Timber Species

Comprehensive range of NZ native and exotic timbers

When you’re looking for high quality solid wood that’s hardwearing and looks great, we’re your specialists in NZ native and exotic timbers.

From structural timbers to mouldings, hardwood floors to boat decking, we supply a comprehensive range of hardwood or softwood timber species chosen for their ability to perform well in NZ’s climate. We source all our timber from sustainably managed forests, inspecting all timber at place of production and again upon arrival at our yards.

With over 30 species in stock choose the timber that suits your project. Quality is important to us, so we supply a comprehensive range of NZ natives such as Kauri, Rimu and Matai, and all the popular exotic species such as American Black Walnut, Cherry, American White Oak & American Hard Maple.

Hardwoods

Akwa

American Black Walnut

American Cherry

American Hard Maple

American White Ash

American White Oak

Anegre

Burmese Teak (FEQ)

Eucalyptus Saligna

European Beech

European Chestnut

European French Oak

Garapa

Greenheart

Ipe ( Brazilian Walnut )

Iroko

Jarrah

Jatoba

Kwila

Purpleheart

Rosewood (PNG)

Sapele Mahogany

Spotted Gum
Spotted Gum

Download Specifications PDF

Durability: Durable
Colour: Medium
Sizes available: 25, 50 mm

Trade Name: Spotted Gum

Botanical Species: Eucalyptus Maculata

Other Names: Irongum

Country of Origin: Australia

Air Dry Density: 1030

Durability: durable

Strength: SD2

Characteristics:
Spotted gum heartwood varies between light brown and dark red-brown with grey tinges. The grain is moderately textured and variable. The timber machines and finishes well and the wavy grain can produce an attractive fiddle back figure. The timber is hard, durable and highly resistant to decay.

Working Qualities:

The timber machines and ﬁnishes well and the wavy grain can produce an attractive ﬁddle back ﬁgure.

Uses:

Heavy construction, power line cross arms, tool handles and ladder rungs. It has a special application in boatbuilding for boat ribs because of its bending qualities. As a kiln dried product it is also used for flooring.

Product Attributes:
- Brown to reddish, dark brown light streaks and gum vein
- Attractive grain
- Machines and turns reasonably well
- Stains and polishes well
- Veneers available.
Product Limitations:
- Gum vein pockets
- Mix colour variation.

Tasmanian Blackwood

Tonka

Victorian Ash

Vitex

Wallaba

Wenge

Zebrano

Softwoods

Alaskan Yellow Cedar

Baltic Spruce

Western Hemlock

Western Red Cedar

Product Attributes:
•	Uniform chocolate-brown / black.
•	Machines well.
•	Veneers available.
•	Strong grain figure.
•	Flat sawn.
•	Good staining and polishing qualities.

Product Limitations:
•	Quality of timber can have knots in prime boards
•	Seldom over 3.0m.
•	No fixed widths.
•	American grading rules apply.

Characteristics:
•	Fine, straight, close grain timber.
•	The heartwood varies in colour from reddish-brown to rich red.
•	The sapwood is yellow.
•	Fine yellow, narrow brown coloured pith flecks and small gum pockets are a common feature.
•	Sawn timber is graded on a one face heart basis.

Working Qualities:
•	Works easily.
•	Machines and turns well.
•	Very good polish finish.

Uses:
•	Fine furniture, high class joinery, boat interiors, musical instruments.

Product Attributes:
•	Attractive fine, close grain timber.
•	Takes stain and polish very well.
•	Veneers available.
•	Good machining and turning capabilities.
•	Colour reddish brown to rich red.

Product Limitations:
•	Random widths.
•	Face graded for heart content and then generally to a minimum of 75% to 80%.
•	American grading rules apply.
•	Fine, narrow brown coloured pith flecks and gum pockets are a common feature.

Characteristics:
•	Hard maple is strong, heavy, hard, straight grained with a fine texture.
•	The colour is cream with fine red/brown bands.

