Black ti-tree is a common sight on the blacksoil plains where it is found lining the shallow creek
depressions but it can also be found on higher ground where there is
enough moisture such as natural springs.
It grows to 10 or 12 metres high, usually in clumps of suckers where the trunks range up to
400mm thick.
I found the wood hard to turn for a green timber and it has shown quite a
bit of cracking even with the end-grain sealed. On the up-side, it shows a
lot more colour than I expected and sawn boards appear to be stable while
air-drying.
Once dry, Black Ti tree timber is good to turn and gives only a small amount
of tearout on the end-grain which is easily cleaned up with a
shear-scrape. The timber sands very well but has a reaction similar to
oily timbers like Rose Mahogany when coated with Danish oil - that is
the oil never seems to dry off but will still buff away to a nice
finish.
