Working with Lyptus

[Ray Martin]

Has anyone done any work with Lyptus? I've read a couple of reviews of the stuff that rave about its looks and how easily it can be worked and finished. Supposed to look kind of like mahogany. And it's grown in sustainable / managed forests. I looked at prices listed on Steve Wall's lumber yard and it's $4 per bf for 4/4 as opposed to $4.70 for mahogany. The ideas of eco-friendly and cheaper are both nice.... but it has to be workable wood... any experience or thoughts or comments?

Ray

 

[Makinsawdust]

Ray,
It is very workable however it is harder that Mahogany. To me this is a great furniture wood but is not going to replace Mahogany soon or at least until Sapele runs out. Sapele is much closer in color and texture and is being bought in great volumes for such. Lyptus has few defects with mostly straight grain. I've been using it in some of my products for 2-3yrs. Lately I've been getting really dark and red colored wood and the price of it has been climbing. In the past it was about the shade of cherry and pinkish beige. I'm not sure what's going on with the color change. Try it you'll like it.
Rob

 

[DaveO]

The little bit that I have worked with it I have found it to be a nice wood. It works well both with hand tools and power tools. It is a little harder than Oak and more dense. The darker the color the denser the wood is. It doesn't have the fuzzy tear out that you sometimes get in the lower grade "Mahoganies".
It's from an Eucalyptus tree, so keep your pieces made with it away from any Koala bears :lol: :lol:

Dave

 

[ashley_phil]

i made my son's crib out of lyptus. i bought into the whole "green" thing. it is beautiful i have the darker reddish variety and it is hard as anything. really tough on tools!!!!

i talked with the weyerhauser rep at length about my problems at the greensboro show. he said there are several lighter grades that come from higher in the tree and they are considerably softer. if i use it again i'd go that route.

my next crib i'm going to use european beech specifically pollemeir i've seen it at shows and it has little grain very straight and seems very stable. they've told me i shoudl be able to find it for $ 3 a bd ft! maybe a bit less.

for your lyptus shop around you should be able to find it for $ 3.25 a bd ft that is what i paid kyle and the folks at woodcraft in matthews offered me some for fill in work a the same price. of course that was the red hard stuff so the lighter softer might sell at a higher premium.