Thread: Inland Bonewood?

Looks like Bonewood to me. Macropteranthes leichardtii (I think the spelling is right.) Planes well but hard on tools. Checks badly when drying even with sealer.

Originally Posted by rustynail

Looks like Bonewood to me. Macropteranthes leichardtii (I think the spelling is right.) Planes well but hard on tools. Checks badly when drying even with sealer.

Yes I have read that it checks madly when seasoning
Bits that I planed were very dry so I will monitor any checking
Very heavy wood too
Apparently a good timber for knife handles as it repels water

Log Dog

Originally Posted by rustynail

Looks like Bonewood to me. Macropteranthes leichardtii (I think the spelling is right.) Planes well but hard on tools. Checks badly when drying even with sealer.

This one is Macropteranthes Montana as far as I can ascertain(has much smaller leaves than leichardii)
I believe the species your refering to grows in central Qld
Macropteranthes Montana grows in northern Qld (west of cairns),in and around Irvinebank/Petford and Chillagoe areas

Log Dog

I think there are 5 species in the genus. 4 in NQLD and one in NT. If it is Montana then it is known as Antique wood. Leichardtii is known as Bone wood. Hard to pick them apart as sawn timber. Yes, the former is much more common in the Chillagoe area but they often overlap. IMHO it is rubbish timber and not worth the effort. But thats just a snob being a snob.

Have seen some beautiful items crafted from this wood
Has very fine grain and tight growth rings
Also has some lovely colours in the mix
And often with birdseye and fiddleback figure
I have been told that this wood produces lovely knife handles too
Nice made into jewelry boxes as well (Maleny wood show)
Worthy enough for IWCS members to use
And some of Australia's finest craftsman!

That said I will mill everything on the quarter and season methodically...even though the logs are technically dry.
I won't recover big volumes as the logs are relatively small
Will share some pics when I slice and dice a few billets in the next few weeks

Log Dog

Ripped a small log in half with the chainsaw and then fed a piece through the thicky
Happy with the result!

Log Dog

According to "Atlas of living Australia" M. leichhardtii is restricted to central Qld, so it's more likely M. montana as you suggest, L.D.

TTIT has a page on M. leichhardtii. The woods are probably pretty similar in working properties.

Should make great bench-screws if you can get pieces big enough & it stays stable once dry....

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

According to "Atlas of living Australia" M. leichhardtii is restricted to central Qld, so it's more likely M. montana as you suggest, L.D.



Cheers,

Ian...it was mainly the leaves that confirmed for me it was M.Montana
Montana has much smaller leaves than Leichhardtii
And they seemingly hug the stem
Very different form altogether

Log Dog

Chris, as I'm sure you well know, keying out a species using botanical features is usually a lot more reliable than a picture of a piece of wood or distribution maps!

That is, when the features used for id'ing are sufficiently obvious to a non-botanist. I have tried keying out a couple of the wattles in my backyard, but get lost in some of the terminology, & keep ending up at a different destination. I did botany 1 in my undergraduate course, but that was more than 50 years ago (55 this year, in fact ), & memory ain't what it uster be....

Cheers, Ian

Originally Posted by Log Dog

Ian...it was mainly the leaves that confirmed for me it was M.Montana
Montana has much smaller leaves than Leichhardtii
And they seemingly hug the stem
Very different form altogether

Log Dog

The leaves tell the story. It will be Antique wood.