Thread: Messmate

Hey Dallas, very nice mate. Nice looking box. I've never heard of that timber before. And your dividers look very smick also.

Paul

We have a local business here Timber Zoo that reclaims large posts, pilons and beams from buildings, bridges and piers and remachine them into mainly flooring or lining type materials. It's really nice to walk in there and look at their racks full of really old Australian hardwoods dressed up. I guess some of the timber isn't regularly seen as they probably stopped using it a long time ago. They have an area where they put their seconds that have flaws in them which aren't any good for their main products but a great source when you only need small pieces like us box makers where you can cut around the defects if you don't want to include them as a feature.

Nice box Dallas
really like the contrasting dividers and front insert, the overall colour of the box looks great

I also hadn't heard of that timber

It must be great to have the boxmakers version of a lolly shop down the road

cheers
Hodgo

That's nice Dallas. Could you tell me where you found that nice little chain?
EDIT: And I just had a look at the "zoo" site, WOW, what a great place.

I got it from here. That one is the 2.4mm ball and the only one listed that has the size specified. There are 2 other ones in the gold but it doesn't mention ball diameter. Because I am only using it in short lengths the fittings that come with it won't go far so I enquired about extra fittings, but he doesn't sell them separately and I can't find them online anywhere else.

I agree, a very nice box. I really like the colour contrast in your choice of materials but I'm a bit puzzled by the photos. For some reason the box looks twice as deep on the outside as it does on the inside. Is this just a perspective thing or is there a secret compartment hidden inside?

I'm a kiwi so please excuse my ignorance of Australian hardwoods but I've made several boxes using locally grown Eucalyptus Obliqua, which my research indicates is called Messmate or Stringybark in Aussie. This box has a Swamp Kauri lid panel but the lovely curly wood is Messmate. I have quite a bit of this and I was surprised to see how different the Messmate in your box is - am I being mislead by my local mill?

IMG_4100 (1).jpg

Thanks Rex. I think it is more a perspective thing as there are no secrets. From memory I think it was about 190 x 120 x 80.
It appears that Messmate comes in a variety of colours and what I got was testament to this as a couple of boards were the yellowish colour like this, and others were more like the normal Eucalypt type of colouring and grain patterns.
Messmate | WoodSolutions

Messmate.JPG

Thanks Dallas,

Photo #3 in the series illustrates best what I am talking about. I guess what appears to be the bottom of an upper section must be a shadow line which creates quite an optical illusion.

Thanks for the Woodsolutions site, that will be invaluable in future. There are so many spectacular timbers in Australia and so many different regional names for different varieties that it can be hard to get a handle on some of them. The fact that you have other contributors that have never heard of Messmate is a case in point.

Woodsolutions sample photo of Messmate is quite similar to the wood in your box and I do like the unusual colour. The piece in the photo I posted was given to me by a friend and it is so different it's hard to believe it came from the same genus. We must have a few trees growing locally as a mill near me has quite a stack of it which had been milled as floor boards and it has the same curl, although not quite as tight - they can't sell it as I think it would be a bit overpowering for a floor, but with a bit of machining it's ideal for boxes.

I haven't posted anything here for quite a while and rather than hijack your post with more photos I'll get something together for a seperate post on Messmate boxes.

Rex

This photo gives an indication of the variations in colour and grain patterns in a few of the pieces I got.

Messmate.jpg

Nice work Dallas. High time I make a box again.