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Bimble Box
(Eucalyptus populnea)
Also known as: Poplar Box
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Bimble box, also known as Poplar Box because of the shape of the leaf, is
common throughout most of inland Queensland and NSW. A large tree to around 20
metres, I've seen the trunks up to about 1 metre diameter. Though I've not sawn
any to board form as yet, I found larger sections like the half-logs pictured did experience
a fair amount of checking during drying, even though I had used a log sealer on the end grain.
I have just finished trying some 'water drying' on a rough turned piece to speed up the process but it appears to have made the
cracking worse so I'll revert to simple air drying.
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Bimble box is a fairly hard wood to turn, even while green, but has a quite
attractive colour and figure to most of it, particularly the crotch wood as
in the lidded box pictured. The timber sands well, being short-grained,
and takes a high polish.
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As with many eucalypts, gum deposits are common, usually right where you
least expect them as seen on this vase. I'm not a great fan of eucalypts
for turning but Bimble box is so abundant here that it can't be
ignored.
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