I have just come across a specimen of Blue Gum (Eucalyptus Saligna) which has grain running at different angles in adjacent rings. The angle between rings is of the order of thirty degrees. It appears to have spiral grain running one way for a few years (3 or 4 millimetres of growth) and then running the other way for the next period. And then back to the original direction, and so on... It splits easily (with an axe) along the rings but splitting it across the rings is very hard. And if you know how tough Australian hardwood is under usual circumstances and then think of something that takes at least three times as much effort to split you have some idea of how tough this stuff is. It is like trying to chop a piece of plywood 150mm thick. This is firewood, not timber for woodwork, sorry. And it has been eaten out by termites in the middle of the trunk. This tree has been dead for ten or more years, possibly decades. The other notable thing about it is that is doesn't burn as well as the straight grained variety. I had a slightly embarrassing time with a bbq on Saturday.
Does anyone out there know why trees grow this way? And why is it not so burnable?
Cheers
Ian
The wood in question is at a weekender property so I can't get pictures until next weekend. I will do my best, but then I am OS for about three weeks so...