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Thread: Please tell me this is Jarrah!!!
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13th February 2021, 12:50 PM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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Please tell me this is Jarrah!!!
Hi, I found a very homemade table on the hard rubbish & milled this lot from it. The top was from 290x45mm
Any ideas what species it is? Peter
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13th February 2021 12:50 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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13th February 2021, 01:13 PM #2
Hi
Photos can be very deceiving but from what I can see, I would say it is Jarrah. It could be Karri but that is normally a little lighter from experience.
Thirty years ago I bought a stack of 'Jarrah' from a wool shed in the Fremantle docks when they were refurbishing for the Americas Cup. When we machined it (about 10cubic Metres) I/we noticed the difference in colour. As I was making dinning tables and chairs we sorted the timber so the colour was some what similar. I had a friend who worked for the TMA (Timber Merchant Association)here in Victoria who I mentioned this to and suggest he have it checked out in a Lab. Consequently I found out I had both Jarrah and Karri.
To cut a long story short, I ended up selling all the furniture as Jarrah because when I labelled it West Australian Karri nobody wanted it, I changed it to Jarrah and it ran out the workshop!
Anyway, I still think its Jarrah.
Hope that helps
KevinLast edited by kph; 13th February 2021 at 01:23 PM. Reason: spelling
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13th February 2021, 04:53 PM #3
Hmmm... not sure. To me it's lacking the interlocking wavy grain of Jarrah and Karri and doesn't appear red or pink enough despite being freshly milled. And that's a fairly expensive wood outside of WA to have been used for knocking up a DIY-level table.
My initial thoughts are that it's Merbau/Kwila.Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.
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13th February 2021, 06:12 PM #4Woodworking mechanic
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These are some pics from my Merbau plank.
DF247EF8-093E-4A4C-94FE-722769FE607F.jpegE9D1FA4D-CAEE-4D75-ADAC-DEF20E5DDF00.jpeg
These are are from a Jarrah floorboard
5DB0C42A-A733-4502-94F1-B7477B52CBD1.jpg3729F88D-1586-4B21-A453-998AEEC78081.jpg
Yours looks more like Merbau to me,
.
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13th February 2021, 06:17 PM #5GOLD MEMBER
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The Burning Splinter Test
I would say it looks like Jarrah too.
Here is an interesting test.. using a the ash left after combustion of a splinter of jarrah ..
"Karri closely resembles jarrah in structure and appearance, the heartwood being reddish-brown darkening to a rather more uniform brown than jarrah. The burning splinter test is generally useful in separating the two timbers. When a small splinter of dry heartwood is burned the embers continue to glow after the flame is extinguished. With karri, a thick white ash is formed, while jarrah burns to a black, ashless charcoal. Karri is slightly heavier than jarrah, and weighs about 900 kg/m³ when dried." (ref: https://www.trada.co.uk/wood-species/karri/)
Euge
(edit: to remove question on source)
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13th February 2021, 06:21 PM #6GOLD MEMBER
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If its Merbau the yellow stuff in its pores dissolves in alcohol or metho. (this yellow substance also stains concrete/ cement)
The yellow solution of a Merbau extract in alcohol fluoresces / glows in sunlight or UV (black) light.
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13th February 2021, 06:57 PM #7SENIOR MEMBER
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Yes, it's Merbau....
Bugger! I have also come to the conclusion that it is Merbau, not that there is anything wrong with that (to quote Seinfeld).
So, no good for chopping boards, but maybe these?? Whadja think? Peter
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13th February 2021, 09:46 PM #8GOLD MEMBER
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Merbau
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14th February 2021, 09:48 AM #9GOLD MEMBER
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14th February 2021, 10:06 AM #10Taking a break
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Yeah...yellow stuff in the grain = Merbau
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14th February 2021, 12:55 PM #11
Sounds the consensus is Merbau. I’ve made a couple of chopping boards with it. No issue. It comes up a golden brown with an oiled finish. Really nice.
I am not sure if your intended use is to make chopping boards, or that was just mentioned. A chest I am building (for the workshop) has the carcase in Merbau (cheap hardwood from Bunnings) ...
And now it is Jarrah
The drawers abd dividers are Jarrah. The man on the galloping horse will not tell the difference when it is finished ...
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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14th February 2021, 03:06 PM #12
I aligned the grain in Repete and Lappa's photos of "Merbau". Apart from colour variance, there is remarkable similarity.
Kwila 3.jpg
Repete's unidentified timber is the paler left one; Lappa's merbau is the browner right hand one.
Old growth merbau aka kwila can also be coloured dark red. But that complex grain is a giveaway.
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14th February 2021, 05:33 PM #13SENIOR MEMBER
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Chopping boards
I was thinking that the tannins will leech out & stain everything, but sealing them might be a plan!
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15th February 2021, 04:35 PM #14
I used to have an office suite completely made from dark red merbau - very large desk, coffee table, side table, swivel chairs, coat rack, etc. There was never, ever any leaching or staining from tannins.
Perhaps the merbau has to be out in the weather for this to be an issue? [eg deck or outdoor furniture.]
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15th February 2021, 04:55 PM #15SENIOR MEMBER
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Merbau
Thanks Graeme! Reassuring.
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