Thread: What's Celery Top worth?

Originally Posted by Evanism

I met a guy who has absolute giga-tons of CT. He has so much he makes cheap revolting blocky outdoor furniture for the markets. It was used so wastefully and in such a heinous manner, I assumed it was awful timber, not revered and wonderful.

I'll ask if he'll sell it.

If he is willing to sell some, there will be no shortage of potential buyers ... including me. Please keep us posted.

Cheerio!

John

Originally Posted by MAPLEMAN

Kiwi,does this statement imply that anyone else selling CT at a lesser price is dishonest and illegitimate? And who cares what they think .I am sure there are individual stashes of CT in many sheds around this wonderful country of ours,old growth or otherwise.Once your 'stash' is gone,there will be more available for sale i am sure .Not understating the value or application(s) of CT,but the fact is it is a fairly obscure species in the eyes of many woodies.Alot of folk would never have heard of it before Rusty gave you an honest appraisal i thought.Money is very tight at present and 12k will buy the astute punter alot of quality boat building timber.I could purchase a quite a few cube of figured Qld Maple,Silver Ash,White Beech for that amount of money...MM

Some of the commentators here should read what I've said a little more carefully. All I've done is stated what I found on i/net - someone(not me) is selling CT for $1200/cube. Someone(not me) has stated it is hard to get(old growth). I have not given my personal opinion on any prices I've seen & I am not asking any where near $12000/cube. In fact I am open to negotiation. There is obviously a huge difference in the quality & prices on offer. I've had & been using my CT for about 5-6 yrs. Every week I might use Mahogany, maple(love it), Aus. cedar, silky oak, kauri,walnut,myrtle, rosewood, ebony -but never radiata. Personally I have been very impressed with the quality of CT I have. I have never passed judgement on the integrity of any contributors here - I assume ALL are honest. I have simply stated what I have read & wish no offence.
6 men look at the same woman - the 1st falls in love & the last throws up - different strokes for different folks.
Let's all get back to enjoying our craft.
Kiwi

Good morning Everone

I am down in Tassie, love celery top, have about a cube in my shed, but it's market price and supply has been a little eccentric since around 1990.

Twenty years ago it was readily available, became the firm favorite for boat building as it takes glue better than Huon, and was favoured for post & beam house construction, furniture, artifacts and so on. The price per cube was fairly stable for a long time at around $800 per cube.

Then it became a victim of the Gunns/Forestry Tasmania debacle and supplies essentially disappeared and prices soared. Urban myth says that Gunns chipped it! Ten years ago a close friend built a 32 foot yacht and had the plans redrawn so that he could build it in Huon rather than celery top - Huon was then significantly cheaper and more readily available in boat building quality and lengths. I bought some rough sawn, air dried planks, 300 x 50 mm, at $35 per super foot ($15,000 per cube).

Now the supply constriction has eased and celery is readily available in limited quantities. Island Speciality Timbers at Geeveston, morrisons at queens town and britton brothers at Smithton all have supplies of select grade (not boatbuilding) at around the prices indicated by Rustynail.

The price of $12,000 per cube may have been relevant a few years ago, but the times they are achanging.





Fair Winds

Graeme


PS: It seems that in the last twenty years, I made over $14,000 on my celery top ......... And then lost $12,000.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Good morning Everone

I am down in Tassie, love celery top, have about a cube in my shed, but it's market price and supply has been a little eccentric since around 1990.

Twenty years ago it was readily available, became the firm favorite for boat building as it takes glue better than Huon, and was favoured for post & beam house construction, furniture, artifacts and so on. The price per cube was fairly stable for a long time at around $800 per cube.

Then it became a victim of the Gunns/Forestry Tasmania debacle and supplies essentially disappeared and prices soared. Urban myth says that Gunns chipped it! Ten years ago a close friend built a 32 foot yacht and had the plans redrawn so that he could build it in Huon rather than celery top - Huon was then significantly cheaper and more readily available in boat building quality and lengths. I bought some rough sawn, air dried planks, 300 x 50 mm, at $35 per super foot ($15,000 per cube).

Now the supply constriction has eased and celery is readily available in limited quantities. Island Speciality Timbers at Geeveston, morrisons at queens town and britton brothers at Smithton all have supplies of select grade (not boatbuilding) at around the prices indicated by Rustynail.

Thanks a lot Graeme, that's the most relevant & accurate assessment I've had yet. I have viewed some outdoor furn (frequent, lge black knots & wide growth rings)in CT on the net & all I can say is the quality is totally incomparable to what I have.



The price of $12,000 per cube may have been relevant a few years ago, but the times they are achanging.





Fair Winds

Graeme


PS: It seems that in the last twenty years, I made over $14,000 on my celery top ......... And then lost $12,000.

