Anyone used Kauri wood?

[linkshouse]

Possibly not really scroll sawing but as this is the forum I use and know....

I've managed to acquire 2 large pieces of Kauri wood (approx 2' x 4' x 2") which I gather is very rare.

Any ideas what I should make from it?

Phill

 

[RogerP]

Never heard of it before but it seems it's the New Zealand equivalent of Irish bog oak and can be 45,000 years old!
I can't offer a suggestion of what to make from your piece but it certainly need careful consideration after all the years it's lain waiting for your chisels.

 

[CHJ]

Do you know if it is actually Ancient Kauri or something that has been harvested in more recent times.

Can be quite figurative but more generally very Bland in appearance.
Only ever turned a couple of pieces that were sent from source at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom.


The promotional DVD's showing recovery of the wood and working it are interesting.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It's soft, it makes beautiful furniture but is easily damaged. See http://www.kau.nz/collections/galleries/ and https://www.ancientkauri.co.nz/extract_ ... _staircase. Are you certain it is kauri? The export of timber was banned many years ago. The 45,000 is a different kettle of fish to new timber, it keeps the characteristics but loses all physical strength - it is sold as a finished product (as is all kauri now) only complete with a certificate of carbon dating. Have a look at https://www.google.co.uk/search
q=tane+mahuta&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi53NbE3aPUAhUkAcAKHSnuAt4Q_AUICigB&biw=1584&bih=767at you will see the size of these things. This is 1400 years old - at the turn of the 10th/20th century they were still cutting down 4000 year old ones. You can see one reason they are/were so valuable - they are near cylindrical, so there is little waste in conversion. Many of the trees were killed because of being over bled for their gum, which is like amber.
I have touched Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) - it made me feel quite humble - and visited both kauri museums - so I suppose I am fortunate. This is a photo of a piece of kauri I have on the wall - it was about £250, £333 now. Alllegally exported pieces have a number on them.

 

[linkshouse]

Do you know if it is actually Ancient Kauri or something that has been harvested in more recent times.

Can be quite figurative but more generally very Bland in appearance.
Only ever turned a couple of pieces that were sent from source at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom.


The promotional DVD's showing recovery of the wood and working it are interesting.

I don't know.

I got it from a lady on the island that moved here from New Zealand and brought it with her. It looks as though it was a table top at one time.

She said it was Kauri and quite rare. Of course being a bit impetuous I bought it first and only then looked it up :roll: . I only paid £50 for both pieces so not a major investment. Looking at the grain and comparing it to the wood database entry http://www.wood-database.com/kauri/ it looks to be right but I don't know if there is any way to tell if it is ancient or harvested.

Regards

Phill

P.S. If you think this should be moved to a different forum please do so.

 

[linkshouse]

It's soft, it makes beautiful furniture but is easily damaged. See http://www.kau.nz/collections/galleries/ and https://www.ancientkauri.co.nz/extract_ ... _staircase. Are you certain it is kauri? The export of timber was banned many years ago. The 45,000 is a different kettle of fish to new timber, it keeps the characteristics but loses all physical strength - it is sold as a finished product (as is all kauri now) only complete with a certificate of carbon dating. Have a look at https://www.google.co.uk/search
q=tane+mahuta&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi53NbE3aPUAhUkAcAKHSnuAt4Q_AUICigB&biw=1584&bih=767at you will see the size of these things. This is 1400 years old - at the turn of the 10th/20th century they were still cutting down 4000 year old ones. You can see one reason they are/were so valuable - they are near cylindrical, so there is little waste in conversion. Many of the trees were killed because of being over bled for their gum, which is like amber.
I have touched Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) - it made me feel quite humble - and visited both kauri museums - so I suppose I am fortunate. This is a photo of a piece of kauri I have on the wall - it was about £250, £333 now. Alllegally exported pieces have a number on them.

Lucky you, I can imagine it being humbling to touch such an old tree.

Per my previous reply, I have no way of knowing for sure that it is Kauri other than the original owners assurance and comparison with the photos in the wood database. She is a Kiwi and was quite proud of the fact that it is Kauri and told me all about how it was not harvested any more and was quite rare. I must admit I did think that she may have just been trying to big it up but in truth I would have paid the £50 two bits of wood that size choose what they were (well almost :lol: ).

Here are some photos of the wood.

Here are the two pieces -

and this is a bit cut off and cleaned up to see what the grain looked like (looks a lot better once cleaned up).

finally here is a close up of the end grain(sorry not great quality)

Should anyone take one look at these, start laughing and say "these aren't Kauri they're monkey metal (sorry for the metal working term I don't know if there is a woodworking equivalent) please feel free to shout up.

Regards

Phill

 

[CHJ]

That looks like it could well be forested Kauri as opposed to Ancient Bog Kauri to me.

Pieces like that would risk getting put on one side until something special called for its sacrifice if it was mine, like there are not enough pieces like that in the store already.
Always find it difficult to cut up larger sentimental wood samples that have been handed down or fallen my way.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Everything I ever saw made from bog - actually much of it comes from river beds or is uncovered on farm land - was small, I suspect due to its brittleness. It is naturally rot resistant. I saw a very old photo of a dance group and twenty dancing couples on a kauri stump, and read that 195 cabins were built from one tree. I had a beautiful book on it but lent it, never to be returned.

 

[linkshouse]

That looks like it could well be forested Kauri as opposed to Ancient Bog Kauri to me.

Pieces like that would risk getting put on one side until something special called for its sacrifice if it was mine, like there are not enough pieces like that in the store already.
Always find it difficult to cut up larger sentimental wood samples that have been handed down or fallen my way.

Ha ha, I definitely know what you mean.

I don't do tables etc. definitely beyond my skill, but it won't be going into intarsia work. I'm thinking boxes, trays, bowls and such.

Regards

Phill

 

[Fitzroy]

I was out in NZ in 2004 and had some great walks in the kauri forests, truely magnificent trees. Not all swamp kauri is ancient nor is it all carbon dated. I spent a very interesting afternoon chatting with a sculptor (Wayne Ross) whom works predominantly with swamp kauri, his estimate is most of his wood is c. 4000 yrs old. He's bought a number of stumps/trunks from farmers who've found it buried on their land whilst farming. He mills it up on sight in to 6"+ thickness boards then dries it a year per inch before making some amazing items. I bought a bowl which positively shimmers as you turn it in the light, golden bands of fire ripple through the dark wood, Wayne said it's the resin that makes the shimmer, and the aging in the swamp only preserves trees heavy with resin.

Photos do not do the bowl justice.

F.

Ps: there are a number of you tube vids of folks uncovering buried trunks and milling them up, just search swamp kauri on YouTube.