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                        BLACKWOOD VARIATIONS

                                                                                         It's all a matter of habitat.

    

                 Many people buying Blackwood with little prior direct knowledge of the product may well assume that what they have

                 purchased comes from Tasmania and that they have purchased a species which will be a very dark golden brown in

                 colour. Those with a broader experience will know that the Acacia 

                 Melanoxylon species grows and is commercially logged on our east coast, from North Queensland down to those parts

                 of Tasmania where the Tasmanian Tiger may still lurk.

 

                Thousands of kilometres of latitude separate the two main areas of commercial growth and widely varying conditions

                of soil, climatic and topographic conditions play their part in the development of the Acacia species which is

                commercially  sold as Black Wattle (in Queensland ), Tasmanian Blackwood (in Tasmania and on the mainland ) and

                either simply Blackwood or Victorian Blackwood in that state.

 

                There are many variations in colours within any random selection of Blackwood. Generally the Tasmanian Blackwood

                tree produces an interesting, possibly unpredictable range of colour variations. It's hues run from chocolate /brown

                to straw/gold with many variations in between. Victorian Blackwood  can be a rich red brown with dark streaking normally 

               associated with Teak. The Queensland variety is a more predictable brown - gold to honey coloured.

               Grass root enquiries at source suggest that Queensland " Black Wattle " is drawn from either Brown Salwood 

               ( Acacia Aulacocarpa or Acacia Mangium ) or a much smaller version of the Acacia Melanoxylon than grows in the

               Southern  States. Curiously one Northern Queensland miller reports that the " hungrier the tree the darker the timber ". 

               At the other end of our east coast, a West Coast Taswegian logger was equally adamant that Blackwood grown in rich river 

               valleys produces the dark brown timber normally associated with the " Blackwood " name. He felt that those trees which grow 

               on hill-tops or exposed areas are reported more likely to be lighter in colour.

                Further investigations with Queensland merchants suggest that Acacia Mangium is likely to be darker in colourand  that 

               Acacia  Aulacocarpa is closer in colour and character to Acacia Melanoxylon. While it is obviously preferable from a user viewpoint 

               to be confident that you have purchased a parcel containing  boards from the same species of Acacia  this confidence may be 

               misplaced.  In reality as many as 3 or 4 species of Acacias could potentially be combined in any parcel of "Black Wattle". The only real 

               avenue to certainty would be to place an order for that species of Acacia desired by the user at  the point of source.

               The Queensland Forestry Department publication "Queensland Timber - Their Nomenclature, Density and Lyctid Susceptibility "( 

               Technical Pamphlet No 2 date 1st September, 1989), specifies the Botanical name of the "Black Wattle " species as Acacia  

              Auriculiformis and the following cross  referenced local names:

 

                          Local Name:                                                                                                  Acacia Species

 

                          Blackwood                         ( " black wattle " )                                                 Ac. Melanoxylon

                          Currcabah                         ( " black wattle " )                                                Ac. Leiocalyx

                          Lightwood                          ( " sally wattle "  )                                                 Ac. Implexa

                          Brown Salwood                  ( " black or hickory wattle" )                                Ac. Aulacocarpa

                                     Also                         ( "sally wattle" )                                                   Ac. Mangium

                          Green Wattle                     ( " black &  early black wattle " )                        Ac. Decurrens

 

                While the other Acacias named above have a wide distribution in Queensland, Curracabah and Green Wattle 

                grow mainly in Southern Queensland.

 

               Assuming the correctness of various local indications that Brown Salwood is probably the most commonly

               recurring species in any parcel of Queensland Black Wattle, a comparison of its properties and technical description

               with those applicable to Australian Blackwood is interesting:

 

 

                      (1)   Brown Salwood                                   (1)

 

                            Local Name :                                       Black Wattle, Hickory Wattle or Sally Wattle

                                                                                         ( A. Mangium only).

 

                           Description & Distribution:               East Coast from North New South Wale to Cape York. Coastal

                                                                                        NT. Attains 30m height, 1m in diameter. 

 

                            Appearance:                                        Heartwood  light brown to brown often streaked with darker

                                                                                         marking. Generally straight grained

 

                            Density                                                690 to  800 kg /m3  @ 12 %

 

                            Uses                                                    Plywood furniture, shop & office fixture, joinery, turning  and 

                                                                                        light boat-building.

                                                                                            

 

                         (2)     Australian Blackwood                      (Ac. MELANOXYLON (2)

 

                                Local Name:                                      Blackwood, Tasmanian Blackwood or Victorian Blackwood.

 

                                Description & Distributions            Southeast Australia. Trees of 30m in height and 1m in  

                                                                                          diameter.

 

                                Appearance                                        Golden to chocolate brown with darker markings. Grain is

                                                                                          generally  fairly straight.

 

                                Density :                                            665 kg /m3

 

                                Uses:                                                 Blackwood is "one of Australia 's most attractive woods, even 

                                                                                          plain  timber having a fine appearance. It is used mainly for 

                                                                                          decorative effect for panelling interior joinery in prestige 

                                                                                          buildings and for furniture " (2)

 

              The most significant differences would appear to be limited to weight and a small colour variation.

 

             While the Tasmanian Blackwood tree can grow in excess of 30 meters tall, trees of a similar size can be found in

              Victoria where the first limb may be over 12 meters from ground. By comparison the Queensland Black Wattle timber

              is increasingly cut out of a much smaller " barrel "

 

              Blackwood, wherever grown, is clearly one of this country's most attractive woods. It dries without many of the

              problems which beset other species and is considered relatively ease to work. Strength - wise it compares well

              with European Beech and it bends well after  steaming. It also takes a high polish with the result that even

             essentially bland timber takes on a fine appearance with a little "elbow grease".

 

             Blackwood's range of uses - from high class decorative furniture and bent wood to coach work and boat building -

             does set it apart from many other species.

 

            Debate about variations between the appearance of the "Blackwoods" will continue. Many seasoned experts claim

            a capacity to identify location of growth on sight, with the same confidence that Len Evans displays in wine

            identification. Sample testing sometimes shakes this confidence. As merchants who stock Blackwood from North

            Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania in a range of sizes ( including  25mm, 38mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm), we would

            have one consistent line of a advice to potential Blackwood buyers- if you are buying Blackwood with a particular

            colour in mind, expect the  unexpected !

 

                           (1)   Queensland DPI  " Timbers Species Notes"  April 1994

                           (2)   The International Book of Wood "  -  Hugh Johnson

 

 

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