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Blunting Effect
Boring
Carving
Comments
Common Names
Common Uses
Countries of Distribution
Cutting Resistance
Distribution Overview
Drying Defects
Ease of Drying
Environmental Profile
Family Name
Gluing
Grain
Heartwood Color
Kiln Drying Rate
Kiln Schedules
Luster
Mortising
Moulding
Movement in Service
Nailing
Natural Durability
Numerical Data
Odor
Planing
Plantation species?
Polishing
Product Sources
References
Regions of Distribution
Resistance to Impregnation
Response to Hand Tools
Routing & Recessing
Sanding
Sapwood Color
Scientific Name
Screwing
Staining
Steam Bending
Strength Properties
Texture
Toxicity
Trade Name
Tree Identification
Tree Size
Turning
Veneering Qualities

Scientific Name
Acacia melanoxylon

Trade Name
Australian blackwood

Family Name
Leguminosae

Wood Image 1

Wood Image 1

Common Names
Australian black acacia, Australian blackwood, Black sally, Black wattle, Blackwood, Cedar, Cedar lightwood, Lightwood, Swarthout, Tasmanian blackwood

Plantation species?
Yes

Regions of Distribution
Africa, Latin America, Oceania and S.E. Asia

Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP]
Argentina, Australia, Chile, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania

Common Uses
Bedroom suites, Bent Parts, Boat building (general), Boat building: framing, Cabinetmaking, Carvings, Chairs, Chests, Cooperages, Decorative veneer, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Drawer sides, Drum sticks, Excelsior, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Flooring, Flooring: commercial heavy traffic, Food containers, Fuelwood, Furniture , Furniture, Gunstocks, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Light construction, Living-room suites, Musical instruments , Musical instruments, Office furniture, Organ pipes, Paneling, Piano keys, Pianos , Plywood corestock, Plywood, Poles, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Railroad ties, Rifle stock, Sounding boards, Sporting Goods, Structural work, Tables, Tool handles, Turnery, Vats, Vehicle parts, Veneer, Veneer: decorative, Violin bows, Violin, Walking sticks, Wardrobes, Wheel spokes, Wheels, Xylophones, agricultural implements

Environmental Profile
Questionable
Extinct
Endangered
Extinct, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Rare within its range
Data source is World Conservation Monitoring Center

Particularly in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Lesotho, Swaziland, and South Africa

Distribution Overview
Australian Blackwood grows in Eastern Australia from Queensland southward to Victoria and also in Tasmania. It has been introduced into East and South Africa, India, Ceylon, Chile, and Argentina. It's distribution is closely linked to rainfall. The tree can be found in various habitats, chiefly wet sclerophyll forest and in or near cooler rainforest.

Heartwood Color
Brown
Yellow
Red
Orange
Purple
Black
Dark brown
Yellow to golden-yellow to orange
Reddish brown
Brown
Pale brown
Golden brown with a reddish cast

May have chocolate brown zones. Plantation timber may be Greenish-greyish to black in color

Sapwood Color
White
Yellow
Green/Grey
White to yellow
Well defined
Straw colored to grayish-white
Clearly differentiated from the heartwood


Grain
Wavy
Straight
Figure
Other (figure)
Closed
Even
Distinct (figure)
Fiddleback (figure)
Interlocked
Rippled (figure)

Generally straight, but not always
Wavy
Other figures are possible or common
Rippled figure
Occasionally wavy
Occasionally interlocked, but not always
Fiddleback figure
Distinct figure


Texture
Medium
Fine
Even or uniform
Uniform
Medium
Fine
Fine to medium
Even textured


Luster
Medium
High
Lustrous


Natural Durability
Susceptible to insect attack
Non-resistant to powder post beetles
Durable
Non-resistant to termites
Perishable
Non-durable
Moderately durable
Susceptible to attack from powder post (Lyctid & Bostrychid) beetles
Durable
Susceptible to attack from termites (Isoptera)
Perishable
Moderately durable
Untreated wood in contact with ground could decay in less than 5 years
Non durable
Little or no natural resistance


Odor
No specific smell or taste


Toxicity
Some toxic effects
Respiratory effects
Dermatitic effects


Kiln Schedules
Kiln Drying Rate (in days) is fairly rapid
Dry at a moderate speed
Drying (speed) is fast


Drying Defects
Splitting
Distortion
Checking
Collapse
Internal Honeycombing Possible
Slight surface checking
Moderate cupping
Slight end splitting
Slight collapse and honeycomb
No twisting or warping
No surface checking
No end splitting
Moderate end spitting

Wide, flat-sawn boards have a tendency to cup but this can be avoided by weighting down stack

Ease of Drying
Fairly Easy
Moderately Difficult to Difficult
Slowly
Reconditioning Treatement
Rapidly
Easy
Moderate


Kiln Drying Rate
Drying rate is fairly rapid to fast
Naturally dries at a moderate speed
Naturally dries quickly
Rapid
Fairly rapid (11-17 days for boards under 32 mm, to 31-51 days for boards greater than 63 mm)
Rapid (<10 days for boards < 32 mm, to <30 days for boards >= 63 mm)


Tree Identification
Bole/stem form is straight
Bole/stem form is unknown
Bole/stem form is misshapen
Bole/stem form is buttressed

Stem form tends to be straighter with plantation-grown timber

Tree Size
Tree height is 30-40 m
Tree height is 20-30 m
Trunk diameter is 100-150 cm
Sapwood width is 10-15 cm
Sapwood width is 0-5 cm
Sapwood width is 15-20 cm
Bole length is 0-10 m
Tree height is 10-20 m


Product Sources
Supplies of the timber are adequate in Australia, but are limited in other parts of the world. Prices are in the high range when the material is available.

Comments
General finishing qualities are rated as good

Blunting Effect
Moderate
Blunting effect on machining is moderate


Boring
Fairly difficult to very difficult
Fairly easy to very easy
Fair to good results
Easy
Difficult


Carving
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult


Cutting Resistance
Easy to saw
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult to saw
Cutting Resistance with dry wood is easy
Material with interlocked grain can be difficult.
Cutting Resistance with green wood is easy
Cutting Resistance with dry wood is difficult


Gluing
Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Easy to glue
Moderate gluing properties
Satisfactory gluing properties
Gluing properties are variable


Mortising
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult


Moulding
Poor to Very Poor Results
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Poor moulding results

Reduce cutting angle to 20 degrees, especially if interlocked grain is present

Movement in Service
Excellent Stability - Small Movement
Fair to Good Stability - Medium Movement
Unstable with Poor Stability - Large Movement
Medium
Stable
Small
Not stable/prone to move

Plantation timber is less stable

Nailing
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Poor to Very Poor Results
Fair to Good Results
Pre-Boring Recommended
Difficult to nail
Easy to nail
Satisfactory nailing properties
Possible if prebored
Nails hold poorly


Planing
Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Fair to Good Results
Poor to Very Poor Results
Very Good to Excellent Results
Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Planes well, to a good finish
Moderately easy to plane
Responds well to both hand and machine tools
Reduced cutting angle of 20 degrees is suggested
Planes to a poor finish
Easy to plane

Material containing curly grain usually requires extra attention.

Resistance to Impregnation
Resistant heartwood
Resistant sapwood
Permeable sapwood
Permeable heartwood
Heartwood is extremely resistant
Sapwood is moderately resistant
Heartwood is resistant
Sapwood is permeable
Sapwood is moderately treatable
Sapwood is extremely resistant