Knots All trees have branches and hence sawn timber will have knots. Knots are the remnants of branches that have been captured by the growing trunk of the tree.
Tight Gum Veins / Gum Pockets Gum Veins and gum pockets are common characteristics in most eucalypt hardwoods. The gum is formed as a protective response to some injury to the tree, such as from fire, insect attack or mechanical damage.
Fiddle Back Is a characteristic caused from interlocked grain which the angle of the wood fiber changes or reverses periodically in successive layers.
Borers Borer holes are formed by many types of beetles laying their eggs in the bark or wood of the tree. There are four stages of their life cycle, eg. Egg, larva, pupae and adult beetle. It is at the larval stage that the border does most of the boring and eating of the wood. The exit holes are usually made by the escaping adult beetle.
