Thread: Bull Oak

I guess we are talking about the same stuff, I also call it Buloke.

As you said, it is very hard but finishes well.

I'd be careful making a piece entirely from Bull Oak as the patterned grain might make it a bit "too busy".

If you need tool sharpening practice now, you won't after you've made your piece.

Originally Posted by crebra

Has anyone had experience working with Bull Oak (allocasuarina leuhmanni). I'm drying some at the moment to eventually make furniture and would like to hear of other peoples experiences as its very hard timber.

Me and SWMBO make some of our Jewel Boxes out of it, And it will polish to a mirror finish.
I have found it suffers from tear-out unless your thicknesser blades are verrrry sharp,
I have also found that it tends to warp heavily during the drying proces.
The boxes we make from it sell well and the biggest problem we have with it is getting it.
Catch Ya
Andrew

Originally Posted by ravlord13

Me and SWMBO make some of our Jewel Boxes out of it, And it will polish to a mirror finish.
I have found it suffers from tear-out unless your thicknesser blades are verrrry sharp,
I have also found that it tends to warp heavily during the drying proces.
The boxes we make from it sell well and the biggest problem we have with it is getting it.
Catch Ya
Andrew

From experience it warps less if you let it dry as a log for a few months before milling it, seems to be the best way with all the casuarinas if it drys before milling it stays straight and seems to be better if it drys more slowly once milled. (i.e. mill it in autumn or winter, so that it isn't as hot)

Thanks all. I have a private native forestry operation (Narrow leafed ironbark, cypress, grey box) but unfortunately the whole 10000acres is interspersed with Bull Oak (or Buloke) which is allopathic ie sterilises the ground around it to prevent competition. I've been trying to find a use for the timber apart from firewood. My experience is that it splits longitudinally very quickly after felling and so I've cut a trial run into boards with my Lucus mill immediately after felling (1 1/2" x 6") to try and release the drying stresses. So far after 4 weeks, apart from end splits it is holding together well. It has a beautiful grain and a Janka hardness of 22 compared with,say, ironbark which is 14 so I'd really like to find a good use for it. Furniture, maybe floorboards, any other ideas?.

Crebra

I like the nickname, how appropriate. I had to check where Yetman is on the map because your tree species is nearly identical to my private forest. Unfortunately, I'm nowhere near 10,000acres and Buloke is also a weed tree on my place.

cheers

edit: btw, my property is at Yuleba near Roma

Split it in half before doing anything else, preferably cut the heart out altogether otherwise you'll end up with firewood

I use it for tool handles because it's hard and it looks good. Don't waste it on flooring.


I've never heard of it being Allopathic, usually sheoaks put nitrogen back into the soil rather than sterilise it

just up the road from me .

Originally Posted by funkychicken

Split it in half before doing anything else, preferably cut the heart out altogether otherwise you'll end up with firewood

I use it for tool handles because it's hard and it looks good. Don't waste it on flooring.


I've never heard of it being Allopathic, usually sheoaks put nitrogen back into the soil rather than sterilise it

you and crebra are both right they are nitrogen fixing and they are somewhat allopathic.

I love casuarinas both as a tree and as timber but as Crebra says they can become a weed themselves and do need controlling in some instances. as previously discussed on this forum good airdried stuff sells for around $1500 per cube or kiln dried it can fetch as much as $3000. It is a great timber for handles as funky said and it is also desireable as a furniture timber. And I agree don't waste it on flooring and experiment with cutting in different directions (i.e. backsawing, quarter sawn) as this brings out the grain in different ways. It is good timber and worth utilisation.

Also seal your cut ends straight away, this should help dramatically with the splitting.

Thanks Travis,
Ref. the tendancy to become a weed, I recently thinned a 5.5ha area of 20yo Bull Oak regrowth back to 10sq basal area per ha and stockpiled 110 tonnes of stems.
I'm not sure whether they are allopathic chemically or just sterilise the ground around them through the low pH caused by leaf fall. The result seems to be the same.

Common names can be confusing.

Bull Oak Allocasuarina littoralis
Bull Oak Allocasuarina luehmannii
Bull Oak Cardwellia sublimis
Bull Oak Casuarina luehmannii
Bull Oak Hakea chordophylla

Buloke Casuarina luehmannii

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

Bull Oak Allocasuarina luehmannii

That's the one. Allo Littoralis is Black Sheoak. Cardwellia Sublimis is Northern Silky Oak. Casuarina luehmannii doesn't exist. Hakea chordophylla is one I've never heard of.

Originally Posted by funkychicken

That's the one. Allo Littoralis is Black Sheoak. Cardwellia Sublimis is Northern Silky Oak. Casuarina luehmannii doesn't exist. Hakea chordophylla is one I've never heard of.

Cardwellia was commonly called bull oak on the Atherton Tableland where I grew up - I used to work weekends for a one-man miller down the road & we cut piles of the stuff.

Casaurina leuhmanii certainly does exist - in older literature. The Casaurinas were only recently split into Casaurina & Allocasaurina.

There are more species that get the local name "bull oak", it's one of those names that gets applied readily, like 'Dead finish'.
As Cliff says, common names are confusing.

The workability of A. leuhmanii seems variable from my limited experience. One lot I have is more like cast iron than wood, while another is nice to work - turns easily, with long shavings - some of the best handle wood I've ever used. Both trees were good-sized, mature trees, the 'softer' one came from better soil, but no idea if that is what made the difference. As a teenager, I split more fenceposts than I care to remember, and could never figure out why two trees of the same species growing within 10 metres of each other could be so different to split!

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Cardwellia was commonly called bull oak on the Atherton Tableland where I grew up - .....,

It still is.

Hi all I no this is a old post but would really like to get my hands on some bull oak if anyone can help me out msg from hear or shoot me a email
[email protected]
Thanks