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Clicking any heading in the main data area (at right) will scroll the page back to this top position. Use the following links to jump to the associated section in the main data. 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 Schedules Luster Mortising Moulding Movement in Service Nailing Natural Durability Numerical Data Odor Planing Polishing Product Sources References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Response to Hand Tools Sanding Sapwood Color Scientific Name Screwing Staining Steam Bending Strength Properties Texture Trade Name Tree Size Turning Veneering Qualities Scientific Name Nothofagus cunninghamii Trade Name Tasmanian myrtle Family Name Fagaceae Common Names Australian nothofagus, Beech, Beech myrtle, Mountain beech, Myrtle beech, New Guinea beech, Silver beech, Tasmanian beech, Tasmanian myrtle Regions of Distribution Oceania and S.E. Asia Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea Common Uses Baskets, Bent Parts, Boat building, Broom handles, Brush backs & handles, Cabinetmaking, Canoes, Carvings, Chairs, Chests, Decorative plywood, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Domestic flooring, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Factory flooring, Fine furniture, Flooring, Food containers, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Lifeboats, Living-room suites, Mine timbers, Office furniture, Parquet flooring, Plywood, Pulp/Paper products, Pulpwood, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Rustic furniture, Shipbuilding, Stools, Turnery Environmental Profile Abundant/Secure Status has not been officially assessed Distribution Overview Nothofagus is one of the two most important timber producing genera in the south temperate zone. Species in the genus are reported to occur in New Zealand, Tasmania, southeastern Australia, and South America. N. cunninghamii is distributed throughout Tasmania and parts of Victoria in Australia. Heartwood Color Brown Green/grey Reddish brown Pinkish brown Pink Brown The wood is described as plain in appearance and resembles New Zealand silver beech (Nothofagus menziesii ) Sapwood Color White Green/Grey Paler than heartwood Sapwood is a paler version of the heartwood, and is separated from the heartwood by an intermediate area of color Grain Even Closed Wavy Interlocked Straight Wavy Straight Slightly interlocked Curly Surfaces of backsawn material may be figured Texture Fine Even or uniform Uniform Fine Luster Lustrous Natural Durability Perishable Non-durable Sapwood is vulnerable to attack by powder-post beetles The heartwood has very little or negligible resistance to decay in contact with the ground Odor Has an odor No specific smell or taste Kiln Schedules T3 - C2 (4/4) T3 - C2 (4/4) Schedule C - United Kingdom Schedule C - United Kingdom Radial shrinkage is 3.1% Radial shrinkage is 3.1% Shrinkage from green to air-dry (12%) Shrinkage from green to air-dry (12%) Tangential shrinkage is 5.7% Tangential shrinkage is 5.7% Volumetric shrinkage is 9.3% Volumetric shrinkage is 9.3% Drying Defects Collapse Internal Honeycombing Possible Checking Uneven Moisture Content Distortion Surface checks Internal honeycomb Collapse Ease of Drying Thick Stock Requires Care Reconditioning Treatement Little degrade Variable results. Requires care to minimize degrade Lighter colored, outer zone wood, is easy to dry Darker wood is difficult to season Drying properties are variable. Lighter colored outer zone of the timber is easy to dry. The darker colored true heartwood is very difficult to dry and requires great care to avoid defects. Reduing moisture content to about 30 percent by air-seasoning prior to kiln drying has been reccommended. Tree Size Tree height is 10-20 m Tree height is 20-30 m Boles are often clear to about 40 feet above occasional buttresses. Trees are reported to grow in pure stands on lands that are unsuitable for agriculture, and can be regenerated readily and repeatedly Product Sources Myrtle beech is commonly available in Australia in the form of lumber, turnery squares and plywood. Logs are often of poor quality, which makes it less desirable for milling. Comments The species is not a true myrtle. Trees are the host of an orange-yellow fungus (Cytarria) which produces clusters about the size of a small apple, and which are sweet and edible Blunting Effect Moderate Moderate blunting effect on cutting edges Boring Fairly easy to very easy Very good to excellent results Carving Responds well to carving if tools are kept very sharp Moderate dulling of cutting edges Cutting Resistance Easy to saw The timber works well in general, but it has a tendency to char in cross-cutting Gluing Fair to Good Results Mortising Poor to Very Poor Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Moulding Poor to Very Poor Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Movement in Service Fair to Good Stability - Medium Movement Small Moderate stability when properly seasoned Nailing Pre-Boring Recommended Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Fair to Good Results Holds nails well Planing Fair to Good Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Responds well to hand and machine tools Moderate blunting effect on cutting edges Machining properties including planing, turning, boring, moulding, mortising, and routing are rated as generally good Resistance to Impregnation Permeable heartwood Permeable sapwood Sapwood is permeable Heartwood is resistant Response to Hand Tools Responds Poorly Fairly Difficult to Difficult to Work Responds well to hand tools Moderate blunting effect on cutting edges Sanding Poor to Very Poor Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Good sanding properties Screwing Pre-boring recommended Fair to Good Results Good screw holding properties Turning Fair to Good Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Veneering Qualities Suitable for slicing into decorative veneers Steam Bending Poor to Very Poor Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Very good It is one of the best Australian timbers for steam bending, and is bent for various applications Polishing Good results Staining Stains well Strength Properties Weight = heavy Very dense Resists denting and marring Hardness = medium Bending strength (MOR) = high The species has high bending strength in the air-dry condition (about 12 percent moisture content). It compares favorably with Teak, which also has high bending strength. It has superior properties in compression parallel to grain in the air-dry condition than Teak, White oak, or Hard maple Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Bending Strength 10094 15386 psi Crushing Strength 752 1406 psi Density 44 lbs/ft3 Hardness 1299 lbs Maximum Crushing Strength 4939 8413 psi Shearing Strength 2136 psi Static Bending 5860 9506 psi Stiffness 1705 1975 1000 psi Toughness 123 inch-lbs Specific Gravity 0.54 0.62 Weight 43 35. lbs/ft3 Item Green Dry Metric Bending Strength 709 1081 kg/cm2 Crushing Strength 52 98 kg/cm2 Density 705 kg/m3 Hardness 589 kg Maximum Crushing Strength 347 591 kg/cm2 Shearing Strength 150 kg/cm2 Static Bending 412 668 kg/cm2 Stiffness 119 138 1000 kg/cm2 Toughness 141 cm-kg Specific Gravity 0.54 0.62 References Bolza, E. and N.H. Kloot. 1963. The Mechanical Properties of 174 Australian Timbers. Division of Forest Products Technological Paper No. 25. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Melbourne, Australia. Chudnoff, M.,1984,Tropical Timbers of the World,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products,Laboratory, Madison. HMSO. 1972. Handbook of Hardwoods, 2nd Edition. Revised by R.H. Farmer. Department of the Environment, Building Research Establishment, Princes Risborough Laboratory, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London. Lincoln, W.A. 1986. World Woods in Color. Linden Publishing Co. Inc., Fresno, California. Record, S.J. and R.W. Hess. 1943. Timbers of the New World. Published on the Charles Lathrop Pack Foundation, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. Rendle, B.J. 1970. World Timbers, Volume Three, Asia & Australia & New Zealand. Ernest Benn Limited, London. Published by University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. Wallis, N.K. 1963. Australian Timber Handbook. Sponsored by The Timber Development Associations of Australia, Angus & Robertson Ltd., Sydney, Australia.