Anyone ever used Lyptus?

[Tom Pritchard]

On Saturday I was at our local Woodcraft store, and they had a new wood there called "Lyptus". It was a beautiful, tight, dense wood with a slightly pink hue that had a beautiful grain pattern to it. I really liked it, but know nothing about it, such as if it moves much with temp/humidity, is prone to tearout, etc. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks folks!

[Zahid Naqvi]

On Saturday I was at our local Woodcraft store, and they had a new wood there called "Lyptus". It was a beautiful, tight, dense wood with a slightly pink hue that had a beautiful grain pattern to it. I really liked it, but know nothing about it, such as if it moves much with temp/humidity, is prone to tearout, etc. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks folks!

I took a class earlier this week and the instructor, who is a very skilled professional woodworker, thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Another student in the class was making a tool chest out of it, and the wood looked real nice. It is very similar to Mahogany but is close pored and dense. The tree is also an interesting environment friendly invention. Do a google search on Lyptus and I am sure you will get plenty of hits. I believe Weihauser (SP?) has a patent on this tree, and you can only get it through authorized resellers. Here in the heart of Arkieland we only have Hogans and the price per board foot is already beyond $4.50

[Cecil Arnold]

It is my understanding that it is a plantation grown tree that is supposed to be a replacement for Mahogany. The only other thing I have heard or seen is that it is more prone to giving the woodworker splinters. I saw some at Woodcraft this weekend and thought it looked interesting.

[James Stewart]

Hello;

I met a Lyptus salesman at the local home show. He gave me the link below to the brochure for Lyotus.

http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/ourbusinesses/buildingproducts/buildingmaterials/ourproducts/lyptus/lyptushardwoodplywood.asp

James

[Hal Flynt]

I've used about 100 board feet since November and I like it. It's heavy, dense, and stable, no knots or wane. It does seem that one shipment will be mostly straight grained and the next with some figure.

I used it to trim an entertainment center and made raised panel doors with it. I like the way it machines. I've heard it referred to as a cross between mahogany and cherry, but I believe it’s heavier than both.

I finished one project with some Minwax mahogany as an undercoat that replaced the pink with reddish yellow like mahogany, the used Bartley's Jet mahogany gel stain to fill the pores and darken it a bit. I did the project in the fall and winter and moved upstairs Thanksgiving, no splits cracks or gaps.

Woodcraft introduced it here in Knoxville at $3/bf and it was almost 1.1/8" thick S2S. Now the 4/4 is a tad over 3/4 S2S and $3.50 and climbing.
.

[Jim Becker]

I haven't, but I plan to. I talked with a representative from Wayerhouser at the pro show in Ft Washington a couple weeks ago and was very impressed with the product. While it makes a great replacement for mahogany, dyed it also does a nice job as a substitute for steamed walnut, especially when you want a bit more durability and more heft. I will say one thing...other than color, this wood would never be a substitue for cherry, however...too obviously open-grained.

I just need to find a more convenient local source for it as my normal shopping spots don't carry it.

[James Carmichael]

I've got about 10BF of beautiful lyptus I bought at a WC sale, not having a clue what it was but for $3.40 BF sure like it's denisty and mix of sap & heartwood.

I still haven't used it, but WC has since marked it up to $5.80 BF (my regular HW supplier still has it under $4.00). Once I get some projects out of the way, I will do something with it. From what I've read, it's a hybrid of Eucalyptus Grandis and another species and produces lumber-sized logs in about 15 years.

Does anyone know how it rates for decay resistance?

I believe Michael Perata is the resident SMC Lyptus expert, even built his WW bench with it.

[Tom Pritchard]

My thanks to everyone for the informative replies! I feel much better about giving it a try now. Our local Woodcraft had quite a bit of it for $4.50 a BF, so it may be a good time to try some. Again, thanks for the help. BTW, here's a closeup of it from a wood site that I found:

[D. Sheldon Best]

I bought Lyptus a few months ago ( on sale at Woodcraft ). I used it to edge band plywood on a tool chest. It finishes nicely. Take shallow cuts if you router the edge, I found Lyptus likes to splinter if cut too deep. I had to cut twice to get a complete profile without having problems. I believe the wood is a cross between eucalyptus and cherry.

[Steve Clardy]

Supposed to have some here today with a load of lumber. Just a small amount to try it out for making plane knobs and totes.

[Keith Christopher]

I am in the process of building a bed for my daughter out of lyptus. It is a good dense wood. Interesting thing to note when I was researching it. The growth to harvest time is like 18yrs ! That is an amazingly short time for a dense hard wood like this. If you oxidize it you can even get it to look darker like mahogany. Also on a note, the splinters from this fester very quickly. I caught one across the index finger (completely across the tip bisecting it almost) and it festered kinda quick. Other than that I find it mills like mahog, however not a porous as mahog. I have some pics I will post in a day or so.


