Timber species in Australian custom furniture trends.

What is recycled timber? Whatever it is, it definitely seems to be taking over the custom furniture scene these last few years. And this is great for a few reasons, but first of all, let’s talk about the main sources and species of recycled timber we have available to use in Australia. We are so lucky, that our forefathers built homes, railway structures, bridges, flooring and more out of the most beautiful “old growth” timber species. Old growth refers to timber that was harvested from trees that took a very long time to reach maturity and harvest, sometimes over 100 years, compared to today’s hardwood which most of it is typically grown intentionally for near future harvest. The difference here lies in the quality, durability and hardness of the material. The old growth timber has several folds worth of concentric rings within the log compared to that of the new age timber. This is easily seen if you take an old 2 x 6 of Messmate and compare it to a new 2 x 6 of the new growth messmate. You will see the obvious difference right away. The higher concentration of these rings makes the timber much harder and more durable, hence preferred for furniture making. On a quick side note, personally I believe that one of the only comparable species we have to the old growth timbers, is that of the new age ironbark. It definitely seems slightly less durable, yet very comparable to old growth as Ironbark tends to have a cross woven grain pattern as opposed to regular concentric rings. This makes Ironbark the King of timbers when it comes to regularly available timber species to work with.

Messmate, Redgum, Ironbark, Vic Ash, Tassie oak, and sometimes even Blackbutt. Now the cool thing to know is that these are all eucalypts, so it is time to appreciate how much variation exists with Eucalypt Genus in Australia. From the softer hardwoods, such as Vic Ash and Tassie Oak, ranking barely at 5 on the hardness scale, to spotted gum at 11 and Ironbark at 14, you, as the consumer, can make an informed choice based on these properties as to what you wish to build your piece of furniture with. As expected, pieces built out of Vic Ash, or Oak, will not be as durable as those made with Spotted Gum or Red Ironbark, or, will require a much Harsher finish to maintain its durability. However, there are other considerations such as tones within the timber. It seems to me that recycled Messmate has been a prominent choice and quite trendy for some time now. I gather that there is a combination of reasons for this and here is my take: It looks amazing. This timber comes from old rafters, studs and beams that were taken down from house demolitions and dressed accordingly. The resulting boards tend to have amazing grain patterns, with featuring voids that really pop upon a proper clear epoxy resin fill. In addition, it is also an affordable timber that comes in at a mid-range price point, and yet provides you with timber that comes in at about 8 on the hardness scale. Wow, how many positives can we talk about? One other thing mention about Recycled Messmate, is that the grain and tone variation between different boards is incredible, which means that your piece of furniture ends up looking more like a mix of species sometimes, but that’s what makes recycled timber special after all. If you’re looking for a timber that is a true all-rounder and yet doesn’t break the bank, and also doesn’t give off any red tones, this is the one for you.

As you’ve gathered, I am not a fan of using anything lower than Messmate on the hardness scale to build anything intended to last a lifetime. So next up from Messmate on the hardness scale and the price scale, comes Blackbutt. An incredibly beautiful timber with popping veins and brown/green tones. This one also does not give off any red tones, which is quite popular these days. I find a lot of customers are trying to move away from the red tones as they have seen it so much in mid-century and 90s/2000s furniture pieces. However, I want to clarify that a lot of these red tones were made to look tacky by using harsh finishes such as polyurethane, lacquer and Shellac. This is not the case when using oil and Hardwax. For example, the red of an Ironbark becomes incredibly subtle with this technique and the visual pronunciation becomes that of the grain cross weaving through the piece of furniture. It is also important to note that more and more people are using the recycled Messmate timber in their custom furniture pieces, which means that these pieces are becoming less and less unique. I believe that my finishing technique tends to make the Messmate pop a lot more than the standard Hardwax oils commonly use. Saturating the timber prior to applying wax tends to darken it and give a rich look. When a Hardwax oil like Polyx is used on a piece, it tends to look like an Oak with extra features as opposed to a rich, dark and high feature timber.

Now if you are someone who appreciates the reds and the blends of reds and greens, lets talk about Spotted gum, Ironbark and Even Blackwood ( Blackwood however is not a Eucalypt but rather a less common Acacia and therefore less available and pricier). These are 3 of my absolute favorites, and I wish more people were open to building bold pieces from these species. It seems Cliche, but the more solid something is, the more valuable it looks. So if you want your piece to stand out and really grab attention, it’s worth considering these 3 other common options. If you are leaning towards a red tone, but not sure you want to commit, then I suggest Spotted gum. Although it has a lot of red, it can also have a lot of greens and browns, so it really comes down to board selection, and this is something you should be able to talk about with your custom furniture maker. Blackwood is also another option as it also pops with a lot goldish and brownish tones blended in with its reds. And if you are fully committed, then look no further than Ironbark. No other species has the grain pattern of Ironbark, so it is a unique wood. And in addition, building something in Ironbark, is like buying something with unlimited warranty. I will simply not wear down like the other species can. As with everything in life, there are cons to all. So although these harder and more red species can offer a lot, and look amazing, they do come at a higher price point, and, it also means that your piece of furniture will be considerably heavier. This may or may not be a bad thing, I guess it depends on your perspective.

I hope this has been helpful to you in your journey of designing a custom piece of woodwork. Please do not hesitate to email me with any queries, I am always happy to talk about anything woodworking related. In finishing, I also wish to remind you of that fact that although, these are common species and are readily available to be milled down for your project, there are many more species available. Check out this resource where you can find photos and information about each of the species discussed, as well as many more: Wood Filter | The Wood Database (wood-database.com). This purely depends on your budget and your supplier. And if you can’t find it, but you know that someone has a tree of that species they wish to cut down, you can also opt to get it milled and stored properly until dry and ready for use. On that note, if you need to cut down a tree on your property, it is also worth doing this as you may wish to eternalize this tree into a centerpiece for your home. Until next time,

Darrell