Working Qualities:
•	Rather difficult to work.
•	Reduction of cutting angle to 20° assists the finishing operation.
•	It can be stained, polished and glued satisfactorily but is hard to nail or screw.

Uses:
•	Flooring, high-class joinery, boat interiors, musical instruments and sporting goods.

Product Attributes:
•	Hard strong timber.
•	Pale cream with fine red / brown markings.
•	Veneers available.
•	Straight grained with a fine texture.
•	Stains and polishes satisfactorily.

Product Limitations:
•	Can be difficult to work.
•	Random widths.
•	Hard to nail or screw.
•	American grading rules appl

Characteristics:
•	The sapwood and heartwood are almost white to beige with the heartwood having incidences of dark beige to brown features on occasions.
•	Well figured with good strength, elasticity, toughness, stiffness and hardness allied to its light weight.

Working Qualities:
•	Machines reasonably well. Good staining and polishing qualities.

Uses:
•	High class joinery,boat interiors, musical instruments and striking tool handles.

Product Attributes:
•	Generally cream to white.
•	Machines well.
•	Good strength and toughness / weight ratio.
•	Veneers available.
•	Strong grain figure.
•	Flat sawn.
•	Good polishing and staining qualities.

Characteristics:
•	American White Oak resembles European Oak, being a mixture of species. However it is more variable in colour, pale yellowish-brown to mid-brown. It varies also in quality according to the locality; thus Oak from Canada and the Northern USA is generally harder and heavier than that from the Southern States.
•	The characteristic silver grain figure, due to the broad rays, is shown to advantage on quarter cut material.
•	The grain is generally straight and the texture varies from coarse to medium coarse.

Working Qualities:
•	Considering its density, the timber can be worked fairly readily, taking a smooth finish.
•	The timber can be glued, stained and polished and takes nails and screws well.
•	In common with other species of Oak, White Oak corrodes metals, particularly iron, steel and lead.
•	Blue-black discolourations from the tannic acid in the wood are liable to develop when it is in contact with iron or iron compounds under damp conditions and PVA glues.
•	Use of non-ferrous metals for fastening and fittings is recommended.

Uses:
•	Because of its good all-round strength and resistance to decay, White Oak is used for a wide range of constructional work, including ship and boat building.
•	It is traditional for high-grade furniture, interior woodwork and flooring.
•	Because of its impermeability, the timber is suitable for vats and casks for holding liquids such as wine and spirits.

Product Attributes:
•	Pale cream to yellowish brown sometimes with a pink tinge.
•	Distinctive grain feature.
•	Takes stain and polish well.
•	Grain is generally straight with a medium to coarse texture.
•	Machines and turns well.

Product Limitations:
•	Random widths.
•	Can corrode iron, steels and lead.
•	American grading rules apply.

BBS Timbers

Timber Species

Hardwoods

Softwoods

Specials

Environment

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Trade Name:	Taun
Botanical Species:	Pometia pinnata
Other Names:	Akwa, Malugay
Country of Origin:	Solomon Islands
Air Dry Density:	705kgs/m3
Durability:	Low Durability
Strength:	SD4


Trade Name:	Walnut – American
Botanical Species:	Juglans nigra
Other Names:	Black Walnut
Country of Origin:	U.S.A. & Canada
Air Dry Density:	660kgs/m³
Durability:	Moderately Durable
Strength:	SD5


Trade Name:	Ash
Botanical Species:	Fraxinus americana
Other Names:	White Ash, American Ash
Country of Origin:	U.S.A.
Air Dry Density:	670kgs/m³
Durability:	Non-durable
Strength:	8+ (on a scale of 1 – 10)
Seasoning:	Dries well with little degrade.


Trade Name:	Teak Burmese
Botanical Species:	Tectona grandis
Other Names:
Country of Origin:	Burma, Thailand, India (young plantations are in existence in a variety of countries around the world.)
Air Dry Density:	660kgs/m³
Durability:	Very Durable
Strength:	SD6

Seasoning:
•	Dries slowly but well.

