General
Huon pine, Lagarostrobos franklinii, is the
prince of Tasmanian timbers. The richness of colour
and figure in the wood make it one of the world's
most desirable furniture and veneering timbers. Its
durability and workability make it one of the best
ship building timbers known. The wood contains a
natural preserving oil, methyl eugenol, and its
perfume is unmistakable.
Huon pine, with its golden tone, is exclusive and
ageless. Drawn from a very slow growing and long
lived tree, the timber is like a time capsule. A
one metre diameter section can record a thousand
years of history. Larger and older pieces are being
used as one means of determining trends in global
warming.
Like Australian cedar, Huon pine was one of the
first of Australia's timbers to be heavily
exploited for its pure quality- its fine and even
grain makes the wood exceptionally easy to work
with hand tools.
The 'Piners'; early timber getters; searched the
inhospitable wilderness of Tasmania's West Coast to
cut and haul out Huon pine logs. The timber was
used for everything where durability and ease of
working was required; in furniture and tables, in
washtubs and ships and in machinery and patterns
for casting.
Today, the quality of Huon pine continues to be
recognised, but its supply is carefully nurtured
and controlled. Eighty per cent of Huon pine
forests are reserved and much of the resource that
is available comes from logs salvaged from rivers,
the forest floor and areas inundated by hydro
electric schemes. Supply is about 500 cu. metres
per year for the specialist craft and furniture
industries for the next fifty years.
Availability
Huon pine, Lagarostrobos franklinii, is
a rainforest timber endemic to Tasmania. Its
distribution is limited to cool high rainfall areas
in the west and south west of the State.
Huon pine was extensively logged in the 1800's and
early 1900's. It is currently managed so that
supply is drip fed onto the market from logs
harvested and stockpiled from areas inundated by
hydroelectric schemes. Fallen and salvaged logs
provide an additional resource.
Availability of the timber is limited. Selected
outlets in Tasmania carry limited stocks and as
most Huon Pine is cut to order, it is normally
unseasoned.
Uses
With its fine colouring and distinctive odour,
Huon pine is one of the finest furniture and boat
building timber of Australia. Available as a veneer
and as a solid, it has been used for bench tops,
joinery, toys, ornaments, cabinet making, doors,
sashes, turnings and bentwork. The tree produces
highly decorative burls, often turned into bowls or
veneer
Colour
Huon Pine is a pale yellow to yellow brown.
Generally a straw colour which changes to a yellow
with age.
Grain
Grain is straight, fine and even with
occasional birds eye figuring. Growth rings are
close and conspicuous.
Texture
Close and uniform. Huon is soft, smooth and
oily to the touch.
Durability
Class 1 (refer to AS 1604) Huon Pine is one of
the most durable timbers available in Tasmania, due
to a natural oil in the timber, methyl eugenol.
This provides Huon pine's characteristic odour and
protects the timber from decay. Durability of heart
wood in-ground is very high. A life of 25 years or
more can be expected.
Workability
Huon is very easily worked and the wood is
dimensionally stable. It polishes and bends well,
holds nails and screws readily, and drills cleanly
with ease to size. The natural oils in Huon may
interfere with gluing and applied clear finishes.
However, good finishing results can be obtained.
Prior to the application of gloss finishes, it may
be desirable to remove some of the natural oils
from the surface.
Strength Groups
Seasoned, SD6 and Unseasoned, S6
Size
Limited sizes are available due to the general
scarcity of the material.