I got myself some good thick branches from an eucalyptus tree. I took out the external bark and left the pieces to sundry for a couple of days now.

Two branches are long enough for a handle. Other pieces are short cylinders which I want for bola weights.

I was wondering if this wood is suitable for these purposes. Thanks a lot in advanced.

It makes a really HOT fire.  I don't know of anyone who has worked it, post pictures when you are finished.  What kind of grain does it have?

Mauro, that would be koalas, pandas eat bamboo.  Bill

I made a shillelagh out of it.  That's still my go-to walking stick.  It's nice wood to work with, at least in my unprofessional opinion.

Rockman, it all depends on what type of eucalyptus it is. there are over 40 varieties. the red euc is a very hard, dense wood suitable for all kinds of weapons and crafts....



the more common grey eucalyptus, or the paper bark species are considerably softer and not good for much beyond firewood. one thing they all have in common is an extremely high oil content (the reason it makes good firewood) and the fact that they are so fast growing. another is that they tend to check and crack badly when seasoning making them poor products for wood working.

Chris

Paleo is that a war boomerang  ? (not designed for throwing but more of a melee weapon)

Well, the type I have is certainly NOT reddish, it´s more a yellowish tone.

Now that the pieces are dry, I recognize the wood as the cheapest, most common sticks they use for holding "under construction, beware" signs or plastic barriers.

The ends of the wood have cracks on the radius. All of the pieces have cracks.

Ah well, a shame. Thanks everyone for your answers.

Another thing I have is a good chunk of a willow tree. It´s about the thickness of a upper leg. Willow tree, good for anything?

Rockman wrote on Dec 17^th, 2010 at 12:44pm:


Making baskets.  Willow is not exactly the toughest wood around. It's soft, light, and relatively brittle. Although now that I think about it, making a cool looking willow basket would be pretty interesting in it's own right.

again, willow comes in many different varieties. some of the western willow shoots make excellent spear and dart shafts and also fantastic flutes, but most of it is too soft for much of anything.