Characteristics:
•	The heartwood is dark golden-yellow darkening with exposure to brown or dark brown.
•	No clear distinction between heartwood sapwood.
•	Sometimes figured with dark markings.
•	Can have a greenish tinge when freshly cut.
•	The timber is dull with an oily feel and has a unique scent when freshly cut.
•	The grain varies from straight to wavy depending on origin.
•	The best teak comes from Burma being generally straight grained and uniformly golden.
•	The texture is coarse and uneven.

Working Qualities:
•	Although working qualities can be variable, the timber generally works with moderate ease.
•	It can have a dulling effect on cutters but the timber is capable of a good finish.
•	It turns well and can be glued, stained and polished.

Uses:
•	Boatbuilding, joinery, furniture and decking.

Product Attributes:
•	Very handsome timber.
•	Very durable and strong.
•	Very stable.
•	Veneers available in crown and quarter cut.

Product Limitations:
•	Very expensive, especially in long lengths.
•	Sustainability questionable.
•	Restricted availability


Trade Name:	Saligna
Botanical Species:	Eucalyptus saligna
Other Names:	Sydney Blue Gum
Country of Origin:	Australia, New Zealand
Air Dry Density:	920kgs/m³
Durability:	Moderately Durable
Strength:	SD3

Seasoning:
•	Difficult to dry as prone to surface checking.

Characteristics:
•	The colour ranges from light to dark pink.
•	The grain is usually interlocked, occasionally straight.
•	The texture is coarse.
•	To facilitate drying the timber is always quarter sawn.

Working Qualities:
•	The timber works fairly well but it is rather difficult to obtain a smooth surface unless the cutting angle is reduced to 20°.
•	It nails and screws fairly well.
•	Stains and polishes reasonably well.

Uses:
•	Joinery and construction.

Product Attributes:
•	Light pink to dark pink.
•	Good lengths available.
•	Veneers available.
•	Machines reasonably well with care.
•	Takes stains and polishes well.
•	Fixed widths.

Product Limitations:
•	Variable in colour.
•	Grain usually interlocked with a coarse texture.


Trade Name:	Beech – European
Botanical Species:	Fagus sylvatica
Other Names:	English, Danish, German, etc., Beech according to origin.
Country of Origin:	European countries
Air Dry Density:	690kgs/m³
Durability:	Non-durable
Strength:	SD4

Seasoning:
•	Dries fairly rapidly but tends to warp, twist, check and split.
•	Steaming which reduces the tension in the timber is normally introduced.
•	This process however colours the timber to pink / red.

Characteristics:
•	No clear distinction between heartwood and sapwood by colour, which varies from cream to pink / red depending on the amount of steaming the timber is given.
•	The wood is typically straight grained with a fine even texture but varying in density according to the locality of growth.

Working Qualities:
•	Works well and is capable of good smooth surfaces. Good turning and bending properties.

Uses:
•	General utility timber for interior joinery, finishing and cabinetmaking.
•	Used extensively in Europe for domestic woodware, tool handles and flooring.
•	Produces good veneer.

Product Attributes:
•	Consistent colour, pale pink.
•	Machines and turns well.
•	Good bending properties.
•	Straight grained with a fine even texture.
•	Stains and polishes satisfactorily.
•	Veneers available.

Product Limitations:
•	Will discolour to pale yellow with time.
•	Graded similar to American standards.
•	Generally narrow with no fixed widths.
•	Lengths seldom above 3.0m.


