Thread: Black Penda

Penda grows all over the tablelands (or used to anyway) There's a Cherry Penda and a Black Penda (maybe a couple of other flavours too). Seriously hard and durable stuff, there's a log on a property friends own, its been lying in a creek crossing as a bridge for longer than they have owned the place (33 years) and it's still sound. It's impossible to nail, even if you predrill. A guy I worked with picked up a semi-trailer load of large timbers (8"x3" & up) for next to nothing, most of which was old black penda from the old wharf sheds. He built his workshop out of it and said he had to treat it like structural steel, bolt it all together using large brackets (we're talking 12" x 12" posts here). Like a lot of the amazing rainforest timbers that were available it's just a memory nowadays. Most of the remnants of forest are under world heritage listing, but occasionally some trees on private property are felled.

Mick

Penda,brown Xanthostemon chrysanthus A large hardwood of the north Queensland rainforests.
Red Penda Xanthostemon whitei has similar properties but is of redder colour.
Heartwood pale to dark brown.Texture relatively fine and even.
Grain interlocked.
ADD about 1030 kg/ cubic metre.
Careful drying to prevent twisting and checking.
Shrinkage about 4% radial,6% tangential.
Hard to work.
Heartwood not sufficiently durable for exposed conditions.
Sapwood not susceptible to Lyctid borer attack.
Provisionally S2, SD2.
Building framework,flooring.

As quoted from "Wood in Australia" Types,properties and Uses.
Keith R Bootle

HTH
Cheers

To say that Black Penda is durable is an understatement.

A friend of mine bought the lugger "Grafton" in the mid-90's. On it's first haul-out at Coconut Slipways in Cairns, it was remarked that the boat was seriously heavy ... and that was after it had been stripped of everything it didn't need, prior to a rebuild. Upon later catching up with the vessel's builder in Cooktown, it was learned that Black Penda was used for the keel and all the major structural timbers.

When I inspected the boat (even after it had sunk and been refloated), the main timbers could have been merely weeks old ... instead of 50 or so years.

The timber was also used extensively in shed building on cane farms up here on the north end of the tablelands (Mareeba, Mossman etc).

The main favoured bridge-building timber here was NQ Hickory ... also extremely hard and stiff. Penda was substituted when available and was considered superior by local bridge-builders.

I use hickory from time to time in some of the range of utensils that I make for local markets. It's a kick- timber as far as strength goes. I also use jarrah and all the other hard timbers, but hickory leaves them all for dead. I can only imagine what penda would be like.

Mind you, if you're naughty and get a slap around the bottom with one of my spoons ... and it's a hickory one, then you know about it. A penda one might just break the bit you park on.

Bob.

Hey Bob, where do you get your hickory from? The last time I rang a timber yard to get some (Rankine's I think) they laughed at me.

uh oh ... uhmmm ...
wold you believe ... old bridges??!!!

Mick. Haven't ever really actually 'bought' any hickory. I acquired a sizeable pile of mixed hardwood 8 and 10 be tooos 'ish a few years ago. About half was a combo of hickory and spotted gum. The rest was red stringy. The spotted gum was mostly curly grained and not suitable for what I was doing at the time so I swapped it for something else. The hickory all got turned into spoons, stirrers and assorted other utensil-type odds and ends and subsequently distributed all round the world in exchange for cash.

It all ran out earlier this year so was just thinking t'other day, that I might try and get some more. So ... you've saved me endless humiliation. Although, I never really expected to be ableto buy any from a regular supplier.

I buy jarrah, ash, blackbean, rosewood and some other stuff from Warren Semken (Wren Timbers - Cairns). Was going to ask him, although I know he doesn't have any ... or at least he's never mentioned it.

You might also try the Tarzali mill. I met one of the family who dropped into my market stall last year. He said they were still ripping some pretty interesting timber ... even though the big mill days are dying. They seem to have a bit of a niche market thing happening. They are doing some stuff like redbean and a few other timbers that most mere mortals have never heard of, let alone used.

I do know where there is an old bridge site in Julatten, but don't know if anyone ever ratted the timbers. I haven't ever laid eyes on them, but I do know who's land it's on. The timbers were reputedly hickory.

Also, my nextdoor neighbour's block when I lived in Julatten has hickory trees growing on it (planted by Bill McKean). They're about millable size now ... but the owner of the block is a greenie.

