Thread: wood identification, white hardwood

Its Cypress Pine . Golden Macrocarpa .

https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_...pine+&_sacat=0


monterey cypress cupressus macrocarpa - Google Search

You see it a lot around old Farm boundary fences . Local millers process it for fencing or sleepers . Some guys slab it for furniture. Clear with no knots it looks a bit like NZ Kauri but a lighter weight version . Its very stable through the drying process . I think it was claimed when it first started being used maybe in the 80s that its properties for in ground use were good but it does end up rotting . Its a good one for cheap timber. You can buy sleepers , convert them down to size and let them sit a while and then build what ever . I did some big stuff with it years ago .

Could it be the same that bunnings sells: Our Range | The Widest Range of Tools, Lighting & Gardening Products

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I wasn't sure, the stuff at bunnings is much darker, especially the knots. Maybe it gets whitish when exposed to the sun?

No . Bunnings look to have both common types of Cypress Pine . The other one is Murray Pine . Plenty of knots , Darker , oilier , stinks , the smell seems nice at first but becomes a bit overpowering when machining it , or it did for me . Probably better for in ground use though .

murray pine timber - Google Search

I think you'll find it's a particular type of native Australian "Cypress Pine", Callitris Glaucophylla commonly called called White Pine, not the common knotty Callitris which grows in the Pilliga and elsewhere and often used for floorboards way back.

It does grow in S.A. I had 19th century dining table made from it. It was beautiful, clear and very stable timber.

mick

Originally Posted by Glider

I think you'll find it's a particular type of native Australian "Cypress Pine", Callitris Glaucophylla commonly called called White Pine, not the common knotty Callitris which grows in the Pilliga and elsewhere and often used for floorboards way back.

It does grow in S.A. I had 19th century dining table made from it. It was beautiful, clear and very stable timber.

mick

I agree with Mick. Sorry Rob but I dont think Monterey Cypress would last long in the ground at all.
I used it (Cal Gla) daily in a previous life, building period fencing. As long as there was no heart rot it was great in the ground. But interestingly too brittle to be used as rails (70 x 45 at least)

Welcome to the confusing world of popular timber names. Similar names used for quite different species, different names in different parts of the country, and nothing like the European timber they are named after.

Here is a commercial source of macrocarpa - the name I am familiar with:
Cypress Posts - Uptons Group - Construction Supplies

Macrocarpa.jpg

My shed is clad in 25mm macrocarpa; no sign of rot after 25 years, but I agree that it is a bit brittle - a few across grain breakages.

Here are some of the confusing array of timbers that use the names Monterey, Cypress or Callitris:

Cypress.jpg

Two of the best sources of information on timber properties are Keith Bootles book plus wood-database.com

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Welcome to the confusing world of popular timber names. Similar names used for quite different species, different names in different parts of the country, and nothing like the European timber they are named after.

Here is a commercial source of macrocarpa - the name I am familiar with:
Cypress Posts - Uptons Group - Construction Supplies

Macrocarpa.jpg

My shed is clad in 25mm macrocarpa; no sign of rot after 25 years, but I agree that it is a bit brittle - a few across grain breakages.

Here are some of the confusing array of timbers that use the names Monterey, Cypress or Callitris:

Cypress.jpg

Two of the best sources of information on timber properties are Keith Bootles book plus wood-database.com

Hi Graeme. Cupressus macrocarpa and Callitris glaucophylla are very different timbers and I don't think they would be confused with eachother. The CM is exotic and the CG is native. CM has an even grain pattern, CG can almost be psychedelic with big knots and swirly grain. I would be fairly confident the suppliers photo you had posted was of CG. CM isn't really commercially available especially as a landscaping or construction timber. But I did read that one of the uses for CM is fence posts so perhaps we're all right. What is the name of Keith's book?

Confusing alright Mountain Ash.

One minute CM won’t last in the ground then next minute it’s used as fence posts.

All of my floorboards are Cypress as are some of the door jambs and skirting boards

03A8D675-98DC-4546-ADB8-923005CC865D.jpg

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

Hi Graeme. Cupressus macrocarpa and Callitris glaucophylla are very different timbers and I don't think they would be confused with eachother.
.....
What is the name of Keith's book?

That was the point, MA, the same or similar names being used for very different timbers. If you didn't know then you could easily make a mistake.

The book is:
Keith R Bootle, "Wood in Australia; Types, properties and uses," (McGraw-Hill, 1983+, 452pp)
Bootle was a research scientist with NSW Forestry and this was his life's work; I think every woodworker should have a copy.

Interestingly, I'm in the process of replacing some rural gates. I'd identified cypress as lightweight but good for above ground longevity, particularly if finished. Can't get it for love or money in new stock at a reasonable price up here in QLD. I was told by one timber merchant that the last non-governmental cypress mill here shut a couple of years ago, and that the 'one' left sends all its product down to Victoria... Dunno if true, but a little frustrating.

I have a couple of c.macrocarpas which were uprooted in a gale about 7 years ago. Fortunately the trunks have been supported above ground by their branches so the timber must be drying out nicely.

A year ago I milled one of the branches revealing some beautiful timber.

Macrocarpa First Cut sample.jpg Rough Dressed Macro.jpg Rough dressed & wet colour.jpg

When the weather cools off a bit, a mate up the road has agreed to cut them on his Lucas Mill. At this point I don't know if the timber will used solid or whether I'll use it for veneer.

mick

Originally Posted by jpdv

Interestingly, I'm in the process of replacing some rural gates. I'd identified cypress as lightweight but good for above ground longevity, particularly if finished. Can't get it for love or money in new stock at a reasonable price up here in QLD. I was told by one timber merchant that the last non-governmental cypress mill here shut a couple of years ago, and that the 'one' left sends all its product down to Victoria... Dunno if true, but a little frustrating.

Hi JP. It probably is. We do have a lot of it both rough sawn and dressed. The dressed posts are sold as Cypress Gold and are plastic wrapped to stop surface checking. Early last year I built a pergola for a client with 200 x 200 rough sawn posts. 6 of them around 3 metres long cost me over $1800. And they were ridiculously heavy

Originally Posted by Glider

I have a couple of c.macrocarpas which were uprooted in a gale about 7 years ago. Fortunately the trunks have been supported above ground by their branches so the timber must be drying out nicely.

A year ago I milled one of the branches revealing some beautiful timber.

Macrocarpa First Cut sample.jpg Rough Dressed Macro.jpg Rough dressed & wet colour.jpg

When the weather cools off a bit, a mate up the road has agreed to cut them on his Lucas Mill. At this point I don't know if the timber will used solid or whether I'll use it for veneer.

mick

Hi Glider. The wet macrocarpa does look a lot more like callitris glaucophylla (but without the knots) than I thought. I live and learn.

Originally Posted by Lappa

Confusing alright Mountain Ash.

One minute CM won’t last in the ground then next minute it’s used as fence posts.

All of my floorboards are Cypress as are some of the door jambs and skirting boards

03A8D675-98DC-4546-ADB8-923005CC865D.jpg

Hi Lappa. It's amazing what I've learnt with a little more research . CG is a class 2 timber rated for 15 to 25 years in groud and CM is a class 3 timber rated for 10 to 15 years in ground.