Trade Name:	Chestnut
Botanical Species:	Castanea sativa
Other Names:	Sweet Chestnut, Spanish Chestnut
Country of Origin:	France
Air Dry Density:	590 kg/m3
Durability:	Durable
Strength:	SD5


Trade Name:	English Oak, French Oak, Polish Oak etc. according to country of origin.
Botanical Species:	Quercus robur, Quercus petraea
Other Names:	Rovere, Quercia (Italy), Chêne (France), Eiche (Germany), Eik (Netherlands)
Country of Origin:	Romania, Yugoslavia, Poland.
Air Dry Density:	720kgs/m³
Durability:	Durable
Strength:	SD4
Seasoning:	It dries very slowly with a tendency to split and check Medium movement in service
Characteristics:	The heartwood is light tan to biscuit coloured, usually straight grained but irregular or cross-grained material can occur depending on growth conditions Characteristic silver grain figure on quartered surfaces due to broad rays
Working Qualities:	There is moderate to severe blunting effect on cutters, which should be kept sharp Quartered stock requires a 20° planning and moulding angle The wood takes waxing, liming, fuming and polishing treatments well
Uses:	The preponderance of tyloses in the pores of “White Oaks” resists passage of liquids and renders the wood ideal for tight cooperage for cognac, wine and beers For furniture and cabinetmaking English Oak is best for boatbuilding, dock and harbour work, sea defences, railway wagons, ladder rungs, sills thresholds, and for all purposes of exposure in contact with the ground High-class joinery, coffins, ecclesiastical work such as pews, rood screens, pulpits and carving Flooring, vehicle body bearers and floors in trucks
Product Attributes:	Veneers available


Trade Name:	Greenheart
Botanical Species:	Ocotea rodiaei
Other Names:	Sipiroe
Country of Origin:	Tropical South America, Guyanas
Weight:	Weight about 1030kgs/m³ (64lb/ft³) seasoned averaging 860kgs/m³ (54lb/ ft³) Specific gravity .86
Durability:	Very Durable Almost immune to decay and termites. Extremely resistant to preservative treatment.
Strength:	SD1

Seasoning:
•	Slow to season with a risk of splitting.
•	Moves moderately once dry.

Characteristics:
•	Light greenish yellow to dark olive-green, sometimes marked with brown or black streaks.
•	Sapwood pale yellow in colour, shading gradually into the heartwood.
•	Texture fine and even.
•	Grain straight or interlocked.
•	Bole 50-80 ft long, cylindrical, diameter 20-35 inches.

Working Qualities:
•	Easily sawn, in spite of a slight blunting effect.
•	Turns well.
•	Planning is not difficult despite the high density of the wood and interlocked grain.
•	Easy gluing.
•	Pre-boring is recommended for nails and screws.
•	Good nail holding
•	Staining rarely necessary.
•	Polishes satisfactorily.

Uses:
•	A very heavy hard timber, suitable for use under exacting conditions.
•	Outstanding in most of its strength properties.
•	Available in very large sizes and long lengths, and is therefore suitable for piling, piers, lock gates, dock and harbour work.
•	Useful for pier decking and hand rails, flooring and in engineering industry as bearers for engines.
•	Gives good service in chemical plants for vats, filter press plates and frames.
•	Suitable for joinery in both exterior and interior situations and used also for fishing rods and as centre laminates for longbow and general construction.

Seasoning:	Seasons readily by air or by kiln drying although there can be some warping due to sloping grain and some care is required to prevent checking in wide boards.
Characteristics:	A large tree producing light to dark red timber darkening to a uniform red brown mahogany.

Trade Name:	Ipe
Botanical Species:	Handroanthus spp.
Other Names:	Brazilian Walnut, Lapacho
Country of Origin:	Central – South America
Air Dry Density:	1100 kg M3
Durability:	Very Durable
Strength:	SD 1

Working Qualities:
•	It machines, nails and glues well, takes an excellent polish and holds paint very well.
•	It is also prized as carving timber.

Uses:
•	One of the world’s most durable timbers and highly resistant to fire, termite and marine borer attack and impervious to acids.
•	Jarrah has a very wide range of uses, previously regarded as a heavy construction timber for bridges and wharves it is now favoured for interior finishing, joinery, cabinet-making and flooring.

