Is there such a species as australian beech?

[DFA]

Questions for timber gurus:

I'm thinking of using beech for my T&G timber flooring. This mill reckons they have this beech which is of the same species and not mixed (and most places sell mixed beech [light coloured timber] - like boral)

so is there such a species as australian beech? and what's the name of the species?

Cheers!

[glock40sw]

G'day.
Our Aussie Beech is a mix of Highland species.
Yellow stringybark
White Mahogany
Brown Stringybark
New England Blackbutt
Brown Gum
Manna Gum.

I know of no single specie hardwood called Australian Beech.

[DFA]

so this guy must be fibbing.

i did a search on the web on australian beech, and i get this 'northofagus moorei' not sure if it is generic as well.

[powderpost]

There is an Australian white beech and it was used for flooring. It is a tad soft but very durable. In fact I have a log that was in the ground as a fence post for more than forty years on a dairy farm. It is now very hard to get.
Jim

[DFA]

powder: would it be antarctic beech?

[powderpost]

The white beech I was refering to is gmelina leichardtii, a North Qld. rainforest species, antarctic beech is a different species, northofagus moorei. I am familiar with the first one, and research indicates the antarctic beech might be nearly as good, I can't tell from personal experience.
Jim

[DFA]

Thanx Jim,

so the antarctic beech is a single specie yeah?

I guess that answers my question then, that there is an Australian Beech afterall, and not a mixed selection of light coloured timber.

[journeyman Mick]

DFA,
I've worked with White Beech (highly sought after for boat decking) and know of Antartic Beech. Neither of these species is in plentiful supply (read: they're expensive!) and I doubt it is what the mill is trying to sell to you. Most likely, as Trevor points out, is a mix of Eucalypt species.

Mick

[Bob Willson]

Endeavour Timbers at Northgate have some Beech flooring at present.
The timber is very light in colour and when it is dressed it has a very waxy feel to it.

[DFA]

thanks Bob,

yeah the beech i was looking at has a light pale straw colour, a little bit of a golden tinge. do you mind if i what you mean by waxy look?

guys, i spoke with endeaver timber, they've got a nothofagus moorei for 80X19 flooring and selling at $4.50/m +GST, and this other place i looked at sells a 'manna gum [botanic name]' (apparently its a beech specie) at $3.78/m +GST.

is it reasonable, and anyone heard of this manna gum?

[Bleedin Thumb]

Wow, I'm really suprised that you can buy Nothofagus given that it grows in sub temprate rainforest. A fairly rare ecosystem. I would have thought that the last remnants of that would have been locked up as National Park ...unless it comes from Tassie If thats the case at least your saving it from woodchip.

[Bob Willson]

thanks Bob,

yeah the beech i was looking at has a light pale straw colour, a little bit of a golden tinge. do you mind if i what you mean by waxy look?

guys, i spoke with endeaver timber, they've got a nothofagus moorei for 80X19 flooring and selling at $4.50/m +GST, and this other place i looked at sells a 'manna gum [botanic name]' (apparently its a beech specie) at $3.78/m +GST.

is it reasonable, and anyone heard of this manna gum?

Not a waxy look, a waxy feel. The raw timber feels as though it has already had a coat of wax floor paste applied to it.

[DFA]

G'day.
Our Aussie Beech is a mix of Highland species.
Yellow stringybark
White Mahogany
Brown Stringybark
New England Blackbutt
Brown Gum
Manna Gum.

I know of no single specie hardwood called Australian Beech.

G'day trevor,

Thanx for your reply...i'm learning a lot about timber these days and especially this forum, it's fantastic. Thanks to everyone advise, i hope to repay it one day from my experiences.

Since my 1st post, i spoke with the mill i'm thinking of buying their so called 'beech', the sales guy actually told me it's manna gum. Which is the one specie and will give me consistent colouring [that's what i want, not a bunch of mixed species].

Does anyone know the hardness of manna gum and is it suitable for flooring?

thanks

[E. maculata]

Hey DFA, as my esteemed colleague Trevor the wise has stated , Aust Beech is a trade name for several (up to a dozen or so) look alike Eucs that are all pale in appearance, Manna gun is one of them. However not the best IMHO it can be a tad softer than the others and carries a bit more of a pinkish tinge than I'm comfortable with in this mix. Otherwise if you can get it a reasonable price it is acceptable............... I suppose .

Manna Gum (exudes gum like substance sometimes, ie; "Manna from above"
Ribbon Gum
Viminalis
Vim
Brownbarrel
all the same species just known by different names in differing regions
real name
Euc Viminalis, very wide spread along the eastern side of the isle.

[glock40sw]

G'day Bruce.
Long time no talk.
Had a pissin competition with Bob in Melbourne last week.

Ask him about the chinese bloke with subtitles.

Also ask him about the bloke who thought he worked for us.
And about my training style.

He loved it.
Hell, I should come and work with you blokes.