Furniture from blackwood
New Zealand Tree
Grower August 2006
Customers visiting the Everwood Furniture showroom in Mount Maunganui
love furniture made from blackwood timber according to Graeme Benjamin.
Graeme and his wife Betty have owned Everwood Furniture for a good
number of years now, and never have any problem selling pieces made
from blackwood.
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| Finished coffee table retail price $2000 |
The firm manufactures traditional and contemporary solid wood
furniture, including dining suites, bookcases, bedroom furniture,
display cabinets, tall boys, coffee tables and bathroom vanities.
The business is a family affair, with son Lyall working as foreman.
The blackwood Graeme uses is generally supplied either by Moxon
Timbers, or from his other preferred supplier, Rarefind Timbers in
Hamilton. Only timber sourced from New Zealand, or Tasmania is fit for
its purpose according to Graeme, who finds timber from the Australian
mainland bland in comparison. Getting hold of enough timber, and timber
of consistent quality and colour, is the biggest challenge the company
faces, and a major constraint on the quantity of blackwood furniture
produced.
Colour can vary from light gold to a dark red-brown, but customer
prefer darker, redder colours. The efforts made by Rarefind Timbers to
match pieces for colour are much appreciated by Graeme.
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| Lyall Benjamin doing a quality check |
When timber merchants with less rigorous quality control systems are
used for blackwood supplies, Graeme has to order 25% more timber than
he needs for a particular job, simply to ensure a good colour match.
Another challenge with blackwood is the variability within pieces. The
grain can change direction within the same board. This makes life
difficult for those machining the wood, as it tends to chip out during
machining. Stability is not a problem as long as the timber has been
dried down to about 12% moisture content. Finished products are either
lacquered or oiled.
Lots of waste
The lack of consistency within and between pieces tends to mean a lot
of waste, even at this very last stage of the production process. With
waste comes high costs. However, the reaction of customers to blackwood
is so positive that Graeme sees it as a definite alternative to heart
rimu. The price of blackwood products made by Everwood is comparable to
those of heart rimu, around a third more expensive than mahogany, but
unable to command the premium of timbers such as cherry, maple and
black walnut. Because of uncertainty of supply, Graeme says he is
reluctant to push blackwood products because of the fear of then having
to disappoint customers or keep them waiting because of lack of timber
supply.
Graeme and Betty Benjamin are owners of Everwood Furniture, Mount
Maunganui
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