u/i_ruv_dumpring

Has anyone got any experience making a Dai out of something other than Japanese white or red oak? Especially interested in any timbers not native to Japan, exotics, etc.

Hey all,

I'm based in Australia, so want to build something using Australian timbers. We have some of the hardest timbers on earth. Trouble is, which do I use that is a decent combination of hardness, stability and workability?

Grey Ironbark, as an example, is super hard, one of the hardest timbers on earth. Much harder than hard maple. But do I even need something this hard? I'd like the option of hand flattening the top every year or two if it happens to move. Is this even feasible using hand tools? I have a decent level of hand plane tuning for both western and Japanese planes. But at this level of hardness, would the western plane struggle for sharpness? And would the Japanese plane just be too shallow of a bevel to cut? I rather not find this out myself after the job is finished, or have to make major modifications to the tool kit just to get the right bevel to make this sort of cut.

Also, does anyone know much about how much these timbers move? I've worked with spotted gum before. Good hardness and actually decent to work with, but moves all over the place seasonally, to the point that I would question ever using it as a furniture piece unless there's some really good control. Definitely not something I'd want as a working benchtop.

Any other suggestions? Jarrah? Blackbutt? Grey gum? Grey box? Or are the hard timbers just overkill and I should just stick to something tested like hard maple?

I've been a builder/developer for 10+ years and have spent a lot of time searching for property. REA and Domain are OK at filtering structured data but terrible at search for anything else that matters. I'm looking to build an app that solves this. I'd like to get some test users and looking for user and community feedback.

The problem I see is two-fold:

- I should be able to search for more than just suburb, bedrooms, price. I should be able to filter for things like architectural style, zoning/overlays, renovation potential, north facing yard, etc. A lot of this info exists in planning data, photos, descriptions, etc. but isn't searchable currently.

- I shouldn't have to search. For most of us, the ideal property would only really come up maybe once a week. And I shouldn't have to scroll through hundreds of listings to manually filter, or miss a good one because I've taken a break, or have an inbox filled with junk matches. I only want the highest quality matches sent to me.

So the idea is this: you set up a profile with a search term that can be as general or specific and nuanced as you'd like. E.g.:

"Un-renovated properties in inner north Melbourne, at least 700sqm, in a development friendly zoning, preferably on a corner block."

Or

"Period style properties within 1km of a train station in Burwood with a modern extension."

Of course you can still filter by price, bedrooms, etc.

Then you get a weekly email whenever the right property comes up. You never have to search, we do the culling for you. Being in the industry, I have access to paid professional subscriptions to really drill down on data, or can access data that is commonly available but isn't well organised.

That's the current idea. Like an online buyer's agent, but free. It's early and I'm doing a lot of it by hand right now while I work out whether the idea holds up. So looking for active (or passive) buyers, who are happy to get a weekly curated email from me. I might also send you an email occasionally to ask for feedback. That's it. Free, no commitment, no paywall, unsubscribe whenever and you'll never hear from me again. If you're new to property search, I'm also happy to provide general advice about how to look, contracts, buying strategy, etc.

If you're interested, sign up at: propfeed.com.au

Also happy to discuss anything about the idea here if you have any questions.