Product Attributes:
•	Pink to dark red brown in colour.
•	Strong, durable timber.
•	Stains and polishes well.
•	Available in fixed widths.
•	Even, medium coarse texture with fairly straight grain.
•	Veneers available.

Product Limitations:
•	Variable in colour.
•	Can be subject to small dark fungal markings.
•	Prone to gum pockets and veins.
•	It can be hard to work with machine tools

Seasoning:
•	Rather difficult to dry, tends to be rapid with moderate surface checking and warping and a liability to case harden.
•	Slow drying will overcome these tendencies.
•	There is small movement in service.

Characteristics:
•	The heartwood is salmon red to orange brown, marked with dark brown and russet brown streaks.
•	The wood has a golden lustre.
•	The grain is commonly interlocked with a medium to coarse texture.

Working Qualities:
•	Moderately difficult to work because of its high density.
•	It nails badly but has good screw holding, glues well.
•	It has a moderate blunting effect on tools which must be kept sharp, and a reduced cutting angle of 20° will provide a smooth finish on the interlocked grain.
•	The wood stains well but does not take a high polish.

Uses:
•	Furniture, cabinet making, joinery and turnery.
•	Its high shock resistance makes it ideal for tool handles and sports goods, excellent for flooring, stair treads, ship planking, gear cogs, wheel rims, looms, general building construction.
•	Used for steam bent boat parts in place of oak.
•	Lock gates in waters free from marine borers.
•	Second growth timber has a wide sapwood of a grayish-pink colour which is sliced for decorative veneers for panelling and furniture.
•	Decking
Product Attributes:
•	Very strong, hard and tough.
•	Very good bending classification.
•	Very resistant to termites.
•	Veneers available.

Product Limitations:
•	Nails badly.
•	Does not take a high polish.

Seasoning:
•	The timber dries slowly without appreciable degrade but if submitted to rapid drying conditions, there is a definite tendency for end splitting and surface checking to occur.
•	It has a low shrinkage factor.

Characteristics:
•	The heart wood is yellow-brown, brown or dark red, red-brown, turning to a dark red-brown with age.
•	The wood is hard and heavy, the texture is moderately coarse but even and the grain may be straight or interlocked and is often wavy.
•	Sulphur-yellow and dark coloured deposits are characteristic of the species and can be commonly seen in the vessel cavities.

Working Qualities:
•	Saws well, however with the fairly high incidence of gum, saws tend to become clogged.
•	It planes well but there is a tendency for the grain to tear out in quarter-sawn material.
•	A reduction in the cutting angle to 20° is beneficial.
•	The wood tends to split when nailing but holds screws well and can be stained and polished reasonably well, however patches of oil that exude may affect the finish.
•	The yellow deposits are soluble in water and the dye produced does stain.
•	If early attention is given to any staining it can generally be removed by scrubbing with milk or lactic acid.

Uses:
•	A very good heavy construction timber.
•	Ideally suited for decking and outdoor furniture.
•	It is also used in internal joinery and flooring, striking tool handles and carving.

Product Attributes:
•	Yellow brown timber which will turn red brown with age.
•	Long lengths available.
•	A very strong, durable, stable timber.
•	Fixed widths available.
•	Veneers available.

Product Limitations:
•	Does leach when in contact with water.
•	Care needed when machining.
•	Care needed when staining, polishing and gluing due to natural resins.

Seasoning:
•	Dries fairly rapidly with little degrade.
•	But care is needed to dry out the centre of thick pieces.
•	Air drying is slow, with some end and surface checking or case hardening.
•	There is small movement in service.

Characteristics:
•	The heartwood is a deep purple-violet colour when freshly cut, maturing to dark brown.
•	The original colour is restored when re-cut.
•	Straight grained, but often irregular, wavy and sometimes interlocked, producing a pleasing striped figure on quartered surfaces.
•	Texture moderate to fine.

