Thread: Working with Karri

Sounds about usual for Karri.

I believe it is listed up there with Jarrah for hardness and toll-bluntability. When I lived in WA a dozed or so years ago I acquired about 4 cubes of the stuff; mostly about 30mm X 80mm x 1500mm. The overwhelming bulk of it was cut up for firewood but I did make a 600mm wide lazy susan and some outdoor tables out of it. My Triton workcentre was able to cope with it reasonably ok, but I did note my plane went dull very quickly! Same as the few bits I tried to turn. Actually I've still got a pile of spindle blanks stashed somewhere...

It's also as splintery as a very splintery thing; I spent a lot of time cursing and reaching for the tweezers in my Swiss Army Knife...

It is quite a pretty wood though. Not as reddish or pink as Jarrah and I think it's generally much darker; but it can have some beautiful fiddleback.

It’s mainly used for mine props

It really depends on the individual tree as some of the lighter pink Karri is less dense and ok to work by hand but the darker honey brown stuff is awful. You'll be sharpening often either way as I with recall from my workbench build. It takes a really nice finish with BLO though, so that's an upside.

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Originally Posted by Cgcc

Just a small question.

I've recently tried to do a few small projects with Karri panels from Bunnings (not thrilled with them but best out of the bunch).

Does anyone else find that chunks of it are incredibly tough to work with hand tools, and for that matter, power tools?

My track saw stalled on a 10mm slicing cut. And I practically just gave up planing it to get some thickness down and used a belt sander. There were knotty, interlocking parts that just seemed like hard rock.

I'm a relatively newbie and mainly just worked with fairly mild stuff so far, so I am just wondering - is this really just a particularly tough wood, or par for the course for Australian hardwoods?

The wood in these panels is not Karri, It's some random asian Acacia that's been stained.

I never had a problem cutting these panels....

Originally Posted by Cgcc

Just a small question.

I've recently tried to do a few small projects with Karri panels from Bunnings (not thrilled with them but best out of the bunch).

Does anyone else find that chunks of it are incredibly tough to work with hand tools, and for that matter, power tools?

My track saw stalled on a 10mm slicing cut. And I practically just gave up planing it to get some thickness down and used a belt sander. There were knotty, interlocking parts that just seemed like hard rock.

I'm a relatively newbie and mainly just worked with fairly mild stuff so far, so I am just wondering - is this really just a particularly tough wood, or par for the course for Australian hardwoods?

The wood in these panels is not Karri, It's some random asian Acacia that's been stained.

I never had a problem cutting these panels....

It’s Karri

F24F67DA-645A-47AE-82A9-72410367E594.jpg

If not, then Bunnings is telling porkies

Hi 44Ronin, they also sell stained acacia panels in two colours (dark and golden). I avoid them - the stain masks the fact they're often heavily knotted. I assume they'd be fine for someone just needing a shelf, countertop etc which is what they seem aimed at. They are definitely different wood - you can tell from lifting them (I haven't bought but have held them up to feel the density).

I likewise don't think they'd fib.

Originally Posted by Lappa

It’s Karri

If not, then Bunnings is telling porkies

Or it could be something like that "Tropical Jarrah" that was being sold in the 1990's.

I thought the FSC accreditation of the timber would have been proof. What would give you thoughts that it may not be actual Karri harvested from sustainable forests?

Originally Posted by Lappa

I thought the FSC accreditation of the timber would have been proof. What would give you thoughts that it may not be actual Karri harvested from sustainable forests?

FSC is an international body that coordinates other people to certify timber.

FSC does not issue certificates itself. Independent certification bodies carry out the forest management and chain of custody assessments that lead to FSC certification. The certification bodies are held to account by Assurance Services International.

The problem is that like many timbers the name Karri is not a unique name and has been used for trees in other countries. So although the wood may be harvested sustainably it still might not be real Karri. If I remember I will take a look next time I am at Bunnings.

I've never used karri and wouldn't recognise it if I saw it, but does this description from the wood database match what you have?

Screen Shot 2020-11-01 at 3.30.51 pm.png

Yes - although "difficult" seems to underestimate it if anything!

I have found it useful for things where you want something hard wearing and don't need to do too much to it. For example I've used it to make some bench hooks (where all you want to do is glue a cleat onto it) and good for that. Although I think in the future I will use Merbau. It is also readily available but seems to just be tough but not that extreme (for me) toughness.