Keith

[John Hemenway]

I believe the wood is a cross between eucalyptus and cherry.

From Weyerhaeuser site:
"lyptus® is a premium plantation-grown hardwood from Brazil. A natural hybrid of Eucalyptus grandis and E. urophylla"

So when you cut it does it smell like cough drops? ;)

[Keith Christopher]

From Weyerhaeuser site:
"lyptus® is a premium plantation-grown hardwood from Brazil. A natural hybrid of Eucalyptus grandis and E. urophylla"

So when you cut it does it smell like cough drops? ;)


Nope.


Keith

[John Stevens]

I find it mills like mahog

Bad tear-out like African mahogany?

[Charlie Plesums]

I built opposite ends of a sample box out of lyptus and mahogany, then used the same dye on both. Most people can't tell the difference. The way I can tell is because there is a dent in the mahogany - much softer than lyptus. The mahogany weighed under 6 ounces, the identical piece of lyptus weighed 8 1/4 ounces.

I wanted to finish a test piece on four sides, so tried to drive a screw into the end grain to hold it while spraying. I had to predrill the end grain to get the screw in. The only heavier/harder wood I have used is Ipe. It appears stable, mills well, easy to glue and finish, and is HARD and HEAVY.

Lyptus was developed by a Brazilian paper pulp company as a hybrid tree that would grow to maturity in 15 years. Weyerhauser has the exclusive marketing rights for the lumber, at least in the USA. The wood is milled in Brazil. I suspect the reason that the Lyptus is so clear and straight is that the poorer grades go to the pulp mill that started the whole thing.

Left alone Lyptus will darken gradually, somewhat like cherry, but more slowly. My test piece is still getting darker, so I can't report on the final state.

[Bob Nieman]

I am finishing what I consider to be my first real project out of lyptus and I am very happy with it. It burns pretty easily, like maple (I haven't tried cherry yet) and it does splinter. I have read that it doesn't accept stain well (except in the pores), but a single coat of min-wax mahogany red went on much better than expected and a sample piece with BLO looked nice too. I'd try to darken it but I am out of time on the project. I hope to take pictures this week.

I got it at WC in Albuquerque for $5 b/f instead of QS White oak (which they don't sell). To do my project right I needed some 1/4" plywood, but the nearest dealer I could find is 600 miles away. I made do with some oak plywood that has some roughly similar looking wood on the backside. It was pretty easy to work for an absolute beginner like me. I had some challenges with my chisels, but I haven't gotten them sharpened yet. I will definitely get more (but I have a lot of other wood to try first!)

[Keith Christopher]

Bad tear-out like African mahogany?

John,

Yeah it does. I did forget to point out which Bob Nieman said:


I am finishing what I consider to be my first real project out of lyptus and I am very happy with it. It burns pretty easily, like maple (I haven't tried cherry yet) and it does splinter...

It does tend to burn. I ripped about 9 4" wide boards of 8/4 stock and I have alot of burn to cleanup. Was a fairly new, clean ripping blade so it wasn't from a gummy buildup on the blade. I like this wood, it is quite nice to work with other than the splinters. I've had my gloves on more this time than ever.


Keith

[Michael Perata]

I'll be starting my fifth project with it soon. I really like it. It is tough on tools and it likes it when you climb cut router.

WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING ROUGH MATERIAL. THEM SPLINTERS ARE NASTY. Also, don't drop it on your foot (DAMHIKT)

I buy the stock locally from a Weyehoauser distributor for about $3.25/BF in 100 BF quantities.

This was the first project I used it on:

http://www.peratacompany.com/images/JW.jpg

Then I used the workbench to build this:

http://www.peratacompany.com/images/Table001.jpg

[Keith Christopher]

I'll be starting my fifth project with it soon. I really like it. It is tough on tools and it likes it when you climb cut router.

WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING ROUGH MATERIAL. THEM SPLINTERS ARE NASTY. Also, don't drop it on your foot (DAMHIKT)

I buy the stock locally from a Weyehoauser distributor for about $3.25/BF in 100 BF quantities.