Working Qualities:
•	It is rather difficult to work, with moderate to severe blunting effect on tools.
•	It exudes gummy resin when heated by dull cutters and the material is best run slowly through machines equipped with high speed steel knives.
•	The wood turns well and smoothly.
•	Pre-bore for nailing, glues without difficulty and stains and wax polishes easily.
•	Spirit finishes remove the purple colour.

Uses:
•	Although expensive, it is used for heavy constructional work, bridge building, fresh water piling, dock work, cladding, house construction and vats.
•	Excellent for flooring and very suitable for gymnasium equipment, shafts, tool handles, boat building, turnery, furniture and billiard tables.
•	Also as decorative veneers for inlaying and marquetry work etc.
•	Best colour from sawcut as steaming affects the soluble phonicoin content.

Product Attributes:
•	Large sizes available.
•	No bleeding of stain.


Trade Name:	Rosewood
Botanical Species:	Ptercarpus indicus
Other Names:
Country of Origin:	Solomon Islands
Air Dry Density:	565kgs/m³
Durability:	Durable
Strength:	SD4

Seasoning:
•	It is a very stable timber and seasons well with little or no degrade, but care should be taken (as with all island species) not to dry the timber too fast, when distortion and checking can occur.

Characteristics:
•	Variable, but generally a red brown to blood red colour. Sapwood is white to pale yellow.
•	Grain is interlocked and sometimes wavy, with a moderately coarse and uneven texture.
•	Quarter sawn material has distinct ribbon figure while the back sawn boards produce a flame-like figure.
•	The timber is naturally lustrous.
•	Although a handsome timber, it has neither the density nor the depth of colour of the Rosewood found in South America or India.

Working Qualities:
•	The timber is readily converted and works well with both machine and hand tools.
•	It is capable of taking a very high polish.

Uses:
•	Furniture, veneer, cabinet work, rifle butts, panelling, musical instruments and knife handles.

Product Attributes:
•	Veneers available.

Product Limitations:
•	Large variations in colour.


Trade Name:	Sapele
Botanical Species:	Entandrophragma cylindricum
Other Names:	Sapele Mahogany
Country of Origin:	West Africa
Air Dry Density:	640kgs/m³
Durability:	Durable
Strength:	SD5

Seasoning:
•	Requires care in kiln drying to avoid distortion and degrade.

Characteristics:
•	The wood is medium hard and medium weight.
•	Planed surfaces are mildly lustrous.
•	The heartwood is pinkish-red when freshly cut, darkening to a rich red-brown.
•	The most striking feature is the double spiral grain which produces a very regular stripe or rose figures in quarter sawn material.
•	The texture is fine and even and there is a pronounced cedar-like smell when freshly cut.

Working Qualities:
•	Saws easily and cleanly with little waste and works fairly easily with hand and machine tools although the interlocked grain may be troublesome in planning and moulding.
•	To eliminate picking up quarter sawn material, the cutting angle should be reduced to 15°.
•	Takes nails and screws and glues well.
•	It takes a high polish.

Uses:
•	Gifted with both strength and appearance, the timber has a wide range of uses.
•	It is used for furniture, paneling, shop and window fittings, high class interior joinery and all general cabinet working purposes, including boat building.
•	Widely used for decorative veneering, it is often sliced to show the narrow ‘pencil’ stripe which is a characteristic of the species.
•	It is also used for rotary cut plywood.

Product Attributes:
•	A pinkish red to dark rich red brown timber.
•	Stains readily and takes an excellent polish.
•	Veneers available.
•	It is fairly close textured with interlocked grain.
•	Machines well with care.
•	Quarter sawn timber produces a regular striped effect.


