Jarrah
Eucalyptus marginata
Djarrah (in Noongar Language) and historically known as Swan River mahogany, is a tree in the myrtle family, endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Famous for its stunning deep red hues, it is a popular timber for flooring, furniture and firewood, due to its straighter grain structure being easy to split, and easy to burn when dry.
"Ruby Reds"
Famous worldwide for its ruby red hues, and dense strength in its grain structure, it is a perfect candidate for furniture, flooring & art design. In our case, its gorgeous red tones and sometimes fiddle-backed grain can make for some incredible artworks of nature on our drums.
How to Identify a Jarrah
The tree itself can sometimes be mistaken for a Marri, however its most distinguishable feature is the shape of its gumnut. Jarrah has small, rounded gum nuts, while Marri’s have large, urn shaped nuts called “Honky Nuts”. Jarrah also has a much stringier bark compared to Marri’s chunkier, usually gum vein oozing bark. It’s leaves are less shiny with a margin (hence “Marginata”. The final clue lies in the flowers, which are long and narrow with a large peak.
"The Mighty Jarrah"
In recent decades Jarrah has been thrown into the spotlight for the unique tonality that it offers. Jarrah produces a dark, throaty almost metallic note. In its lower register it provides a dark, rich tone (as can be heard in our 14x5.5 demo video), with its medium and upper registers providing more of a metallic, throaty explosiveness similar to a metal snare drum, with an ear splitting sharp crack.
Wood Facts
- TYPE: Hardwood
- COLOUR: Dark-red, Pinkish-red.
- GRAIN STRUCTURE: Relatively coarse but even, mostly straight, slightly interlocked.
- BARK: Dark grey and stringy
- DENSITY: Green 1170 kg/m3, Air-dry 820 kg/m3. Basic Density 670 kg/m3
- JANKA SCALE: Green 5.7 KN, Dry 8.5 KN
Tonewoods: Jarrah
Paul Loveridge (PA Lovetone) talks Jarrah & it’s use in True Solid Snare Drum construction. Filmed in Mundaring, Western Australia.