Thread: Timber id

Depending on weight, it looks like some Meranti I have.

Kwila

Merbau/Kwila

Managed to get a wet photo



Looks like you guys were on the money i guess

Not sure how well dressed it is but at 295 x 45 its plenty to work with.

I guess my next question is: is it worth working with for making furniture? Eg tables


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While I wouldn't attempt to do fine reproductions in Kwila/Merbau, it's not a bad wood for some indoor stuff. A bit heavy imo, for moveable furniture, but fine for built-ins. I made the cabinets and boxed-in the bath in this "Federation style" bathroom with Kwila & it turned out well enough to satisfy my severest critic:
Kwila cabinets.jpg
(Apologies for the picture quality, I had to scan it from an old photo)

It's not the greatest wood in the world to work with hand tools, but certainly not the worst. Some pieces contain calcareous deposits which can take the edge off plane blades quick-smart, but otherwise it's not that hard to hand-plane. It finishes ok despite the fairly coarse grain. One caveat - make sure you seal anywhere likely to get wet or you will have some nasty stains on your floor!

Cheers,

After laying whole decks of Merbau, your hands look pretty different. The stain eventually comes off. And yes the "bleeding" from Merbau can be pretty impressive after rain.