Macrocarpa Cypress

Botanic Name   Cupressus macrocarpa
Common Names   Macrocarpa Cypress
Origin   California
Cultural Information   N/A

Timber Appearance

General Description   The wood of all the cypress species is similar. They have tan to pink coloured wood of fine even texture and when quarter sawn, the rays give the wood a lustrous appearance similar to that of Kauri Pine.
Working Qualities   The wood is quite soft and easy to work with only a slight blunting effect on cutting tools. It has a decorative straight grain with a characteristic spicy odour. It nails, screws and glues well and gives satisfactory results with common finishing treatments .

Timber Properties

Density   Medium to low density. 820 kg/m3 Green. 400 kg/m3 @ 12% MC
Hardness   Most of the cypresses are similar to Radiata in all mechanical properties except for surface hardness values which are lower in cypress.
Strength Group   N/A
Stress Grades  
Seasoned
  
F7 Nominal (not currently on Australian standards listings)
Unseasoned
  
F5
Seasoning And
Shrinkage to 12% MC 		 

All the cypresses have low shrinkage, from green to 12%MC

The two cypresses that have been tested for dimensional stability
(C. macrocarpa and C. lusitanica) are both very stable with a better short and long term dimensional stability than Radiata pine .

Tangential
   3.3%
Radial
   1.6%
Durability   The heart wood of cypress is generally moderate with an expected life of 10 to 15 years in ground contact situations and well over 15 years above ground. The sap wood is not durable.
Lyctid Susceptibility   The cypresses are resistant to the common house borer.
Preservation   N/A
Machining   Easy but knots can prove troublesome
Uses   uses