Savannahdan,
Remember this is "River Red Gum" from Australia...almost twice as dense, and more than twice the hardness of what Americans call "Red Gum"
https://www.wood-database.com/river-red-gum/https://www.wood-database.com/sweetgum/Whole different Genus.
It doesn't cut quite like anything except maybe Bloodwood/Cocobolo in 3Ds Thinking maybe Macassar Ebony/and Indian Rosewood would come close, but haven't done a 3D on them yet.
Only done 4 cuts on River Red Gum, and VERY close to what Coogara said as far as finishing after a cut.
You can almost see the sheen in this finishing toolpath with my 3" long .25mmTBN. Only sanding was on the mill marks on the steep edges which lower stepover would have helped. BUT I had to sand the difference in my "Flip" anyways, as I wanted the "Scrap" for other things, so didn't use index pins for alignment.
SHOULD be too, as he brought mine to me in his suitcase(same board? Same Tree?:) when he and his wife visited me for a few days a couple years ago
Closest to a domestic American hardwood in 3D cutting characteristics would probably be Claro Walnut, or Black Walnut with dense growth rings (as in highly figured or around knots).
The Heart on Firewood is almost finished, as Mom didn't like the soft sheen of Beeswax, so multi-coats of oil underway.
The pic with the MUNGO tabs(which were machined off after the 7 names were engraved) was just brushed off with a Stiff brush that still had a hair of Linseed/Beeswax "Butter", from another project I was finishing while the Heart was cutting.
The RED comes right back at you when you finish it.
I found my pieces were slightly prone to internal stress cracks like Macassar Ebony, but that may just be my limited pieces.
Coogara mentioned to me that the Really Primo figured River Red Gum, was usually sent to North America for custom gun stocks.
NICE end result G. !!!
scott
OH..IF anybody has carved any of the "Related Species" in wood database Eucalyptus genus...and it's available in NA generally...could you mention how it cuts? Just curious!