Toon, grown & turned on Oʻahu.
Australian red cedar, brought to Hawaiʻi in 1918 for forest plantations and now growing wild in Oʻahu’s wetter forests.
From Australia
Toon came to Hawaiʻi from Australia in 1918, for forest plantations. The USDA counted its best stand in the islands on Round Top Drive in Honolulu, planted in 1924, and it grows at Wahiawā and on Tantalus too. At home in eastern Australia it is red cedar, and old colonial furniture made from it is much prized.
What it looks like
The heartwood is pink to deep red-brown and the sapwood a pale yellowish white. Where the grain runs wavy it can show a rippling fiddleback figure, like the one along the edge of Kaleb’s toon platter. The wood is strongly scented and light for its size.
On the lathe
Toon is soft and light: the US Forest Products Laboratory found it close to red alder in most properties. It finishes smooth from sharp tools, though turning can leave the surface a little woolly. For so light a wood it shrinks a lot as it dries, and its dust can irritate the nose and throat.
On Oʻahu
Toon was planted in moist forest across the islands, and it has since gone wild in places on Oʻahu and five other islands, in wet and disturbed forest. Hawaiʻi’s weed risk assessment rates it high risk for spreading, so when a toon comes down, its wood can go to better use than the chipper.
Questions about toon.
Not answered here? Call or text Kaleb on (808) 729-1560, or write to him.
Is toon a true cedar?
No. Australian red cedar belongs to the mahogany family, and its wood is close to that of its relative Spanish-cedar, not to the true cedars.
Is toon native to Hawaiʻi?
No. It came from Australia in 1918 for forest plantations, and it has since gone wild in places on Oʻahu and five other islands.
What is toon wood used for?
In Australia it went into fine furniture, carving and turnery, and old red cedar furniture is much prized. On the lathe it makes platters and bowls that are light in the hand, with a warm red-brown color.
Sources: Little & Skolmen, Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (USDA); Plant Pono, Hawaiʻi weed risk assessment; Queensland Government, red cedar timber properties.
Turn a toon bowl yourself.
When it’s on the rack, you can choose it for your bowl on a class day, with Kaleb beside you for every cut.