Rack It - Timber Rack

In November 2010 I first posted about building a wood rack for long lumber. Well... 4 1/2 years later the project never got off the ground, so I took a different strategy. Down to Bunnings for some metal shelving. I'm using 3 x 900mm wide 2.1m tall shelving units. There are lots of advantages to this system - quick (took less than 2 hours to buy and install), easy inspection and access, termite proof, and eacg shelf rated at 750kg. Wasn't cheap though.     

New Cedar Boards

Last weekend I dropped in on Mal Ward from Boutique Timbers. Turned into a pleasant afternoon casually looking for 'interesting timber' and a quick cuppa.

One of the joys of woodworking is seeing the potential within the timber. This slab had been laying on the ground and was covered in mud and mould. The end had split. Most people would have walked past and missed out.

I used a jigsaw to cut down the large split end into smaller usable pieces. A no 5 and no 7 bailey did the rest. (You might also spot an interesting piece of blackbutt in the background.)

Silky smooth Australian Red Cedar. Now I just need a project.

Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum Camphora)

Camphor Laurel is a distinctive timber. It has striking colour varigation - ranging from a pale cream to dark greens and greys. It has a dinstinctive smell (that some people like.) It's easily avalible. It's cheap. It's commonly used in medium grade custom furniture. Some people absolutely love the stuff.

But for me... I don't like it. It's hard to match colours. It's hard to tolerate the smell. It's an imported exotic which doesn't reflect beutiful native timbers. But that's just me.

And then there's other people who really don't like it. http://www.camphorlaurel.com/ - 57 Reasons why Champhor Must Go.

Boutique Timbers: Australian Red Cedar & Huon Pine

Last weekend I made it up to see Mal Ward of Boutique Timbers. After working through a few stacks of Australian Red Cedar (Toona Ciliata) and Huon Pine (Lagarostrobos franklini) I loaded up the trailer with a fine selection of prized Australian Timbers.

Incidentally this caused a bit of controversy over at the Woodwork Forums see Timber Gloat.

Timber and Working with Wood Show : Part 1 - The Timber

EXPO!!!

Yesterday we packed up the forester and ventured south to the big smoke (Sydney) for the Timber and Working with Wood Show. Being the (unofficial) largest wood show in the country there was lots to see, do and buy. Overall there seemed to be an higher quality and range on offer than previous years. I'll break the trip up into a few sections looking at timber, tools, and demonstrations.

Boutique Timbers
I had a good chance to catch up with Mal & Greg from Boutique Timbers. Their offering of timber was the largest on display. It included some beautiful slabs of fiddleback cedar and camphor (which I normally avoid like plague). Have a look through the photos for the diversity and quality on display. If you haven't yet, it's well worth your time to check out their site www.boutiquetimbers.com.

Other Suppliers

Other timber supplies on offer included Tasmanian Timbers, Cedarworks, East Coast Specialised Timbers, Island Specialty Timbers Tasmania, Timber & Burl Liquidation, Trend Timbers, and Wild Wood Gallery.

I wanted to include this photo to demonstrate the diversity within a species of timber - in this case blackwood (acacia melanoxylon) from Tasmanian Timbers. Due to different growing conditions, different nutrients in the soil, different climates, and different genetics significant variation can occur. This is why it's important to actually see the timber you are buying, and then to carefully match timbers or using the differences intentionally with design in mind.

My Purchases
Well I can't say that this is largest timber order I've ever made but I made two interesting purchases of timber I haven't used before. The first from Trend Timbers is a piece of real ebony (diospyros dendro) which is for accents my next project a shaker table, and yes it was $79. The second is blackheart sassafras (atherosperma moschatum) from Wild Wood Gallery which may end up as drawer fronts on an upcoming tool cabinet. (To give an idea of sizes the bench holes are 3" apart.)

Acacia melanoxylon - Tasmanian Blackwood

Tasmanian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon, part of the wattle family) sets the standard in cabinet timbers from Tasmania. It's softly variegated golden to dark browns often streaked with black set an interesting but not overwhealming tone. It's white sapwood although very soft can also be used for distinguishing marks. It's grain is normally wavy to straight, and can be found with large swirls or fiddleback.

Blackwood is a pleasant timber to work. Cuts crisply, turns smoothly, and planes easily (in the right direction.)

The only area in which you may run into to trouble it's it's high silca content. This in turns means high heat production (very easy to cause machinery burns) and dulling of blades in an otherwise medium toughness wood.

It's density is ~640kg/m^3 (12%) or 870kg/m^3 (green.) Janka density 5.9.

The Bedside Tables

Resources

• Tasmanian Timber

Eucalyptus Pilularis - Coastal Blackbutt

The timber for the WorkBench Project is 'Coastal Blackbutt'. A timber that grows locally up and down the east coast, particularly where I used to live. It's correct name is 'Eucalyptus Pilularis' however after a bush fire it maintains a black colouration to it's lower half; hence 'blackbutt'.

It is a largely straight grained timber. Pale to golden brown in colour. Commonly available in 350-400mm widths upto 3m length. Sale prices vary around $2-5 a board foot makes it very reasonable. I have seen a few large boardroom tables made of highly figured blackbutt (fiddleback and burl). It's nice to use timbers that are local.

It's use in furniture is limited by high levels of gum veins, checking and constant need of re-sharpening tools. It is popular for flooring and some structural work.

Info at Australian Hardwood Network

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Images from Grant Timbers and Wild Wood Gallery.

Wood shopping...

Boutique Timbers

Once you graduate from Bunnings bought Radiata Pine you’ll want to explore the world of Australian Hardwoods and Softwoods. I’m fortunate enough to have a good local timber merchant. Mal Ward of Boutique Timbers has always offered me good variety (I've purchased from him Tas. Blackwood, Tas. Mrytle, Huon Pine, Silky Oak, Northern Silverash, River Redgum, Jarrah...) all at a good price. His small mill trades mostlyin slabs rather than boards, and all the wood I’ve purchased has been air dried on his property. He travels to a variety of woodshows around the country. If you come across him mention my name.

My purchase

After discussing the project, quantity of , and my budget - Mal showed me a few timbers and we eventually deciding on Coastal Blackbutt. Blackbutt is a very heavy and dense wood akin to Red River Gum (my last large project.) Why Blackbutt? Although a relatively plain wood, I chose it because it is grown locally (you see it everywhere around here) and I liked that. I also wanted something strong enough to handle the curves I want to make. One thing I wasn’t prepared for was – although my tools don’t seem to mind it, my back does, this is a really heavy wood.

4 boards, 3m long, all wedge shape 350mm-400mm, and 50mm thick – total $300.

Rough marking, making sure all the parts will fit.

The rough tabletop.

Benches, stretches and everything else.