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Many of 707's designers and designer/makers create their furniture to order, with each piece being individually handcrafted for you when your order is placed. Furniture designers featured on 707 use Australian (and International) solid timbers and veneers many of which are featured below. Please refer to the product description of each piece for details on the materials used.
Veneering techniques include book matching, slip matching and reverse slip matching. We were intrigued to know what the differences were, so thought perhaps you were too. We've included some examples for you. These can be found at the end of the page.
If there is anything about the timbers featured, or the timber used by a particular designer, please ask us. If we don't know we'll certainly try and find out.
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American Walnut - Juglans nigra
A medium to large hardwood occuring in the eastern parts of the USA. Also grown in limited qantities as a plantatin timber in Australia. The heartwood is usually a uniform pale to dark purplish brown which tends to darken with age. The grain is usually straight. Prized for use in fine furniture.
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Blackwood / Black wattle - Acacia melanoxylon
Common in eastern states, blackwood is valued for its lustrous grain and long lasting qualities. Heartwood is golden brown to dark brown with occasional red tinting. The grain is usually straight. Blackwood is believed to be one of the finest furniture timbers in the world.
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Bluegum - Eucalyptus saligna
A large common hardwood of the eastern states. Colour varies from dark pink to red-borwn and gum veining is common. This is a beautiful looking timber. It’s potential as a furniture timber has yet to be fully realised.
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Cedar - Toona australis
Large hardwood found in coastal rainforests of eastern Australia. One of the few deciduous natives. It is light durable and beautiful. Indoor use only.
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Celery Top Pine - Phyllocladus asplenifolius
Unique to Tasmania, Celery Top Pine has a pale straw colour, darkening to a beautiful gold with age. There is an occasional hint of red. The timber has a straight, fine and even grain with a close even texture. Highly durable for indoor and outdoor use.
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Huon Pine - Lagarosrobos franklinii
Tasmanias, Huon Pine ranges from pale yellow to yellow brown. Generally a straw timber that changes to a sombre yellow with age. Grain is straight, fine and even with occasional birdseye figures. Growth rings are conspicuous. Huon is soft, smooth and oily to touch. A highly durable timber.
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Grey Ironbark - Eucalyptus drepanophylla
A very durable timber found in the coastal regions of NSW and Southern Queensland, ironbark ranges from reddish-brown to dark brown. It is a beautiful timber which is difficult to work and therefore not used to its full potential.
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Jarrah - Eucalyptus marginata
Unique to Western Australia, it is probably one of our best-known and highly regarded timbers. The heartwood is dark red in colour, is extremely strong and hard wearing. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use.
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Myrtle - Nothofagus cunninghamii
Tasmanian Myrtle is pink to pale reddish brown in colour with occasional pale yellow-grey streaks. Grain is straight with a fine, even and smooth texture. Myrtle is prized for use in furniture and wood turning. Suitable for indoor use only. |
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Macassar Ebony - Diospros rumphii
Macassar Ebony is a hardwood found in the coastal forests of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The heartwood is variegated, usually brown to dark brown with stripes of dark brown or black. The grain is usually straight with a very fine texture. |
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Queensland Maple - Flindersia brayleyana
Queensland Maple is an outstanding furniture timber. The heartwood is pink to brownish pink. Now very limited in availability due to growing areas mainly being in heritage listed North Queensland forests. |
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Redgum - Eucalyptus Camaldulensis
Found on the banks of the Murray river, redgum is a deep, lustrous red with intertwined grain. Famed for its beautiful sap and grain patterns. River redgum is difficult to work but the benefit is that any furniture piece made from this timber is not only beautiful, but will be enjoyed for generations to come. |
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Red Mahogany - Eucalyptus resinifera
Also known as red stringybark and found in New South Wales and Queensland. The heartwood ranges from red to dark red. Ideal for outdoor furniture. Highly resistant to decay when fully exposed to weather although should be kept off the ground. |
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Rosewood - Eucalyptus grandis
The heartwood ranges in colour from pale pink to red brown. Rosewood is found in east coast rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland. It has a fine and uniform grain with a beautiful scent. Suitable for outdoor use, but should be kept clear of the ground. |
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Blackheart Sassafras - Atherosperma moschatum
Tasmanian sassafras is a creamy grey to white and very light brown. It can be streaked with staining fungus known as blackheart and ranges from grey brown to black. Sassafras is renowned in designer furniture. |
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Silky Oak - Cardwellia sublimis
Native to the coastal rainforests of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland and a highly prized cabinet timber. The heartwood is pale pink to brown in colour. Grain is straight with a moderately coarse texture. |
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Silver Ash - Flindersia bourjotiana
Heartwood varies from pale yellow to silver white. Silver Ash has an open straight grain with a medium texture. Grows mainly in the rainforests of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. |
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Spotted Gum - Corymbia citriodora
Spotted gum is one of the hardest timbers in the world with colour from light honey to dark brown with grey tones and sometimes purple streaks. Gum veins are common. Ideal for outdoors |
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Tallowwood - Eucalyptus microcorys
Tallowwood is pale to darker yellow-brown with an almost white sapwood. The wood is fairly coarse with an interlocking grain. Suitable for outdoors. Grown in New South Wales and Queensland. |
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Tasmanian Oak - Eucalyptus delegatensis
Tasmanian Oak is a warm dense, hard wearing hardwood. Colour varies from straw to red-brown with intermediate shades of cream to pink. The timber has straight, open and even grain. |
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Tiger Myrtle - Nothofagus Cunninghamii
A rare type of timber from within the myrtle species which grows in the Tasmanian rainforsts. Blackheart staining produces a figuring, known as tiger myrtle because of it's striking lined effect reminiscent of the stripes of a tiger. Sometimes the figuring takes a dotted form like the spots of a leopard. |
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Turpentine - Syncarpia glomulifera
Found along the eastern coast of New South Wales and Queensland. The heartwood ranges from deep red to red-brown. Highly resistant to decay making it ideal for outdoor furniture. |
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Veneer Techniques
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Book matching
The most commonly used method of matching timber veneers. The veneer leaves are folded out as if opening the pages of a book so that one veneer leaf is a mirror image of the next.
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Slip matching
The veneer leaves are simply laid said by side so that the figure pattern is repeated. Veneers need to be reasonably straight grained otherwise an unbalanced appearance will occur. |
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Reverse slip matching
The veneer leaves are laid as for slip matched, except that every alternate leaf is reversed (turned end for end). This method is usually used in table tops and other horizontal applications requiring a uniform appearance. |
