Common Name(s): Boonaree, Western rosewood, inland rosewood
Scientific Name: Alectryon oleifolius
Distribution: Australia
Average Dried Weight: 81.8 lbs/ft3 (1,310 kg/m3)
Janka Hardness: 4,560 lbf (20,260 N)*
*Estimated hardness based on specific gravity
Comments: A small, relatively uncommon tree yielding incredibly heavy wood. Although it sometimes bears the common name “rosewood,” it’s not a true rosewood in the Dalbergia genus. The wood is sometimes used for woodturning.
Note: This is a truncated profile page. If you have any helpful info or experience with this wood species, feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to integrate any relevant data when I expand the page. ~Eric
Images: Drag the slider up/down to toggle between raw and finished wood. Note that the first sample shows a piece of primarily heartwood that has been glued together from two bookmatched pieces, while the second sample shows a single solid piece that is primarily sapwood.
A special thanks to Don Wan for providing the wood sample of this species.
Identification: See the article on Hardwood Anatomy for definitions of endgrain features.
Related Content:
Hey Eric, Hearne Hardwoods in Oxford PA has/had a fair amount of this in stock recently. Pieces as large as ~14″x5″x~2″. Extremely difficult to work, chipped a tooth on my tablesaw cutting it. I suspect it’s got a high silica content, it’s got that glassy smooth to the touch surface when split. Has a barnyard/wet hay smell when cutting – similar to some ebonies. Dust did not seem to irritate my skin. the stock I had did not seem particularly stable, it has since cracked. It does hold detail incredibly well, but there seems to be a lot of variation… Read more »
Eric, its fairly common around the central Queensland Highlands. This where I picked up all my pieces
How does it resist working?
Christian sorry for the slow response I had problem logging on to my email. Boonaree Boonaree timber is hard and moderately heavy. I have found it cracks a bit while drying, even with the endgrain sealed, but appears stable once dry. It exhibits some impressive colouring where the heartwood is degrading but then comes the inevitable pipe making it difficult to get large pieces to work with. The timber machines nicely and holds detail well. Boonaree doesn’t sand easily but produces an excellent finish if you persist. Any finish works well on this timber and just one or two applications… Read more »
Great info, thanks. So This is likely not a good wood for axe shafts/handles.
The most commonly used Australian hardwood for axe handles is Spotted gum. It often has attractive curly figuring due to the interlocking grain.