Corkwood

Hakea subarea

Corkwood is a small tree that grows to 8 m, generally with crooked trunk and branches. The thick bark grows as ridges, with a corklike appearance. The species grows in moisture-accumulating sites in overall arid areas in the Gascoyne, Murchison and Goldfields.

Wood description [more info]
Heartwood is pale red with distinctive rays on quartersawn timber.

Wood density [more info]
Green density is about 1225 kg/m3, air-dry density about 965 kg/m3, and basic density about 800 kg/m3.

Shrinkage [more info]
Tangential and radial shrinkage are about 4.9 and 2.2 per cent respectively.

Workability [more info]
Goldfields craftsmen rate corkwood as average for turning, stability and sanding, and good for machinability, boring, screwholding and finishing.

Durability [more info]
-

Strength group and properties [more info]
Green and dry strength groups are (S3) and (SD3). The brackets indicate conservative provisional ratings based on the air-dry density. The more important strength properties based on strength groups are given in the table below.

Uses [more info]
The timber has potential for woodturning and craftwork.

Availability [more info]
Limited availability because of the scattered nature of the resource.