Is this wood Kauri Pine?

[Mountain Ash]

Hi all. I know this can be a difficult ask but does any body know what species this timber is? I found them used to make up the kicker frame for a kitchen I demoed and was on the verge of adding them to the stack in the trailer when the flecked grain caught my eye. Brought them home and planed up 2 edges and a face.

1st edge dark "spotting"
20210810_160417.jpg

Face same "spotting" with plain sawn grain
20210810_160351.jpg

2nd edge with fleck
20210810_160400.jpg

Timber feels light but has been dry for a long time. Photos of timber straight off the plane, no finish.

At first I thought Silky Oak but now I'm leaning towards Kauri

[riverbuilder]

Correct. Kauri most definitely.

[Chief Tiff]

Agree, Kauri. I made a platter and pair of simple bedside cabinets out of it; it’s a lovely timber but burns easily if your power tools have blunt edges. Very easily worked with hand tools and loves a sharp smoothing plane!

[Mountain Ash]

Thanks guys. I wish the bits I snaffled were bigger

[rustynail]

Its Kauri. In the old days it was the prefered timber for kitchen fitouts due to its antibacterial properties.

[Mobyturns]

How old do you reckon the kitchen is?

I will go against the crowd, its Damar Minyak - Agathis dammara, Agathis borneensis - a close relative.

[Mountain Ash]

Hi MT. Early 80's, built as big units (not little carcasses all screwed together), simple pine rails and stiles with fielded panels, painted finish but probably originally clear coated and olive green laminate bench top. Kauri was only used as noggins for the boxed kickers that the cabinets sat on.

[Mountain Ash]

Hi RN. Do you have any more info re Kauri? An old boss of mine used it to make his kitchen benchtops, even going to the extent of carving a sloping section leading into the bowl, but his one regret was finishing it with poly. He wished he had of left it raw so that the inevitable dings would swell back up with the constant re wetting.

[Mobyturns]

Hi MT. Early 80's, built as big units (not little carcasses all screwed together), simple pine rails and stiles with fielded panels, painted finish but probably originally clear coated and olive green laminate bench top. Kauri was only used as noggins for the boxed kickers that the cabinets sat on.

Given that time line I will stick with Damar Minyak. From memory, by the 1980's there was not a lot of Kauri milled in FNQ, but may have been in SEQ. There was also significant imports of Pacific Island woods by then - so it could be either, but more likely Damar Minyak from your photos.

[Mountain Ash]

Hi MT. I will check that out. I assume the cabinetmaker didn't place too much value on the timber if it was in such a hidden place

[Mobyturns]

Hi MT. I will check that out. I assume the cabinetmaker didn't place too much value on the timber if it was in such a hidden place

That's not unusual, it is very undervalued. Mostly used as a "secondary" timber for drawer carcasses etc, in furniture and cabinetry. It can be quite spectacular if finished well, but light timbers have never really been fashionable.

[Mountain Ash]

Hi MT. After spending a little more time with this wood (made an oil stone box/holder with it) I think you might be closer to the mark. A couple of online links refer to DM as Indonesian Kauri and the images are honey coloured wheras Agathis Robusta looks more creamy. The DM does have that softish feel while AR I have used before was firmer. I guess this is a reminder about how misleading common names can be

[Mobyturns]

The realities of global commerce vs local supply also strengthen my opinion that it is Damar minyak, as its far cheaper to import Damar minyak from Malaya / Borneo than to road transport QLD Kauri to VIC from FNQ. There is considerable confusion with id of our endemic QLD Kauri / Bunya / Hoop pine to the untrained eye then we throw in imports.

[rustynail]

Hi RN. Do you have any more info re Kauri? An old boss of mine used it to make his kitchen benchtops, even going to the extent of carving a sloping section leading into the bowl, but his one regret was finishing it with poly. He wished he had of left it raw so that the inevitable dings would swell back up with the constant re wetting.

Qld Kauri was used in the early days for food contact surfaces. This included bakeries, butcher blocks, kitchen benchtops and preperation tables, etc. As the timber became scarce other woods came into play. Today Indonesian Kauri is the look-alike. As for quality and durability IMHO it is not in the same league.

[nine fingers]

When Fosters brewery purchased Ballarat Bertie beer 35 to 40 years ago they shut it down. All the beer vats were made out Qld kauri ,may be 100 years old, each vat had 57 vertical planks 160 X 70 3.6 metre long with a slight bevel on both edges making the vat about 2400 diam.
A truck arrived a my workshop, the driver asked me if I was interested in some timber,one look, back it in , 114 @ $30. I let it dry for a couple of years before I started to use it.
One of the previous replys was about a bench top with a sink in it ,l made one with a tapered draining board with tapered grooves , the client finished it the old way ,scrubbed with salt.
John.