Thread: Cyprus

Hi there - Some of the common uses for Cypress include:

Craftsman Furniture & Fixed-install Cabinetry
Shingles
Fence Palings
Posts
Beams
Flamenco Guitars
Other Acoustic Instruments
Windbreaks (In tree form, of course)

The timber was readily available in California in the early 1900s and was used extensively in the Bungalow movement. If you would like to have a squiz at a stunning use of Cypress, Cedar, and White Oak in an architectural setting go to: <a href="http://www.gamblehouse.org/">Gamble House</a>. It is one of the finest examples of what the Craftsman Bungalow architects and builders did with these woods.

Hope that helps some.

It has a great resistance to white ants , but is brittle and splits easily , take it from there

makes good wheatherboards.

and looks good for furniture

Also makes good floorboards. The Piliga State Forest near Narrabri/Coonabarabran is full of it.

internal flooring , parquetry , house framing.

I used the macrocarpa type for weather boards, table, stairs, beds, four panel doors and other things. It is very strong, soft and splits easily and is not very heavy. It would be the best stuff for lintals except you have to grade it below pine that is max F11 where it should be more like F17.
It also has about 1% shrinkage from wet to dry.

Thanks guys, I was given a trailer load for use in some of my boats. It looks like it may be good for planking and oars, maybe.
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dont think i would use it in boats ,gets to brittle

I guess I can build all that furniture that is on the to do list. Thanks for the replies.
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Originally Posted by texx

dont think i would use it in boats ,gets to brittle

What do you mean by gets to brittle? Do you believe it changes over time? I know fellas that used Cupressus macrocarpa for spring boards while competing in axe events. I have used it for ramps for heavy machinery. You wouldn't want to hit it with a hammer and may have to drill before nailing but besides that it is a superwood. It also takes huge forces to push spring out of boards and it can bend nails to go back to its prefered shape, so cut curved boards straight.
I was told they subsitute a bit in karri boats in new zealand as it can look the same, maybe in less important places.

Originally Posted by glenn k

What do you mean by gets to brittle? Do you believe it changes over time? I know fellas that used Cupressus macrocarpa for spring boards while competing in axe events. I have used it for ramps for heavy machinery. You wouldn't want to hit it with a hammer and may have to drill before nailing but besides that it is a superwood. It also takes huge forces to push spring out of boards and it can bend nails to go back to its prefered shape, so cut curved boards straight.
I was told they subsitute a bit in karri boats in new zealand as it can look the same, maybe in less important places.

yes it gets brittle with age .

ok now I;m more confused.
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A lot of the cypress I use I milled in the 80's it doesn't appear to be any more brittle than stuff I milled last year. Old cypress trees tend to break up a lot more than young ones but this is usual for most trees softwoods more so. You may be correct as I haven't done any tests; do you know of any tests that have been done? Also why would wood age differently once it is milled? Except for the cracking that will happen over time.

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