Wood Species Guide

Australian Blackwood

Acacia melanoxylon

Also called: Tasmanian Blackwood, Blackwood Acacia, Australian Black Acacia

Australian Blackwood is an acacia from Tasmania and eastern Australia with warm, walnut-brown color and, on the best boards, a deep shimmering curl. It's a favorite of guitar builders and furniture makers who want something richer than the usual domestics.

ImportHardwoodAcacias & Koa

Good forTurning Guitars & Tonewoods

What Australian Blackwood looks like

Heartwood runs from golden brown to a deep chocolate, often with darker streaks and a few reddish bands. Pale sapwood is clearly set off from the heart. Figured boards can show a strong curl that shimmers as you move around the piece.

Grain and texture

Grain is usually straight but can be interlocked or wavy, which is where the curly figure comes from. Texture is medium and even, with a soft natural luster once it is sanded.

Working Australian Blackwood: planing, cutting and gluing

Straight-grained stock planes and cuts cleanly with ordinary carbide tooling. Curly or interlocked boards will tear out if you take heavy passes, so use a sharp cutter, light depth of cut, or finish with a drum sander. It glues, screws and turns well.

Finishing Australian Blackwood: oil, film finishes and epoxy

Takes oil beautifully and the figure jumps under a hardwax oil like Osmo. Film finishes go on without fuss. For epoxy work it behaves like a well-mannered hardwood: a thin seal coat first keeps bubbles down along the end grain and edges.

Durability, stability and Florida humidity

Rated only moderately durable against rot, so it belongs indoors. Movement is moderate and it holds flat well once dry. In Florida, let it sit in your air-conditioned space for a week or two before final milling and finish both faces.

Shop notes from our Fort Myers shop

Blackwood is a great pick when someone wants a walnut-like look with more shimmer. It's sold mostly as lumber and figured boards rather than wide live-edge slabs, so think tabletops from glued boards, instrument parts and accent work. Curly pieces reward a careful drum-sanded surface instead of a straight planer pass. We don't usually stock it, but ask us and we can often source boards.

Common uses for Australian Blackwood

Fine furniture, cabinetry, musical instruments (guitar backs and sides), veneer, turned items and gunstocks.

Sustainability and CITES status

Not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List. Outside Australia it has become invasive in some regions, which is also where much plantation timber now comes from.

Safety and toxicity

Our toxicity rating ModerateWhat the ratings mean

Sensitizer (allergy builds with exposure)
Respiratory / asthma
Skin irritation
Eye irritation

Reported as a sensitizer, with skin and eye irritation and asthma-like symptoms in some people. Severe reactions are uncommon.

In the shop: Dust collection + good mask or respirator when sanding; gloves for sensitive skin
Food contact: Use with care for cutting boards, bowls and utensils

General information, not medical advice. See a doctor if you have a reaction.

Severe reactions are uncommon, but it has been reported as a sensitizer, with eye, skin and breathing irritation and asthma-like symptoms in some people. Use dust collection and a good mask when sanding.

Wood toxicity and dust safety guide: every species compared