Description

Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis)

You’ll immediately recognize Blackbutt as a classic, high-performance Australian hardwood. It presents a beautiful, warm color palette, ranging from golden yellow to pale honey-brown, and occasionally it even shows a slight pinkish tinge. Furthermore, its grain is typically straight and even, with a medium texture, making it a popular and reliable choice for a huge range of applications. It gets its name from the dark, fibrous bark at the base of the tree, which bushfires often charred.

Perfect for Box Making

While you’ll find Blackbutt more commonly used for flooring and construction due to its strength, its attractive color and durability make it a sound choice for robust and utilitarian boxes. Indeed, its straight grain lends itself to clean, strong designs. We recommend using Blackbutt for:

Creating sturdy, durable utility boxes, toolboxes, or workshop storage.
Projects where you desire a classic, honey-toned Australian hardwood appearance.
Contrasting its pale color against darker timbers like Wenge or Mulga.
Boxes that require high wear resistance and structural integrity.

Working Properties

You can achieve great results with this hard-wearing timber, but you’ll need to use the right approach for its density.

Workability: Blackbutt’s hardness can cause a moderate to high blunting effect on your tools. Therefore, we advise using sharp, high-quality blades (carbide-tipped are best) for clean cuts. Occasionally, the grain is interlocked, which may lead to tear-out, so you should use shallow passes when planing or routing.
Finishing: You’ll find the timber readily accepts most finishes. It sands to a smooth, clean surface. Applying clear oils or polyurethanes will enhance its natural golden hue and highlight the grain.
Gluing: The timber’s density can sometimes resist glue penetration. Therefore, we suggest ensuring your joint surfaces are freshly machined and well-prepared to achieve a strong, reliable bond.
Durability: You can count on Blackbutt’s excellent durability. It is naturally resistant to decay and termites, and its high Janka hardness rating means it resists dents and wear exceptionally well.

Specifications:

Common Names: Blackbutt, Coastal Blackbutt
Botanical Name: Eucalyptus pilularis
Origin: Coastal regions of New South Wales and southern Queensland, Australia
Appearance: A light-coloured hardwood with tones from golden-yellow to pale brown. It has a straight grain and a medium, even texture.

We have more Blackbutt sizes available here.

A Note on Our Wood Products

Please remember that the photos you see are indicative only. As a beautiful, natural material, wood inherently varies in grain, color, and figure. While we meticulously select outstanding pieces to send your way, each item will possess its own unique charm. We believe these natural variations are part of what makes our wood products so special and truly one-of-a-kind.

Our Commitment to Quality

At Trend Timbers, we are committed to providing woodworkers with the highest quality materials. All our timber is sourced from sustainable, ecologically responsible forests and is kiln-dried to meet stringent Australian standards. Our hand-selected range includes premium species suitable for everyone, from novice enthusiasts to seasoned artisans.

Project Advice & Support

For projects requiring dimensions larger than our listed sizes or you require further information about a particular species, including custom sizing or current availability, our knowledgeable staff is here to assist. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly for expert advice.

Visit Our Showroom

In addition to our online store, Trend Timbers offers an even wider selection of beautiful species and woodcraft supplies, including turning and carving blanks. We warmly invite you to visit our showroom to experience our full range firsthand and see the unique character of our timbers up close. We are always inspired to see where our timber ends up, so feel free to share your finished projects with us when you visit.