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Thread: Jacaranda
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22nd February 2023, 08:34 PM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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Jacaranda
Some moons ago I picked up a backyard grown Jacaranda
It was around 900mm dbh by memory
Had been growing on some pretty ordinary soil too
Provenance Mt Garnet on the western side of the Atherton Tablelands
I reckon it would have been a reasonable age too!
Was destined for the local tip...until I got wind of where it was going
Milled it up and has been tucked away drying ever since
Probably one of the most under rated woods imo
Maybe because it's commonplace...not really sure
What I am certain of is that it can be at times quite figurative
Here's a few boards I dressed the other day
Their destiny will be a lidded box
Thought worth sharing
Log Dog
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22nd February 2023 08:34 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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22nd February 2023, 09:26 PM #2
Gorgeous timber Chris, very worth sharing sir!
Love the figure in the book matching.
, cheers Peter
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22nd February 2023, 09:33 PM #3
One of my favorite trees.
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23rd February 2023, 01:09 AM #4SENIOR MEMBER
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23rd February 2023, 01:10 AM #5SENIOR MEMBER
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23rd February 2023, 09:16 AM #6SENIOR MEMBER
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I can see guitar or any musical instrument maker drooling over this figure.
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23rd February 2023, 11:17 AM #7SENIOR MEMBER
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23rd February 2023, 09:33 PM #8Senior Member
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The figure looks like a whale tail to me. Lovely.
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25th February 2023, 02:27 PM #9SENIOR MEMBER
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27th February 2023, 03:56 PM #10
Stunning timber, Chris.
The magnificent jacaranda trees with their massed purple/blue flowers are certainly ubiquitous, but I do not think I have ever seen the timber before. Certainly looks good in your photos, so I tried to research it and hit a brick wall.
- Jacaranda is not in Bootles,
- Jacaranda is not on Wood Database.
And absolutely everything is on those two standard references. Jacaranda timber must be super rare.
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27th February 2023, 06:43 PM #11SENIOR MEMBER
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Yes indeed the trees seemingly are ubiquitous...particularly as street and backyard plantings.
But perhaps the timber is not utilised very much
The tree likely more valued for its wonderful flowering aesthetics and shade qualities
I have salvaged a number of Jacaranda trees over the years.
All were a considerable age and fortunately milled up a treat.
Rich golden colour with prominent figure.
It is an absolute delight to work and seasons with little degrade.
I adore the stuff.
Will post some more pics when I get a chance.
And your right...it is stunning!
Log Dog
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9th March 2023, 10:12 AM #12
I think if you go to the turning forums you'll quickly discover jacaranda is much valued by turners! It's one of those woods that will dry "in the round" with little or no splitting - you can turn a vase from a green branch with the axis along the grain & it will dry without splitting - it will go out of round of course, so as with any wet wood you rough-turn, dry, & finish-turn.
It is normally pretty straight-grained and boring as far as figure goes, but it's one of those trees that can't make up its mind which direction to grow in so it's full of bends & branches & that can introduce a few patches of curly grain. Down near the roots is another good spot for figure.
Jacaranda top.jpg
I've been grabbing any I can get my hands on for decades. I first used some as a substitute for English elm to repair the seat of an old chair. The grain is almost identical (even though the trees are not at all related) and stained carefully, it blends in very nicely. But I discovered it's a very good seat wood in its own right, maybe not as tough as elm, but for its density it is very tough and well-suited to seats & backs for Windsor chairs and the fact that you mostly only get short boards is just fine for chair seats:
Bilby chair.jpg 1 chair.jpg
One thing to know about it is that it's a "lively" wood - it responds to humidity changes quickly & markedly. I used some for the top of our kitchen table (shown above), intending to stain it to simulate the elm table LOML saw & liked (though she decided to keep it au naturale in the end). The breadboard ends stick out by 5-6mm in really dry weather, but are 4 or 5mm short after prolonged humid weather - good thing they are only fixed in the centre!
Jacaranda movement1.jpg PB190003.jpg
So it is a valued wood (at least by those who have befriended it), it just isn't available very often - too many of the street & backyard trees that are removed for one reason or another end up in the chipper - I've managed to circumvent that fate for a couple of cubic metres over the years, but have some sad stories about the ones that got away!
Cheers,
IanIW
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17th March 2023, 10:26 AM #13Senior Member
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I've got some Jacaranda from you LogDog when you were down this way. It has this beautiful subtle figure which will pop with a little bit of stain.
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