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Uses: Spotted Gum is very popular for flooring and decking, boat building (keel and framing components, planking, decking), coach, vehicle and carriage building.
Its level of hardness makes Spotted Gum popular for commercial applications such as gymnasiums and basketball courts.
The timber has a natural resistance to termites and will readily accept paint, stain and polish. It is naturally fire resistant and meets the required parameters under Australian Standard AS395 as a timber that does not have to be subjected to fire retardant treatment, making Spotted Gum a popular choice as an outdoor decking timber.
It is often used for sporting goods (baseball bats, croquet mallets, spring and diving boards, parallel bars) and bent work. It has been used for many years to make butcher’s blocks, meat skewers, mallet heads, ladders, wheel spokes, wine casks and broom handles.
Origin: A large hardwood growing in an area ranging from the New South Wales/Victorian border to the Maryborough district in Queensland. It is quite a tall tree up to 50 metres in height. The tree sheds elliptical strips of bark as it weathers and the resultant mottled or spotted appearance lends itself to its common name.
Appearance: The heartwood colour range is quite broad from very pale browns through to very dark browns. Some samples may have a slightly orange tint in the lighter variations. The sapwood is distinctly paler. The grain is often interlocked and generally features some ‘fiddleback’ figure. This wavy type grain may be quite distinctive.
Properties: This species is sometimes known as Spotted Iron Gum, due to the nature of the timber, which is very dense with excellent mechanical properties. Spotted Gum is sought after by consumers and specifiers alike for its striking colour and for its density.