put up some picks of the project as it goes. Sounds interesting.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by orraloon

You have a few options and not all OZ timber either.
A bit of old school ruler. They were usually box wood

Hello John. Wow, I haven't seen one of them in a very long time. The oldest I have here are made of some funny clear timber called perspex, I think.

An old hickory tool handle and cut out a strip.

I don't think I have any of those. I'll have a look-see later.

Some bamboo. Perhaps best of all. (supermarket salid server )

Good thinking. I agree with you - probably the best.

Spotted gum.

Got none, but if Eucalypts are the go, the Blackbutt or Tas Oak should do the job, shouldn't they? (Mind you, I'm leaning toward bamboo. Just got back from Woolworths 5 minutes ago, too.)

Raid the garden for either Mulberry, apple ,cherry, apricot or pecan. Cut down to a thin strip will be dry in a week or so.
Hope there is some ideas there and put up some picks of the project as it goes. Sounds interesting.
Regards
John

I've got a few other hardwoods - NG Rosewood, Silver Ash, Camphor Laurel, Purple Heart, Zebrawood, (too brittle), QLD Maple, Jarrah, Sheoak, Blackwood, Canarywood and Blackbutt and Tas Oak, as mentioned. Any of them suitable?

I'll post a WIP thread when I get going. The body will be Calantis Cedar, (Phillipine Cedar), and the shackle etc will be Camphor Laurel.
Not in a rush, though, I have two other projects to complete.

Hi Steve,
Of the woods you listed blackwood would be the pick. Some there I just dont know how they bend. That list I gave you was based on woods I know can make an archery bow. I guess it depends on how much bend it has to do. I made a breakfast tray with folding legs many years ago and the spring in that was just a bit of tapered pine and that worked as it only had to deflect a little. Have you got a tapered shape to the spring?
It is also good to have the grain run as close as possable to line of the spring.
Regards
John

Originally Posted by orraloon

Hi Steve,
Of the woods you listed blackwood would be the pick. Some there I just dont know how they bend. That list I gave you was based on woods I know can make an archery bow. I guess it depends on how much bend it has to do. I made a breakfast tray with folding legs many years ago and the spring in that was just a bit of tapered pine and that worked as it only had to deflect a little. Have you got a tapered shape to the spring?
It is also good to have the grain run as close as possable to line of the spring.
Regards
John

I'll do a few tests, John, with bamboo and a couple of timbers, before making a final choice.

A taper sounds like a good idea. The plans only call for an even 1/16" down the length. I might try flat, then if it appears too stiff I'll taper it a little. I'd like to get it down thinner than 1/16" too, if possible, because that makes smaller versions of the lock easier. At 1/16" thick, it would be hard to make a shorter spring with enough flex.

Edit: I'm half tempted to use a flat metal spring. I've got a few suitable ones laying around.

Most of my timber is figured, with the grain going everywhere, but I'll pick out some nice, straight-grained pieces.

Thanks for your help, too. I appreciate it.

This is a crude sketch of the spring setup: -

Edit: I just realised that I drew mitre on the end of the latch bolt upside-down.
Can't 'Go Advanced' to fix it for some reason.

Both hickory (Carya sp) and Ash (Fraxinus sp) are 'ring-porous.' That is, the vessels are produced in the early/spring wood of each annual growth increment/growth ring. The late or summer wood is predominately long, thick-walled fiber cells.
In this application, the wood was selected as the mechanical performance is much like the strips in a multiple leaf spring in a vehicle.
So, for an Australian equivalent, you need to find a ring porous timber. The slab that you cut must have the wide face parallel to the surface of the log.

What about Hickory Wattle? Grows in the Blue Mountains and should be flowering about now. Named for the similarity of properties with the other timber. I've used it myself for hammer handles.

burraboy: could be. The deal is that the layered character in hickory and ash provides the elastic properties needed for use as a wooden spring element.

Grasses in general have extremely long fiber cells and bamboo is no exception. That might be the best in the first iteration.

hickory wattle: if you look very closely at the end grain, magnifying glass perhaps, can you see a layered appearance? Can you see rings of "pores?"

Hello Hermit

If you would really like to do this with hickory, PM me your address and I'll send a piece big enough for a dozen or more, whatever goes in a 500g parcel bag. It's from a Pecan I cut up about 6 years ago. Pecan is one of the hickories (Carya sp.)
No payment necessary.
Yesterday I helped a friend cut a now-dead 80y.o. Pecan and all the timber is mine. So there'll be plenty more to come.

Originally Posted by Hermit

Title says it all, really. I'm planning to build a working wooden padlock, from plans by Tim Dettweiler. He recommends Hickory (or Ash) for the spring.

A quick read tells me that Hickory is hard to beat for a combination of strength and hardness.

What Australian timbers do you reckon I could successfully use instead.
I'm considering Victorian Ash, (Tas Oak), or Blackbutt.

Jarrah? (I'll be using Jarrah for the latch bolt.)

Any advice welcome.

Edit: The spring will be a flat strip, 2 7/8" long, 5/8" wide and 1/16" thick. (73mm x 15.9mm x 1.6mm)

Hi Steve I'm with you on this journey! can you keep me in the loop
Col

Originally Posted by Robson Valley

hickory wattle: if you look very closely at the end grain, magnifying glass perhaps, can you see a layered appearance? Can you see rings of "pores?"

Hard to tell without a microscopic section, but the growth rings appear to have a gradiation of pores, larger on the outside and smaller towards the middle.

Boy, things have been busy here this morning.
Thanks for the great response, guys. I've even learned a few things. (Thank you Robson Valley)

I had another thought this morning - what about thin plywood? I have some 2mm thick Basswood 3-ply that I'm cutting up at the moment. Plenty of 'spring', and it's strong and unlikely to split.

Originally Posted by Wizened of Oz

Hello Hermit

If you would really like to do this with hickory, PM me your address and I'll send a piece big enough for a dozen or more, whatever goes in a 500g parcel bag. It's from a Pecan I cut up about 6 years ago. Pecan is one of the hickories (Carya sp.)
No payment necessary.
Yesterday I helped a friend cut a now-dead 80y.o. Pecan and all the timber is mine. So there'll be plenty more to come.

That sounds fantastic, Brian, except for one thing. Payment is necessary. I couldn't possibly leave you out of pocket for helping me out. It's only right that I pay you both for the timber and the postage. PM sent.

Originally Posted by colbra

Hi Steve I'm with you on this journey! keep can you keep me in the loop
Col

I most certainly will, Col.
After all, it was you who put me onto the idea of wooden padlocks. I never would have thought of it.