How Stable is Lyptus Wood?
Lyptus has a reputation for lots of shrinkage and twisting. March 20, 2012
Question
I’m thinking about making raised panel doors with lyptus and I’m wondering if anybody has any experience with the wood?
Forum Responses
(Architectural Woodworking Forum)
From contributor J:
I haven't worked with it. It seems that lyptus shrinks and expands quite a lot, but is less prone to warp than average. Particularly if it's a wide panel, I'd be careful to leave plenty of room for expansion and contraction.
From contributor A:
My experience with lyptus is that it can be a very unstable wood. You will start to find spaghetti in the stack after a while, and your doors might start warping if you don't pick your stiles and rails carefully.
From contributor L:
I only used it once so this may not be true of the "average." A fair number of the pieces developed significant twist. Even our samples, 8" long, have twist.
From contributor Z:
I built three exterior doors three years ago three and a host of furniture with it all for the same client. To this day not one problem and I was just at his home a week ago. The only issue I've had was in production. Some boards can be "stringy", no matter how or how much you sand it will never feel smooth. It finishes beautifully.
From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor:
This wood changes size almost twice as much as northern red oak for an equal change in humidity and moisture content. Due to tension wood it can warp in various directions when the MC changes.
From the original questioner:
It looks like I might want to stay away from this wood.
From contributor L:
Lyptus is a eucalyptus hybrid, plantation grown in South America and it grows fast. It ships at 7-9% moisture. That seems kind of high, and it might contribute to the things we've seen. A long time ago I used eucalyptus for a project and I encountered the same problems.
From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor:
Lyptus is a trade name. Marketing in the US is by Weyerhauser.
