Posted by Gus on 5/14/2008, 3:19 pm, in reply to "Red River Gum (for wood work)"
Link: Eucalyptologics: Info resources on Eucalyptus cultivation
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It is a hard question Bob 
Much depends on soil type, water availability for the plants (not necessarily by irrigation, watertable below ground also matters) and what strain you are growing.
But in general, it is not a very fast growing species compared to others used for timber in non Mediterranean climates. And veneer requires relatively huge diameters too, so you need to give room enough for the trees to grow fat instead of tall. It can take some years. More than 15 for sure, if thinking of reaching some interesting diameter. And surely quite a bit more if thinking of commercial veneer logs, even if grown in the best conditions.
Still, those smaller wood pieces can be still nice for some woodworking, the timber is reddish and nice looking. Try something, harvest one in a couple of years and this way you can check how much hardwood is there for your growing conditions and that timeframe, and get some real clues.
If killed by freeze, you very probably will have some amount of firewood, and a good amount of dead small branches for the chipper, compost bin or fire camp. Maybe some wood from the basal log if it does not get toast, cracked or rotten. The bigger/older the tree, the more chances to get some useful wood for your hobby in such a case.
I have this small post on E. camaldulensis timber showing a pic gently sent by a fellow boarder in CA (greetings Dixie!) of a "loaf" of this timber, so you can see where the reddish stuff is. Several inches "below bark", so you need diameter (fast growth or old fat logs) to get something usable. Still, I am sure something could come from very young trees. Not veneer, but maybe some small pieces for small sized woodwork of some sort. Only from the basal part of the basal log. And only if you reach around 10 inches diameter or more.
Some good news among the not so good news: very possibly the chopped or frost killed trees will re-grow from the stump. It is a vigorous coppicer species.
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