Thread: Jacaranda

Gorgeous timber Chris, very worth sharing sir!
Love the figure in the book matching.
, cheers Peter

One of my favorite trees.

Originally Posted by crowie

Gorgeous timber Chris, very worth sharing sir!
Love the figure in the book matching.
, cheers Peter

Hey thanks Peter
Glad you like them mate

Log Dog

Originally Posted by EagerBeaver71

One of my favorite trees.

Likewise EB

Log Dog

I can see guitar or any musical instrument maker drooling over this figure.

Originally Posted by mature one

I can see guitar or any musical instrument maker drooling over this figure.

Not quite large enough for that application MO
Definately lidded boxes though

Log Dog

The figure looks like a whale tail to me. Lovely.

Originally Posted by BEM

The figure looks like a whale tail to me. Lovely.

It does indeed!
Here's a couple more pics...

Log Dog

Stunning timber, Chris.

Originally Posted by Log Dog

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 ...

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.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

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.

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

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,
Ian

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.