Mike,

Nice projects ! I do wear my gloves, but I got this splinter when ripping the boards. Usually I wear them before the wood is milled up which I did, but man this stuff splinters. Gloves on all the time here ! Yeah this stuff is DENSE and HEAVY ! Amazing for an 18yr harvest time ! I bought some 10" with 8/4 11' long board, After the first unloading of 2 at a time, I unloaded the rest 1 at a time. :)

Also this wood is amazing for hardwood flooring. ;)

Keith

[Bob Nieman]

I have been slowly reading magazines, books, web sites for the last several years. Meanwhile I have occasionally added a tool here and there and have done a few things, but nothing that I really considered to be a project, until I decided to make a memory box for my daughter who is graduating from high school next month. This Friday she has a banquet with her dance team and the seniors will all have memory boxes. The difference here is that hers will be built by her Dad.

It is made with lyptus. The back is 1/4" oak with a lauan back (which matches the lyptus grain better). The oak will be covered with black velvet and a lot of dance things. I didn't exactly follow a plan and I only figured out how to cover the glass during dance recital last Friday (when my daughters weren't dancing) :D

We will have to see how uploading the pics works. The camera isn't the best, but I think you get the general idea (provided the pics show up, that is). The only finish on it at this point is Min-Wax Red Mahogany stain (one coat)
lyptusbox1.jpg
lyptusbox2.jpg

[John Stevens]

Gloves on all the time here !

Well, you had the good sense not to wear them when ripping--more sense than I had a few years back.

At the time I was using a 1" forstner bit to bore holes in some old barn wood. The wood was pretty splintery, so I was wearing canvas and leather work gloves. I got a little sloppy and allowed the glove to contact the spinning bit. The bit grabbed the leather and tore through it like it was a wet paper bag, so you can imagine what it did to my hand. It happened so quickly I didn't even have a chance to react before the damage was done. Luckily no tendons were severed, but the scarring on my thumb was thick enough that it took a few years for it to loosen up to the point where I have full range of motion...albeit with a little discomfort.

As a result, I never wear gloves while using power equipment any more.

[George Matthews]

Well, you had the good sense not to wear them when ripping--more sense than I had a few years back.
(snip)
As a result, I never wear gloves while using power equipment any more.

Any loose clothing, including gloves are an accident waiting to happen. However when it comes to gloves, I chose and use these...
http://www.user.firstclass.com/~gmatthews/img/workshop/gloves.jpg

They fit snug, and wear reasonably well. If I feel the need to "get in close" with my hands... I don't. I pickup a stick and let it suffer!

[JayStPeter]

Back to the subject of Lyptus,

Is it good for outdoor projects. I see that Michael used it to make an outdoor table. When I finish my deck, I'm thinking of making a similar table for it. I was considering using Ipe, but I like the color of Lyptus better. Is it similarly decay resistant, or would I have to refinish it often. I building my deck out of plastic, so I don't want to have to refinish my deck furniture regularly either :).

Jay

[Michael Perata]

Jay

The table has gone through two winters (mild but wet California) and has held up very well. I did not do a good job of finishing the piece so I will be re-doing that this summer.

I did mount the table on HDPE buttons to keep any moisture from wicking into the legs.

[Bob Nieman]

According to Weyerhauser, the "Natural Decay Resistance of Heartwood" is Moderate to Durable, which compares with Cherry, White Oak and Mahogany. They do not compare it to ipe or teak. Can't say that I have ever read any suggestions to use it outside though. They rate it "Moderately Difficult to treat with preservatives or fire retardants", which is the same as all the species they compare it to except hard maple and beech, both of which are "easily treated". I'd think if it compared favorably to ipe you would hear about it.

as for a project update, I tried shellac for the first time and think it looks great, but I couldn't resist going over areas I already did and have a number of drips and brush marks and rough spots.. Have to see what i can do about that. I was surprised that the wood changed color as much as it did. It seems a lot lighter and it brought the pink tones back. It will be ready for the banquet (but I might work on it some more after the banquet and before graduation)

http://img103.echo.cx/img103/4420/membox2nr.jpg

<not a shameless thread bump>
<well, not much of one>

[Dave Malen]

Thanks John,
looks like another possibility. Now where can I get that in SE Pa. or SW NJ?
Regards,
Dave

[Bob Nieman]

According to woodfinder.com. you have at least 10 places within 260 miles (I don't even have one that close--closer to 300 to Albuquerque Woodcraft and 600 to the nearest Weyerhauser outlet where I could get something other than 4/4)

I definitely need more!

[Jim Becker]

looks like another possibility. Now where can I get that in SE Pa. or SW NJ?

I asked that very question at the pro-show in Ft Washington recently. While I don't recall which suppliers carry it, there are several local ones and you should be able to get a referral from WH or use Woodfinder as previously suggested. I do recall that the suppliers were not familiar ones to me.

[Aaron Montgomery]

I built a trunk entirely out of Lyptus. We really like the color.

http://home.insightbb.com/~apmonte/BlanketChest.html