Trade Name:	Spotted Gum
Botanical Species:	Eucalyptus Maculata
Other Names:	Irongum
Country of Origin:	Australia
Air Dry Density:	1030
Durability:	durable
Strength:	SD2

Timber Species

Hardwoods

Akwa

American Black Walnut

American Cherry

American Hard Maple

American White Ash

American White Oak

Anegre

Burmese Teak (FEQ)

Eucalyptus Saligna

European Beech

European Chestnut

European French Oak

Garapa

Greenheart

Ipe ( Brazilian Walnut )

Iroko

Jarrah

Jatoba

Kwila

Purpleheart

Rosewood (PNG)

Sapele Mahogany

Spotted Gum

Tasmanian Blackwood

Tonka

Victorian Ash

Vitex

Wallaba

Wenge

Zebrano

Softwoods

Alaskan Yellow Cedar

Baltic Spruce

Kahikatea

Macrocarpa

Malaysian Kauri

NZ Matai

Oregon Pine

Pine Radiata

Rimu NZ

Western Hemlock

Western Red Cedar

Specials

Environment

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Trade Name:	Blackwood – Tasmanian
Botanical Species:	Acacia melanoxylon
Other Names:	Blackwood Australian
Country of Origin:	Australia
Air Dry Density:	670kgs/m³
Durability:	Durable
Strength:	SD4

Seasoning:
•	Dries fairly easily and without undue degrade, although there is some tendency to cupping.

Characteristics:
•	The heartwood ranges in colour from a lustrous golden-brown to reddish-dark brown with a fairly dark brown zone marking the growth rings.
•	The grain is usually straight but may be interlocked or wavy and the texture is medium and even.
•	The wavy grain produces a beautiful fiddle-back figure.

Working Qualities:
•	The timber works fairly easily but cutting edges must be kept sharpened for end grain working.
•	A reduction of cutting angle to 20° is usually beneficial in planning and moulding, particularly when curly grain is present.
•	It can be screwed and nailed well but gluing properties are often variable.
•	It finishes well and takes an excellent stain and polish.

Uses:
•	Fine furniture, shop fitting, cabinets, gun stocks, musical instruments and decorative veneer.

Product Attributes:
•	Golden brown to reddish, dark brown.
•	Attractive grain.
•	Machines and turns reasonably well.
•	Stains and polishes well.
•	Veneers available.

Product Limitations:
•	Short lengths and narrow widths.
•	Wide colour variation.

Seasoning:
•	Seasons well with little degrade providing stacks are closely spaced.

Characteristics:
•	Cream grey heartwood, with a fine even texture.
•	Freshly sawn boards have a leathery odour and the timber is greasy to the touch.

Working Qualities:
•	The timber planes and machines well and is easy to cut across the grain.
•	A good finish can be obtained and it has good bending qualities.
•	Holds nails well without pre-drilling.

Uses:
•	Decks, rails, cross-arms, bridge and wharf decking, boat-building.

Product Attributes:
•	A strong durable timber.
•	Machines well with some care.
•	Fixed widths available.

Product Limitations:
•	Very little character.
•	No veneer available.
•	Narrow widths only.
•	Leaching can occur.

Seasoning:
•	Dries very slowly.

Characteristics:

•	Heartwood – dull reddish brown with darker markings due to resin.

Working Qualities:
•	Though the wood has a high density, it is easy to work with hand and machine tools; however, high gum exudation clogs saw teeth and cutters. Once kiln dried, gum exudates are not a serious problem in machining; glues and polishes well.

Uses:
•	Remarkably well suited for use as transmission poles, flagpoles, and posts. Its good strength and durability qualify the timber for railway ties, shoring, bridge timbers, and mine timbers. In building construction it is used for foundations, sills, joists, framing, roofing, siding, and veranda posts. It is also used for vat staves, shingles, and paling. The high resin content of the wood makes it an excellent flooring material in chemical factories, mills, and warehouses.

Seasoning:
•	Dries slowly with a tendency to surface check.

Characteristics:
•	The heartwood is dark brown with fine, close blackish veining giving the wood a handsome appearance.
•	A very heavy hardwood, it is straight grained with a coarse texture.

Working Qualities:
•	The timber is moderately hard, tough and strong, however it is easily worked.
•	It finishes well and takes an excellent polish.

Uses:
•	Fine furniture, flooring and interior decoration.

