-A huge selection of 1" boards, 12" wide, random lengths up to 11 feet.
-2" boards to 11 ft. long. 3" thick slabs and timbers.
-Natural edged timbers and boards.
-Many bookmatched pieces available in all sizes.
-Large and small turning blocks.
-2" and 3" thick 'stump slabs', high activity in the grain similar to a burl.
-Many stump bases, all sizes.
-Veneers
- let us know what your needs are and we will do our best to accommodate you!

Click here for Ancient Kauri for Sale

Ancient Kauri radiates its incredible history. While it is similar in density to cherry, with textures similar to basswood, it feels like no other wood. I have been compelled to slow down from my usual methods and use an approach that is more attentive to the wood and my techniques.

The harvesting of Ancient Kauri is an ecologically sound practice.

Because the harvesting of this wood entails no cutting of any standing trees, and all of the land that the trees come from is redressed to its original contours, Ancient Kauri is totally eco-friendly.

No, it can be worked with normal woodworking tools, in the same ways you are used to working with other species.

One notable difference: when finishing Ancient Kauri, special rewards await the woodworker who sands Ancient Kauri to 600 grit and higher. The wood grains and textures seem to come alive when polished to these levels.

Radio carbon dating places the age of the Ancient Kauri trees that are being excavated from the northland of New Zealand at 50,000 years old. This is the maximum limit of radio carbon dating, and it is quite possible the wood is even older then this age!

Some other ages:
-16,000 years ago the depressions that will become the Great Lakes were fully formed, and the region became ice-free approximately 5,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age.
-The oldest Homo Sapiens were on earth around 40,000 years ago.
-Wooly Mammoths and Saber Tooth Tigers became extinct about 10,000 years ago.
-The La Brea Tar Pits in California were actively gaining specimens 40,000 to 10,000 years ago.

The logs are below the surface of what are usually farm fields and ranch lands.

When a site is identified, permission is secured and expert operators of heavy equipment carefully expose and lift the logs out of the prehistoric bogs. They are immense, and raising the logs to the surface is just part of the job: moving them to a location to begin the milling process, and the milling itself, has necessitated some innovative equipment designs and plain old lumberman’s ingenuity.

Yes, the Kauri trees still grow in New Zealand, and other locations around the Pacific Rim, including Australia, the Fijian Islands, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and New Caledonia.

The early settlers of New Zealand harvested incredible amounts of Kauri around the turn of the last century, using it first for ship building, and then for everything from houses and bridges to furniture and household items. Law now protects the Kauri trees that grow in New Zealand, and there are reserves in various areas of the North Island.

Ancient Kauri trees, however, are not found any other place else on earth. The oldest fossil of New Zealand Kauri is 175 million years old.

The scientific name for Kauri is Agathis australis. The species is endemic to New Zealand, and belong to the Araucariaceae plant family. These plants are conifers: they produce cones instead of flowers for reproduction.

Every shipment from New Zealand is sampled and tested by the leading laboratory in the United States for radio carbon dating.

Every piece of Ancient Kauri will be accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Click here to see the Certificate of Authenticity example.

It is difficult to describe exactly what the subtleties of any wood are, as they change from piece to piece and grain to grain. Here are some general statements that may be of use to someone preparing to work with Ancient Kauri.
Ancient Kauri wood can be cut, shaped, sanded and finished with what are generally considered normal techniques. We all have our favorite methods, that involve skills, equipment, space and time, which work for us for various reasons. Developing and using these techniques encompass the very thing we love so much about woodworking. Certainly following your intuitions and allowing them to become part of your work seems to be as important as choosing the proper joints or tools.
The woodworkers who have spent time working with Ancient Kauri seem to include time as one of their primary techniques. Whether it’s a wood turner working on a lathe, a free-form furniture maker, or a cabinetmaker, they all allow for a process that does not rush the outcome of a finished piece.
Click here for photos of grain details.

First there’s the consideration that these trees grew for over 2000 years before being buried in peat bogs at the end of the last Ice Age. After resting for up to 50,000 years, their moisture content is 100% when they are excavated from the earth. The drying process must be regarded patiently. The wood needs to be allowed to stretch, move, shrink, swell, and find a balance within its own cell structure as it looses the heavy amounts of moisture.

Most wood turners like to turn their pieces from wet stock to a rough shape of the finished product. These blanks are turned from stock as wet as is practical. After the initial turning, wax is applied to the roughed out blank and the piece is put on the shelf to acclimate to its new shape, the length of time depending on its thickness.

One of the more impressive turners I talked to had noticed that during the two years the blank sat on the shelf, his personal style changed, evolving in design and turning technique. Now he tries to accommodate the possibility of slight style changes while turning the rough blanks, allowing a bit more wood than he used to and leaving the blanks thicker in case he develops different ideas that may come into play after the blanks mature.

An alternative to the wait time of letting a blank dry is laminating up dimensional stock that has already been dried. The results are a faster completion time, but the beauty of the pieces that are turned from solid stock is impressive.

We are very pleased to announce our unique drying service that makes Ancient Kauri very stable.

Click here for details about Kiln Dried Ancient Kauri.

Standard glues and joining practices work great with Ancient Kauri.

Ancient Kauri is not an oily wood. It is very similar to cherry or basswood in this respect.

Ancient Kauri is kiln dried to 6% to 8% moisture content.
Click here for details about Kiln Dried Ancient Kauri.

Plan to spend extra time sanding. While sanding to a 600 grit will suffice, the most intense color, depth, grain, and iridescent qualities come through with very fine sanding, 1200 grit. Extra effort gives extra rewards.

Ancient Kauri will accept any of your favorite finishing methods, whether they are applied to penetrate the surface of the wood, or they are to remain on the surface. Ancient Kauri has no special properties that would prevent you from using one product over another. Always test your finish on scrap before committing to the finished piece.

Click here for more information on finishing

To be in touch with something so old, so noble, so massive, and yet so gentle in its subtle changes of texture and color provides an incredible woodworking opportunity.

The Ancient Kauri affords us an unequalled look into a time that was so far before any of us. Yet, because we can shape it and work with it in ways that are comfortable and familiar, it gives us a connection to that time. It is quite extraordinary to feel the effects of prehistoric sunlight and rains, and the miracle of life from so long ago.

To create something worthy of this terrestrial material, this natural miracle of our earth, is an honor which should not be missed.