The Australian Bull Oak tests out as the most difficult to penetrate by at least one measure.
Common trade names: buloke, bull-oak
Genus: Allocasuarina luehmannii
Janka Hardness (pounds-force): 5060
Description: Possibly there exist limitations to what a woodworker will endure. I’ve been unable to locate any information about the use of this lumber as a lumber, but I’ve found that it’s vital to the continuing survival of a southeastern subspecies of the Austrialian Red-tailed Black Cockatoo for both food and lodging.
Location: Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales in Australia
Common Aliases: Australian buloke, Australian bull-oak
Performance: If you can get your hands on some of this, please let me know how it turns out for you. I believe it would be interesting to hear at least one opinion except that it’s the hardest wood that’s been tested with the Janka scale. There is mention from Australian government issues alluding to its strong performance as a fuel wood. It looks like it should be able to grow about anywhere, and it is unclear whether this wood is useful at all to the professional or hobbyist woodman.
Acclimation: It looks as though one would have to travel to Australia, and possibly purchase this wood on the black market. I have seen no place where it is being sold in the United States, and I don’t know how Australian jails might differ from American ones, should its trade be illegal. Again, your input could be helpful in this identification project.
From: florabank
Common Name(s): Allocasuarina luehmanni
Scientific Name: Allocasuarina luehmanni
Distribution: Queensland, Western New South Wales, Northwestern Victoria
Tree Size: 30-60 ft (10-20 m) tall, 2-3 ft (.6-.9 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: N/A
Basic Specific Gravity: N/A
Hardness: 5,060 lbs.f.
Rupture Strength: N/A
Elastic Strength: N/A
Crushing Strength: N/A
Shrinkage: N/A
I am also looking for Allocasuarina luehmannii wood stock. I have a project that requires this ultimately strong wood. I must use Australian Buloke and I will settle for nothing less in Janka hardness. If I get to the point where I am crafting my project with this species, I will let you know what a nightmare it is to work with.
ReplyDeleteNot sure where you are from, but I did purchase a piece of Bull Oak, approx. 12" x 2" x 2" from MacBeaths, a specialty lumber store in Berkeley, Ca. I purchased this about 10 years ago, and still have it. I can't recall the price, since I also purchased several pieces of ebony at the same time. I'm getting ready to turn it on my lathe.
DeleteSorry for the delay in response. Email difficulties... How much stock are you seeking? I can keep my eye open, but we just don't get many inquiries for this species, and I know the availability is somewhat limited in the US. You can email me at slade@specialtylumbersolutions.com if you don't wish to respond here.
ReplyDeleteHello. My name is Dusty and I am also looking for Australian Buloke. I am working on a guitar that will require extremely hard wood. I think the Buloke will be perfect for what I have in mind. My needs are for four inches by 4 inches by 5 feet straight and square (all American measurements). If I get any of this wood, I also will let you know what it is like to work with. Do let me know if it is posible to get this amount and how much it would cost.
ReplyDeleteIt may turn out that it would be less costly to come there and obtain the lumber and cut it to size then bring it back with me.
Man I'd love to have at least a fretboard made of Australian Buloke for my bass...
Deletecan get heaps of buloke..
DeleteLooks like this person might know where to get some - http://www.ttit.id.au/treepages/bulloak.htm
ReplyDeleteHi folks. Just in case you are not aware, I thought you might like to know the following:
ReplyDeleteBuloke is indigenous to the Buloke Shire area and has a lot of significance, they are protected as they have been classified as endangered by the Federal government and are not harvested for timber. They are a very slow growing tree and can take as long as 100 years to reach maturity. Anyone found to cut a Buloke tree can face very large hefty fines.
If you are still after some great Australian native timber for musical instruments, try the following site: http://www.loggerheads.com.au/index.html
Well, I don't want any squabble with the Australian government, as I'm planning on seeing The Ashes at some point, and it would be disastrous to get in visa trouble over a protected species. Good to know, and it makes sense that the stuff is nonexistent on the market.
ReplyDeleteDoes someone have a lay-person's explanation of the physical properties of the wood that makes it harder than virtually every other species? I've read much on how hard the species is, but little coherent explanation for the process that allows this to occur.
If anyone is aware why it's used for fuel wood, I'd be interested to hear any explanation of that. Is this just people being people? This happens sometimes...Thanks in advance!
Denser woods like this one tend to make excellent fuel, as there is more mass to burn.
ReplyDeleteApparently the wood is so hard because it's a slow growing timber from a semi-arid environment. This is probably also why it's now endangered - they did a lot of land clearing in Victoria during the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteHi! I’m from Australia and I have some Buloke, and it’s far too difficult to work with. “Broke to many chain saws and the teeth from circular saws trying to cut it" Using Buloke as a fuel is not a good idea as it has been known to burn out a stove/heater within 6 months of constant use, due to the intense heat it produces. Rare and extremely tuff timber!!!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, my guess is that you would need lapidary saws to work with a wood that is considerably harder than even lignum vitae.
