Impact

Beech is a popular choice for flooring, furniture, veneer plywood. It is a hard, strong and heavy wood. It has a fine, tight grain and even texture. Usually a pale yellow/brown colour which gives your room a warm feeling. With its smooth finish it is a great wood to polish, while it is a strong wood to withstand shocks and wear.

This broad leave evergreen tree is native to Eastern Australia. It grows fast when young, but considerably slows down later. It grows preferably in rain forests, but occasionally also in subtropical and dry forests, as it can withstand drought but not frost. This hardwood is relatively soft and light, but has figuring that resembles lace, hence lacewood. It is used for building fine furniture, and musical instruments, particularly guitars. It used to be common also for external window joinery before the advent of aluminum.

This beautiful hardwood is durable and has a light to deep reddish-brown colour. Home to West Africa, it is used in boat building, flooring, furniture, veneer, decorative work, cabinetry, window frames, plywood, and musical instruments, among others. Currently this priced tree is being grown in NT in plantations. Legend has it that an early botanist visiting Africa many years ago, saw this tree growing in a forest and asked his guide what it was called. The reply being ‘Khaya’ – which in the guide’s language meant ‘I don’t know’. The botanist, none the wiser, diligently wrote this down and the genus was named accordingly.