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 Mountain Beech Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides

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Product qualities

The colour of New Zealand mountain beech heartwood ranges from honey coloured to light brown, sometimes with darker blackish streaks. The sapwood is light brown and there is not a strong differentiation between sap and heartwood. The grain is straight, with a fine and even texture and a rich lustre.

Uses and applications

Furniture, joinery, flooring and decking.

Physical and mechanical properties

Mountain Beech (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides) generally shares the same wood and working properties as Black beech (Nothofagus solandri var solandri).

Mountain beech has excellent strength properties and hardness with exceptional dimensional stability once dry (12% m.c.). The wood is not slow drying like red or hard beech. However it is prone to internal checking and distortion.

Has good potential for impact handles.

The fine and even texture of mountain beech allows for uniform wearing.

Sawing, machining, finishing and turning properties are all excellent.

Minimal sanding is required after machining to achieve a smooth high quality finish.

Mountain beech glues, stains and paints well.

Its steam bending properties are excellent.

Moderately easy to split. Nailing is satisfactory but requires care.

Galvanised fixings are recommended for exterior uses because unprotected iron nails can stain the timber. Alternatives include stainless steel, silicon bronze or copper.

The product has no odour.

Properties Mountain beech
Density (air dry) 645  kg/m3
Tangential shrinkage (green to 12% moisture content) 7%
Radial shrinkage (green to 12% moisture content) 2.4%
Hardness*The hardness rating of a timber species is measured by the Janka Test. This is a standard test which measures the penetration into the timber of a common load and projectile. The results relate to a hardness capacity of the material and are expressed in kN. Typical 35 year old radiata has hardness of 4.2kN (dry) 4.6 kN
Modulus of elasticity*These average strength properties are based on testing short clear lengths of timber and are not used for structural design under the building code. Characteristic stresses used for structural design are determined from structural grades. Click here for more... 12.5 GPa
Modulus of rupture*These average strength properties are based on testing short clear lengths of timber and are not used for structural design under the building code. Characteristic stresses used for structural design are determined from structural grades. Click here for more... 116 MPa

Availability

May be available in the marketplace

Natural durability

Mountain beech heartwood is likely to be durable and should be able to be used in exterior exposed situations. It should be suitable for outdoor decking and should achieve Hazard Class H3.2 durability. Pathological heartwood is non-durable. Mountain beech sapwood is suitable for internal end-uses and is resistant to anobium and lyctus borers..

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