Thread: Merbu.. whats it good for?

we have used some KD to make stairs and even bench tops, looks great just not outside.

its a value for money hardwood if you ask me, if its dry no reason for not using it for nice stuff, i think that 4x4 is worth about $18.00 plm at my Dads place.

Righto Gaza so you reckon that bleeding I've seen in the past is due to it being outside? sounds about right now you mention it.. nice one!

I might just go ahead and oil it up, put it to use and see what happens.

it is a nice hardwood with great colours (if you like dark red/brown), I have used it for both indoors and outdoor. For outdoor, keep the timber oiled and you won't see the runs that you described!

Hey Gaza,

You say your dad sells Kwila/Merbu (they are the same thing right?) for $18 plm for 4x4 posts.

I have a friend in PNG who wants to get into the business of exporting Kwila downunder (to Oz). I am his eyes and ears here in Australia.

Do you think your dad would be interested in buying from him? Of course i need to find out a lot more information (i am new to this business) about exactly what your dad would be interested in and approximate purchase prices.

At this stage we are working out the feasibility of an operation exporting say 1 container per month.

Please let me know if your dad is interested or if either yourself or he knows anybody who may be interested.

Any information would be great.

Thank you,

Luke83.

I got some rough cut stair tread "shorts" that had been sitting in a timber yard for quite some time - bloke said no-one wanted them

Planed them down, belt sanded them etc etc - finished with a couple of coats of Feast Watson Satinproof and now my Dad has his own all weather bar table on the veranda - I think it did all it's sap bleeding in the timber yard

This stuff was really hard - put marks on the foot of the electric planer

Would have been a waste to walk on them, much more respectful to sit a couple of beers and a bowl of snacks on them

I made a workbench out of Kwila. HEAVY.
We also have some as a deck on the front of the house in Cairns.
It bleeds when it gets wet.

Its good to hear that the satinproof worked ok BrisBen.. I was just looking at a tub in the shed thinking I might go it instead of the oil. That way I can seal the underside of the bench top along with the fram all in one go.

I think Im gonna head back to that mill and pick out the rest of the straight posts.

Originally Posted by Luke83

Hey Gaza,

You say your dad sells Kwila/Merbu (they are the same thing right?) for $18 plm for 4x4 posts.

I have a friend in PNG who wants to get into the business of exporting Kwila downunder (to Oz). I am his eyes and ears here in Australia.

Do you think your dad would be interested in buying from him? Of course i need to find out a lot more information (i am new to this business) about exactly what your dad would be interested in and approximate purchase prices.

At this stage we are working out the feasibility of an operation exporting say 1 container per month.

Please let me know if your dad is interested or if either yourself or he knows anybody who may be interested.

Any information would be great.

Thank you,

Luke83.

we just buy from local based whoesalers who do all the importing. we try to buy kiln dired boards and with posts get seasoned. for info talk to timber tally service in sydney they look after importing as a shipping agent.

we always get offers to import direct but the cost saving is not worth the out lay. if you have some rough m3 rates and what end sections you can supply worked out let us know.