Messmate Hardwood Timber Species Data

What is Messmate Timber?

Messmate is  a hardwood native to southeastern Australia, also known by a number of names such as Tasmanian oak, Stringybark, Brown top, and Australian oak.

Messmate is capable of growing to a towering 90 meters tall with a trunk 3 meters in diameter. These giants are most often found in cooler regions of the country. Most common in Victoria and Tasmania, and grows in a wide range of hilly or mountainous soils. Has thick, stringy, and tough bark, can also be found growing on the tablelands of New South Wales and Queensland. Is often found growing merrily along other Eucalyptus cousins in tall open forests.

A highly versatile hardwood, messmate has been used in a multitude of applications thanks to how easily it can be split, worked, glued, and stained. Messmate is pliable and can be used with steam bending techniques.

Messmate Timber Flooring

A favourite for the production of flooring, messmate is also often used in joinery, furniture, and house building .

A lighter, highly attractive timber, messmate can range from light yellows with touches of peach to pale, subtle browns. Evenly textured and richly detailed, is often noted for its breathtaking growth rings.

Sapwood is usually paler, while those looking to find messmate timber that skews towards slightly darker browns should look for heartwood. Messmate is most appropriate for use in solid timber flooring, as it’s not truly dense or hard-wearing enough for other applications despite its beauty.

Messmate timber flooring offers some of the most attractive and light coloured timbers thanks to its deeply detailed textures.

Species commonly known as “messmate” include:

• E. acmenoides 
• E. cloeziana 
• E. exserta 
• E. macta 
• E. obliqua 
• E. resinifera 
• E. robertsonii 
• E. robusta 
• E. tetradonta 

Physical Properties of Messmate

Dry Density: range 780 kg/m³

Janka Hardness: 7.1 kN

With a hardness rating of an easily workable 7.1 on the Janka scale and a density of just 780 kg/m³ even when dry and seasoned, messmate commonly comes with gum veins.

These properties are only a guide, as timber is a natural product there will be variations within any species. The Janka Dry Hardness rating measures the hardness of the wood. The higher the number the harder the wood.