DeleteSome of you have mentioned you have a special purpose for such an extremely hard wood. You probably know that the janka hardness gives us only some of the picture as to the wood's 'toughness.' Some hard woods have planes along which they are rather fragile, and some Allocasaurinas (Buloke) are like this. The Australian tree/ wood Cooktown Ironwood (Erythrophleum chlorostachys) is incredible tough, would make an amazing club to smash things with, but it is by no means our hardest wood. Many of Australia's hardest Acacias are tough in every respect, meaning they remind you that hardness, while a romantically simple measure, has limited meaning. Also, think how many woods you have worked with where a sample from one species is infinitely harder/tougher than another sample from the same species. The growing environment, age of the tree etc play perhaps as great a role in the timber's hardness as does the species. The same can be said for density. I have two pieces of a wood from north Queensland that are both denser than anything I have seen recorded- specific gravity of 1.48. What I am saying is, please don't let some meaningless ranking make you desperately blind to other qualities of your project, and to the sensibilities of obtaining it. Rather than fear Australian law enforcement, just respect the fact that some rare species are vulnerable and we are not the only living things that value their existence. In fact, these trees are often the only ones to provide food, habitat, nutrient and water cycling in the tough environments that forged them. Many of Australia's most interesting and prized woods are from species that grow in arid environments. Imagine the consequences of insisting on wood from a rare tree found only in the deserts of Utah! What I think is the most underrated quality of the wood-working fraternity is the appreciation and regard for each and every little scrap of wood we work with. That quality is wonderful.
DeleteYou make some reasonable points. But it is too far to call the average measured Janka hardness for this species 'meaningless'. That mechanical quality has important utility no matter how you try to downplay / distract from it.
DeleteI am living in Natimuk Victoria and have developed an interest in carving and polishing Bull Oak as it is called here. Today I was out with a few friends cutting fallen wood for burning plus a few interesting pieces for me to carve and polish. Quite legally. I have been making simple but beautiful delicate leaf shapes using hacksaw and sandpaper. This wood is incredibly hard ! but polishes (1200 grit) to a superb 3d Tiger eye like finish with some work and patience. It often has a feather like grain and colours that vary from buff to a deep Mahogany red. There are millions of Bull Oak sometimes called She Oak tree's near here.
ReplyDeletei need to find some good pieces up here in Queensland. i want to make a cane from it. using a branch maybe
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I wonder it could be used for bow, I know osage orange wood is hard and and dense but it is not compare to this bull oak, I made a self bow from the osage orange that I get from my brother-in=law from Arkansas, it is very good. I am thinking to make a self-bow from this densest bull oak in my life time. Based on what I ready from all your comments, it would not be available, I am quite disappointed.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering if people are still interested in this timber for furniture and what not. I personally sell it for $12 a kg per a ton.
ReplyDeleteIf you have Bull oak available, please let me know.
DeleteI have tons of Buloke wood,my 100+ year old barn is supported by 3 foot stumps and I have about 90
ReplyDeleteHi! Do you have any Buloke left?
DeleteIt's workable and I'm making wood mallets,it has an amazing finish.Someone above mentioned 1200 grit and a 3d tiger pattern or similar.. Yep it's true.The wood is stunning
ReplyDeleteFind me on facebook if you want :)
ReplyDeleteI do decorative carving and have several pieces in progress or storage.
ReplyDeleteVery hard on any tool. I mostly use a coarse flap disc in small hand held grinder and they also don't last long.
This timber does split after not too long on the ground. The root ball is from where I harvest.
This dose not really answer your question but thought you may like the info or mis-info. I live in Florida where they are currently and rapidly removing what they are calling Australian Pine. I asked a guy cutting down one, he told me that it was Australian Pine. The removal is due to Florida's sandy soil and the trees swallow roots cause it to fall during hurricanes. He cut me a slice with his monster big Stihl chainsaw..I soon realized this isn't the usaul soft wood pine. Extremely dense. So dense, when i asked another guy to trim it with his lesser quality chainsaw, he could not. I tried to cut it with my good quality circular saw and quickly had to stop since it was killing the motor in less than a minute which hasn't happened before or since. The saw dust is oddly a purple tone. II had a small piece that I put in a wood fire and it burned slow. I now believe this "Australian Pine" is Allocasuarina luehmannii AKA bull oak and other names. It is so hard, I gave up on trying to do anything with it and just display it has is in my garden. It has been there for 5 years untreated and although oxidizes, no signs of rot. a simple pressure wash and it returns to its glorious color. Hope to hear what types of tools people use. For the average wood woodworker all I can say is "good luck".
ReplyDelete