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Thread: Lyptus Lumber what do you know?

  1. #1

    Lyptus Lumber what do you know?

    Hey guys

    I hope this is the best section to talk about this. I am curious, I am wondering what happened to Lyptus. 5 years ago my wood working turned more to boat building and I stopped having a need for lyptus. When I tried to find cost and availability I found that really no one had it to speak of. Not even Hearns. I saw some decking being sold. It was a wood that was suppose to help reduce pressure on mahogany and was developed by Weyerhaeuser. It is a hybrid of two species and man made/develped
    It was suppose to typically be harvested in 20 years. Anyway the last thing I was hearing before things changed for me was that the nice dark relish color was hard to get and only in thin widths. The pictures of the console is something I built out of the rare figured boards that I had collected and "culled" out when I was building stock furniture for a gallery. The bench is the lighter pinkish color without finish on it. Note the top is maple not lyptus. Anyway what I am wondering what does anyone know what happened to it. Does anyone have an affection for it? How about for the figured Lyptus lumber? thanks

    DSCF2446.jpgfullsizeoutput_2d6.jpg

    IMG_4779.jpgIMG_4783.jpg

  2. #2
    i've used small amounts of it in segmented pieces, I like it.
    I have 1 large piece in my inventory about 10" x 60" x 7/8". I don't know where it's gone to, the only thing I've seen lately is the occasional small piece here and there.
    I find it to be a good heavy solid wood to work with, wish it was more available.

  3. #3
    Lyptus® is merely a trade name, which is a registered trademark owned by the Brazilian company Fibria. The Lyptus® brand is marketed in the United States by Weyerhaeuser. The actual tree species, which is grown on Brazilian plantations owned by Fibria, is a Eucalyptus hybrid of Eucalyptus grandis and E. urophylla.

    In terms of mechanical/physical characteristics, Lyptus® has a very high shrinkage rate, and is likely to experience a fair amount of seasonal movement. The wood is relatively hard, heavy, and strong, though as a general rule, the paler pinkish brown boards tend to be less dense, while the darker reddish brown boards tend to be heavier and harder.

    https://www.wood-database.com/lyptus/

    It appears about five years ago Fibria merged with a competitor. Maybe Lyptus wasn't in the new organizations marketing plan?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2015
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    I remember these guys taking out adds in FWW about 15 or 20 years ago they were really pushing this stuff and prices were decent I think - seems like a nice species of wood but I haven't used it.

  5. #5
    The place where I buy hardwood had a lot of Lyptus some years ago and then it disappeared. I never used it but would like to have it as an option.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  6. #6
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    Eucalyptus acorns? was brought to the USA around 1850 to California. But they brought only two types. red gum and blue gum. Neither of which is much good for lumber. Good timber Eucalypts grow slowly. It was widely planted to grow lots of timber, opps.
    The blue gum planted around 1882 At UC Berkeley in California are the tallest hardwoods in North America at about 200 feet. No predators in the USA other then fire and frost.
    Note that what Californians call blue gum and red eucalyptus may not be the same as Australia names.
    Bill D
    Last edited by Bill Dufour; 03-12-2023 at 10:26 PM.

  7. #7
    I remember it from an employment. Some in management liked the “press releases” ,and bought some. Customers did NOT like it.
    Management did not buy anymore . You had to be careful about grain tear -out.

  8. #8
    I used a lot of it. I was building bedroom sets for a gallery. It was one of the wood choices. When doing 6 and 8 drawer dresses they were super heavy. I would guess like the weight of MDF. It is really nice at its best. I was just surprised it dropped off the map. I have about 90bf of figured and a little bit of flat. I was trying to get a value for it. When I picked the stock for the work at hand and I saw the rare figured board I would buy it and set it aside.

    Below is an old write-up. All relevant except availability


    LYPTUS https://www.keimlumber.com/exotic-wood-library/lyptus


    Family: Myrtaceae, hybrid of Eucalyptus Grandis and Eucalyptus Urophylla.
    Origin: Grown in Brazil and distributed by, Weyerhaeuser, a North American forest company focused on sustainable forestry.
    Common Names: Lyptus.
    The Tree: Lyptus is the trade name of a wood that is harvested from a hybrid of two species of Eucalyptus trees, E. Grandis, and E. Urophylla. A Eucalyptus tree is tall with smooth bark, rough at the base fibrous or flaky and grey to grey, brown in color. The tree height can vary from 65 feet to 100 feet with a trunk 3-4 feet in diameter. The tree can reach maturity in about 14 to 16 years.
    Appearance: Lyptus wood varies in color from dark red to light pink. The heartwood is red to pink and the sapwood is pale in color.
    Density: The density varies depending on color, with the darker color like hickory in density and the lighter color like birch and ash in density. Specific gravity ranges from .60to .85. Janka Hardness is 1,420 pounds of force.
    Drying and Shrinkage: Drying Lyptus s often compared to that of white oak, both of which need to be air-dried under controlled conditions for 6 to 9 months. Lyptus is known to have high seasonal movement. The average dried weight is 53 pounds per cubic foot. Shrinkage values are 8.2% radial, 12.8% tangential, 21% volumetric.
    Working Properties: Working with Lyptus presents few challenges. Given the uniformity of the grain, it machines and mills very well. However, with its high density, it can burn when being worked. It glues well. Nails and screws should be pre-drilled. It takes both oil and water-based stains very well.
    Durability: The durability of Lyptus is comparable to oak and hard maple. Heartwood is moderately durable to decay resistance, though it is susceptible to insect attack.
    Uses: Lyptus has been compared to both black cherry and mahogany for its use. It can be used not only as a substitute for those species, but for many other common hardwoods as well. It is best used in interior applications. Cabinetry, millwork, trim, stairs, and flooring can all be made from Lyptus.
    Availability: Lyptus is available from most retail and wholesale lumber dealers. It will appeal to those who want to use an imported product that does not come from cutting down rain forests. Lyptus is worth considering for many woodworking products as other popular choices become harder to source.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Henderson View Post
    The place where I buy hardwood had a lot of Lyptus some years ago and then it disappeared. I never used it but would like to have it as an option.
    I’ve used dry lyptus on the lathe - wonderfully hard, nice surface, good color. Sharp tools required. I wish I had some more, 8/4+.

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Roseville, MN
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    Lyptus wasn't making enough money so they decided to turn it into wood pulp, Red Grandis is the replacement

  11. #11
    Wikipedia entry on lyptus says Fibria closed the lyptus sawmill in 2017.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Jenness View Post
    Wikipedia entry on lyptus says Fibria closed the lyptus sawmill in 2017.
    That means the price of the piece I have, just went up

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Edward Weber View Post
    That means the price of the piece I have, just went up
    If you have any 8/4 at least 7-8” wide you want to sell, even short pieces, maybe advertise off Classifieds here!

  14. #14
    Well, I have a goodly amount of figured 87 bf and about 10bf flat sawn plain.4/4 No 8/4. I am in Oregon. IMG_7441.jpg
    Attached Images Attached Images

  15. #15
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    What I heard was that they couldn't get commercial users interested enough to support the business. I had one piece and thought it was fine to work with.
    < insert spurious quote here >

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