Thanks a lot Graeme, RELEVANT replies to my question have been few.
Having viewed some of the CT refered to in some of the above comments I can only say a lot of it is completely incomparable to what I have. There is obviously a huge range of quality available with some having frequent, large black knots & very open grain structure. Some of the comments have been made without viewing the pix I posted in wooden boat section. I will try to post a couple of pix below. Pic of end view shows approx 120 growth rings in a board just 105mm wide! This equates to the tree growing approx. 8 inches in diameter every 100 yrs! I ran a board thru my saw to show the knots - but in this 2mtr length - none. On the other side of this board two small, tight knots are visible. Most boards are 4.8 - 5.5 mtrs long & most common thicknesses are 55mm & 30mm sawn with some 100 sqr.
After much deliberation I think a value of $6000/cube is a fair estimate, considering quality. If anyone wants 1 cube or more I will throw in a slab of well seasoned myrtle(3mtrs x 900 x 40 - with some defects) with each cube.
The projects I have made with the CT have so far returned me over $20000 / cube - including labour.
Happy Easter to all,
Kiwi

Originally Posted by kiwihumidor

Thanks a lot Graeme, RELEVANT replies to my question have been few.
Having viewed some of the CT refered to in some of the above comments I can only say a lot of it is completely incomparable to what I have. There is obviously a huge range of quality available with some having frequent, large black knots & very open grain structure. Some of the comments have been made without viewing the pix I posted in wooden boat section. I will try to post a couple of pix below. Pic of end view shows approx 120 growth rings in a board just 105mm wide! This equates to the tree growing approx. 8 inches in diameter every 100 yrs! I ran a board thru my saw to show the knots - but in this 2mtr length - none. On the other side of this board two small, tight knots are visible. Most boards are 4.8 - 5.5 mtrs long & most common thicknesses are 55mm & 30mm sawn with some 100 sqr.
After much deliberation I think a value of $6000/cube is a fair estimate, considering quality. If anyone wants 1 cube or more I will throw in a slab of well seasoned myrtle(3mtrs x 900 x 40 - with some defects) with each cube.
The projects I have made with the CT have so far returned me over $20000 / cube - including labour.
Happy Easter to all,
Kiwi

Kiwi..your timber looks stunning,shouldn't think you'll have trouble selling it particularly into the instrument market,at that price.Again,it looks very tasty...MM

Kiwi, Most timbers have a "going rate". This is the average for that particular specie, both in price and quality.
Exceptional material is usually at a premium, particularly if supply/availability is limited. It is not beyond reality to see the price double in some cases. Part of a timber agents job is to read the market.....know what is required and be able to place fair value accordingly. This becomes even more relevant with high end furniture timbers.
IMHO the price you have decided upon would be fair value, provided the timber meets spec in all other areas. As I am sure you can appreciate, there is more to assessing timber value than what can be gleaned from a couple of photos.

Good Morning Kiwi

Thanks for the generous words.

Your photos - real celery - just remind me why I love this species. And that lovely aroma of freshly milled timber - pity we don't have smellovision!

With the Tassie ex-mill price, add freight, add boatbuilding quality premium (20 - 30%), add length premium (15 - 25%) and your price seems eminently reasonable, especially if its all as good as the photos. But I am over 2,000 kilometres away and markets very as highlighted by rustynail.

$6,000 per m3 is just over $14 per superfoot. Might be worth you setting a second price of, say, $20 per super foot for small quantities.



Fair Winds

Graeme

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Good Morning Kiwi

Thanks for the generous words.

Your photos - real celery - just remind me why I love this species. And that lovely aroma of freshly milled timber - pity we don't have smellovision!

With the Tassie ex-mill price, add freight, add boatbuilding quality premium (20 - 30%), add length premium (15 - 25%) and your price seems eminently reasonable, especially if its all as good as the photos. But I am over 2,000 kilometres away and markets very as highlighted by rustynail.

$6,000 per m3 is just over $14 per superfoot. Might be worth you setting a second price of, say, $20 per super foot for small quantities.



Fair Winds



Graeme

Thanks guys, I did say that with my 30 yrs experience I was quite impressed with it - simply divine to hand-plane. I also agree with Rustynail - when spending a lot of money on timber I would strongly advise personal inspection. The boards in pix were selected at random & are indicative of general quality but there is some slight variation in quality. I would be happy to provide accomm for any out of towners wishing to view CT. My sole reason for parting with it is to reduce credit card debt. High overheads & depressed Brisbane market are killing small businesses at the moment. I would gladly sell any quantity & as suggested small amounts would probably be a little more expensive. I am trying to encourage larger purchases. To maintain my reputation as a sole operator it is important an honest deal is done & all parties satisfied - hence the lengthy research. I will state again I am not a timber reseller - simply selling my personal stash to reduce debt. I also have some appealing antiques for sale. Many in fine maple - one of my fav Aussie woods. If anyone travelling near sth wst Bris feel free to call in for chat. PM me for ph num.
If anyone has a trailerable boat in any condition a trade of furn or wood or skills could be negotiated.
Happy hols to all,
Kiwi