Blackdown Stringybark grows only on, and nearby the Blackdown Tableland
national park which is why it has intrigued and alluded me for so long.
It can grow to around 45 metres tall with a 2 metre diameter trunk and large
examples like the one pictured here are seen all over the top of the
tableland.
Luckily
for me I eventually got access to a property with some smaller trees growing
on the fenceline which were candidates for removal.
The fiddleback figure in this tree was obvious as soon as it was cut and it
is also visible on the bark.
Loaded and debarked, this score looked promising and the slabs we milled
looked really good. The timber dries to around 995kg/m3 and the sapwood is
resistant to lychtid borers so I didn't have to treat it for a change.
Unfortunately the timber didn't dry as well as hoped. As you can see in the
pic of this 'bowl blank', the internal checking from uneven radial shrinkage
was quite bad and all the slabs have a lot of surface cracks. It's just
about dry enough to start working so I'll see just how bad it is soon
enough!
I found the timber quite tough to turn and a little abrasive on the tools
but it is workable. Not very sandpaper friendly either but it takes a finish
nicely.
