Belah is common across the Central Highlands and is found on just about any
soil type, growing to around 10 metres tall with trunks to around 350mm
diameter.
The timber is not popular with woodworkers like the other casuarinas/allocauarinas
because it has no visible medullary ray and is a bland, light brown colour.
Belah could easily be confused with Buloke if it
weren't for the seed cones Belah produces. They are usually about 20mm long
and 12mm wide.
While it is commonly known as the best firewood available, I had long
avoided collecting any of this timber because of its reputation for being
hard, bland and very prone to cracking. I was sure the log I got and
anything I made from it was going to split like celery so I roughed out a
bowl while it was still very wet and soaked it in a detergent solution for 3
months to see if it could be saved. The treatment worked beautifully and
only a couple of very small cracks appeared. The rest of the log was split
down the heart with the ends sealed and so far has remained fairly stable.
After
the detergent treatment, the timber was a pleasure to turn, slicing cleanly
and holding fine detail. Belah shapes easily with carbide burrs and sands
very well also. This bowl was finished with a couple of coats of Danish Oil
but the timber would accept any type of finish well - it's just
a shame the colour is so bland.