Bill's son Bryan is a portable miller -> he may know of some lying around. If I see him I'll ask. He comes out this way (Maryfarms) regularly cutting box and beefwood etc for fenceposts.

Other than that, I don't have any clues.

Cheers,


Bob.

The Tarzali mill people have a warehouse outlet in Tolga, it's worth a look, like you said they've got timber most people have never heard of. You might also try Dale Taylor in Malanda (I think) who is a mobile miller, he seems to have a stash of interesting stuff. I would have tried both of these at the time if I'd known of them (a few years ago) but don't currently need any. Actually my local council (Mareeba) is supposedly replacing a bridge just down the road from me some time in the "near future", I'll drop you a line when they get around to it.

Mick

G'day Mick

Hmm ... Norm's name has come up 3 times today. That's Dale's common name. I know him. Have bought a few bits and pieces from him. He's actually in Tolga. He got into mobile milling as a sort of lifestyle business ... now he's pretty flat out I believe. Advertises in the local papers etc. I've got a big chuck of maple belonging to him that I'm supposed to be making a table centrepiece 'of my choice' as a barter for some cedar tops I got from him a year or so ago.

Yeah, Tarzali mill last year ran through a log of Red Torega. Now I'll bet not too many have heard of that one. Pretty nice wood. Looks a bit like spur mahogany only redder. OK. Like red siris without as much yellow streaking and redder.

If you get down to the Port Douglas markets at all on a Sunday, look me up.

All the best.

Bob.

G'day Bob,
Don't get up to Port too often as I find if I want to see tourists we've got plenty here! I do have to go up one of these days as I need to take some photos of work I did on one of the Quicksilver boats, so I might try to make it a Sunday. Where and when are the markets?

Mick

Every Sunday - 0800 'till 1400'ish.

Anzac Park - waterfront end of main street, right on the water.

Know what you mean about terrorists. I had a charterboat in PD for much of the 90's. Gamefishing. Was berthed right near the quickies. Only really good thing about all that lot was the QuickChick parade twice a day.

Live out at Maryfarms now ... away from the tourists. Just do woodwork and fine wood art full time. Go to Port just on market day to convert wood into cash. There's lots worse ways to earn a living.

I know another bloke who did some woodwork on one of the quickies -> Tim Blanch. Know him?? From Mossman.


Cheers,


Bob.

Yeah I know Tim, I ran 3 boatbuilding jobs that he worked on, the quickie one was the last (and most stressfull) small world isn't it? BTW did you now Norm/Dale is a cabinetmaker by trade? See you sometime at the markets.

Mick

Mick

Yep. Norm told me. From memory, I think he got cheesed off with knocking stuff together out of mdf from Redicut etc etc all the time. Not too much solid timber contaminates the floors of most cabinet shops these days. (See, this thread is still relevant to woodwork???).

He's got plenty of timberwork in his house in Tolga though. He's done quite a bit himself ... and then had quite a few additions from blokes like me who he's sold/provided timber to along the way from his milling operation. It really is good to see salvaged timber getting used to it's best extent. Last time I was down there he was building a drying shed (this was last year some time). So, I imagine he was about the start off a stockpile of interesting stuff. Pretty good conditions in Tolga for air-drying too. Pretty dry through the day much of the year, but with enough humidity at night to re-hydrate the surface of the stock to minimse microchecking. (God, I hate kiln-dry timber).

(All this talk about Norm Taylor --> I'm going to be shamed into getting his piece done now!!. I actually do have it up on a block in my carving area, but just haven't had any clues from it as yet). nice half trunk-bole of hell-figured maple. Fiddleback to die for. 'Bout a metre long. I knocked a bowl out of a root piece of similarly figured maple today and did a quick 40#sand on it for a preview and the figuring in that is pretty spec also ... so I can only imagine what something large (600mm'ish long) from Norm's piece is going to look like.

Well, that's about it for me for today.

Surprising just how the small the world really is, actually. I'd say we know a few other names in common too.

A really good shipwright who worked for me down in Townsville in the late 90's is around your way now. Chris Headley. He and his wife have a small acreage block somewhere there in Kuranda. He's real interested in wood too. Did his time in pommieland - worked for Norman Wrights before I scalped him onto a 55 footer I was building down Townsville. Has been doing repairs and re-fabs/refits in Cairns since early 2000. Mostly the bigger boats. Good bloke!!

Cheers,


Bob.