Product Attributes:
•	A distinctive unique grain.
•	Straight grained with coarse texture.
•	Easily worked.
•	Takes stains and polishes very well.
•	Dark brown with beige and black flecks.
•	Very heavy, hard timber.
•	Veneers available.

Product Limitations:
•	Random widths.
•	Variable in supply.

Seasoning:
•	The timber dries easily and well, but there is a danger of sap-stain during air drying.
•	There is small movement in service.

Characteristics:
•	The creamy-white wood of kahikatea is light and easily worked. It is straight grained with a fine even texture, providing long, clear lengths in wide widths for sawing.
•	It is not durable and is especially subject to damage by house borer.
•	Nevertheless, it has many excellent properties including the absence of odour.

Working Qualities:
•	The timber works easily and well with both hand and machine tools.
•	It holds nails and screws well, glues and finishes smoothly to a surface ideal for painting, varnishing or polishing.

Uses:
•	Building construction, scaffold planks, fascia boards, weatherboards (when treated), flooring, framing, joinery, kitchen furniture, boat building, domestic woodware, mouldings, casks and boxes.
•	It is an excellent turnery wood.
•	Also used in the manufacture of ice cream spoons and cocktail sticks, toothpicks etc.
•	Selected logs converted into plywood and decorative veneers.
•	It is not recommended for exterior use with stain or a dark finish.
•	Often H3 treated for boat building purposes.

Product Attributes:
•	The wood is odourless
•	Veneers available.

Product Limitations:
•	Subject to damage by house borer.

Seasoning:
•	It is difficult to kiln dry with cell collapse and checking.
•	Low shrinkage factor.

Characteristics:
•	Honey brown in colour and beautifully scented.
•	It is a moderately stiff, strong timber.

Working Qualities:
•	Macrocarpa machines and turns well owing to its fine texture.
•	Will accept a variety of paints, oils and varnishes.

Uses:
•	Structural beams, framing, flooring, sarking, wall paneling, cabinetry, exterior cladding, decking, pergolas, furniture and landscaping.

Product Attributes:
•	Naturally resistant to insect and fungal attack.

Product Limitations:
•	Difficult to kiln dry.


Trade Name:	Kauri – Malaysian
Botanical Species:	Agathis borneensis
Other Names:
Country of Origin:	Malaysia
Air Dry Density:	540kgs/m³
Durability:	Moderately Durable
Strength:	6+ (on a scale of 1 – 10)

Seasoning:
•	Malaysian Kauri presents no special problems in drying and can be kiln dried from the green in 25, 40 and 50mm.
•	Heavier sizes can be air dried to prevent surface checking.
•	The timber has high degree of stability and is subject to medium shrinkage.

Characteristics:
•	Heartwood is pale cream to golden brown in colour, the sapwood is straw to pale brown, texture is fine and the grain is mainly straight.
•	It is non-tainting.

Working Qualities:
•	It is an excellent timber for sawing and machining.
•	It planes and sands well with only slight chipping in regions of reverse grain.
•	It screws and glues well and stains and polishes well.
•	Turning properties are excellent.
•	It can be drilled cleanly.

Uses:
•	Kauri has a traditionally world-wide reputation in boat building, i.e. planks, masts, spars, and oars, because of its excellent working properties and high degree of stability it is used for exterior / interior joinery, furniture, weatherboards, panelling, sarking, mouldings, picture framing and turnery.

Product Attributes:
•	Pale cream to golden brown timber.
•	Takes stain and polish well.
•	Veneers available in Fijian Kauri.
•	Fixed widths available.
•	Good stability.
•	Fine texture with mainly straight grain.
•	Easily machined or turned.

Product Limitations:
•	Can be easily bruised.


Trade Name:	Matai
Botanical Species:	Podocarpus spicatus
Other Names:	Black Pine
Country of Origin:	New Zealand
Air Dry Density:	600kgs/m³
Durability:	Durable
Strength:	6+ (on a scale of 1 – 10)