Hello,
I guess another consideration to make about the choice of the wood, that is beyond how it will work, is for what it will be applied. I cut a rain gutter with this stem so was looking more for a wood that would be somewhat durable in wet conditions. Because this is a matter of chemicals I'm guessing growing conditions wont really effect DNA so much. The tinsel and compressive qualities of the wood could also be considered and what the difference between native and exotic trees would yield there. On the face of it the sheer quantity and quality of the knotty native grown Cedar probably would give an indication.
Actually it could make a big difference. I've got quite a bit of experience with Australian grown Californian Redwood. A lot of it does not seem to have the same level of rot resistance and insect resistance that the american grown wood has. Mind you this could be because the wood is from relatively young trees (~70 years).
As you have mentioned the growing conditions of the tree would really effect way the finished timber would behave. From my experience with milling timber I would not try and mill a log as you have described into straight timber. The reaction wood that the tree has laid down to support itself against the external forces of wind or gravity seriously effect how the timber is going to react once the tension in the log is relieved by being worked. 10cm over 9m may seem like a lot but in Australian hardwoods you can get much greater reactions even in straight timber with balanced growth around the heart.
Thats one of the reasons I want to start with exotic species like Monterey cypress because from all I've heard and seen it is easier to work with than some of the other timber available to me. Also I can get a fair bit of it.
The other species that is relatively available is Pinus Radiata but many of the logs I can get come from windrows and while they may be straight they are full of knots.
Today though I'm going to pick up a douglass fir log which I've been tolled is 500mm diameter. Its from a tree that died standing so I'm not sure what condition it is in.
Stuart
