Tasmanian myrtle (Nothofagus cunninghamii)
Family: Fagaceae
Common names: Australian nothofagus, Beech, Beech myrtle, Mountain beech, Myrtle beech, New Guinea beech, Silver beech, Tasmanian beech, Tasmanian myrtle
Distributed in: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea (Oceania and S.E. Asia)
Distribution overview: Nothofagus is one of the two most important timber producing genera in the south temperate zone. Species in the genus are reported to occur in New Zealand, Tasmania, southeastern Australia, and South America. N. cunninghamii is distributed throughout Tasmania and parts of Victoria in Australia.
Common uses: Baskets, Bent Parts, Boat building, Broom handles, Brush backs & handles, Cabinetmaking, Canoes, Carvings, Chairs, Chests, Decorative plywood, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Domestic flooring, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Factory flooring, Fine furniture, Flooring, Food containers, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Lifeboats, Living-room suites, Mine timbers, Office furniture, Parquet flooring, Plywood, Pulp/Paper products, Pulpwood, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Rustic furniture, Shipbuilding, Stools, Turnery
Product sources: Myrtle beech is commonly available in Australia in the form of lumber, turnery squares and plywood. Logs are often of poor quality, which makes it less desirable for milling.
Environment profile: Status has not been officially assessed
Tree size: Tree height is 20-30 m
Colors: the heart isPinkish brown, Reddish brownand the sapwoodPaler than heartwood, White.The grain isWavy, the textureUniformand the lusterLustrous
Natural durability: Perishable, Sapwood is vulnerable to attack by powder-post beetles
Odor: No specific smell or taste
Kiln Schedules: T3 - C2 (4/4)
Drying Defects: Surface checks, Uneven Moisture Content
Ease of Drying: Variable results.
Comments: The species is not a true myrtle. Trees are the host of an orange-yellow fungus (Cytarria) which produces clusters about the size of a small apple, and which are sweet and edible
Blunting Effect: Moderate blunting effect on cutting edges
Boring: Very good to excellent results
Carving: Responds well to carving if tools are kept very sharp
Cutting Resistance: Easy to saw
The timber works well in general, but it has a tendency to char in cross-cutting
Gluing: Fair to Good Results
Mortising: Poor to Very Poor
Moulding: Poor to Very Poor
Movement in Service: Poor to Very Poor
Nailing: Holds nails well, Pre-Boring Recommended
Planing: Responds well to hand and machine tools
Resistance to Impregnation: Sapwood is permeable
Response to hand tools: Responds well to hand tools
Sanding: Poor to Very Poor Results
Veneering qualities: Suitable for slicing into decorative veneers
Steam bending: Very good
Screwing: Good screw holding properties, Pre-boring recommended; Turning: Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Polishing: Good; Staining: Stains well
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- Numerical data Metric
- Numerical data English
- Strength properties
- References
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Item |
Green |
Dry |
Metric |
Specific Gravity |
0,54 |
0,62 |
|
Density |
|
705 |
kg/m3 |
Bending Strength |
709 |
1081 |
kg/cm2 |
Crushing Strength |
52 |
98 |
kg/cm2 |
Hardness |
|
589 |
kg |
Impact Strength |
|
|
cm |
Shearing Strength |
|
150 |
kg/cm2 |
Stiffness |
119 |
138 |
1000 kg/cm2 |
Tangential Shrinkage |
|
|
% |
Radial Shrinkage |
|
|
% |
Weight |
|
|
kg/m3 |
Maximum Load |
|
|
cm-kg/cm3 |
Toughness |
|
141 |
cm-kg |
Static Bending |
412 |
668 |
kg/cm2 |
|
 |  |  |  | Item | Green | Dry | English | Bending Strength | 10094 | 15386 | psi | Crushing Strength | 752 | 1406 | psi | Density | | 44 | lbs/ft3 | Hardness | | 1299 | lbs | Maximum Crushing Strength | 4939 | 8413 | psi | Shearing Strength | | 2136 | psi | Static Bending | 5860 | 9506 | psi | Stiffness | 1705 | 1975 | 1000 psi | Toughness | | 123 | inch-lbs | Specific Gravity | 0.54 | 0.62 | | Weight | 43 | 35. | lbs/ft3 | |
Weight = heavy Very dense Resists denting and marring Hardness = medium Bending strength (MOR) = high The species has high bending strength in the air-dry condition (about 12 percent moisture content). It compares favorably with Teak, which also has high bending strength. It has superior properties in compression parallel to grain in the air-dry condition than Teak, White oak, or Hard maple
Bolza, E. and N.H. Kloot.1963.The Mechanical Properties of 174 Australian Timbers.Division of Forest Products Technological Paper No. 25.Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Melbourne, Australia.Chudnoff, M.,1984,Tropical Timbers of the World,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products,Laboratory, Madison.HMSO.1972.Handbook of Hardwoods, 2nd Edition.Revised by R.H. Farmer.Department of the Environment, Building Research Establishment, Princes Risborough Laboratory, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London.Lincoln, W.A. 1986. World Woods in Color. Linden Publishing Co. Inc., Fresno, California.Record, S.J. and R.W. Hess. 1943. Timbers of the New World. Published on the Charles Lathrop Pack Foundation, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.Rendle, B.J. 1970. World Timbers, Volume Three, Asia & Australia & New Zealand. Ernest Benn Limited, London. Published by University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada.Wallis, N.K. 1963.Australian Timber Handbook. Sponsored by The Timber Development Associations of Australia, Angus & Robertson Ltd., Sydney, Australia.
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