Tropical wood · Africa
African Celtis wood
African Celtis (Celtis spp., family Ulmaceae) is a tropical timber from Africa. Dry, its Janka hardness is 1,670 lbf (7,429 N), and air-dry it weighs about 40–50 lb/ft³ (641–801 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 365–366.
Other names, by country: Esa (Ghana), Ba (Ivory Coast), Akasinsa (Uganda), Ita, Ohia (Nigeria), Mrinde, Mrunde (Tanzania).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 1,670 lbf (7,429 N)
- Green: 1,390 lbf (6,183 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 1,390 lb for green material and 1,670 lb for dry.”
- Air-dry density
- 40–50 lb/ft³ (641–801 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.52–0.65 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) variable with species 0.52-0.65; air-dry density 40-50 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 10.4% tangential
- Radial 5.6%, volumetric 15.4%
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Tropical Timbers of the World (Chudnoff, 1979 edition), the only published source read for this wood
Strength
Bending strength is the modulus of rupture (MOR); stiffness is the modulus of elasticity (MOE); crushing strength is compression parallel to the grain. The sheet collects these from published tests: it prints 4 data sets, from different tests and sources, so they can differ widely; all are shown, in the sheet's order, each at the moisture content printed beside it, never restated as 12%.
| Moisture | Bending strength (MOR) | Stiffness (MOE) | Crushing strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 13,050 psi (90 MPa) | 1.85 million psi (12.8 GPa) | 6,500 psi (45 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 20,900 psi (144 MPa) | 2.3 million psi (15.9 GPa) | 10,550 psi (73 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 14,700 psi (101 MPa) | 1.62 million psi (11.2 GPa) | — |
| 12% MC | 11,500 psi (79 MPa) | 1.7 million psi (11.7 GPa) | 6,150 psi (42 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood and sapwood not clearly demarcated, whitish or light yellow, becoming grayish-white on exposure often with dark irregular markings. Texture rather fine to coarse; grain straight to irregular, wavy, or interlocked; lustrous; has an apple-like scent in C. africana.
- Working properties
- Generally reported easy to work in machining operations but rather difficult with hand tools; tearing of interlocked grain in planing, poor surfaces in shaping; nails and glues easily; moderate steam-bending qualities.
- Durability
- Highly susceptible to attack by decay and staining fungi as well as insect damage, including powder-post beetle attack.
- Uses
- Flooring, tool handles, plywood, general construction, decorative veneer.
- Where it grows
- Trees are found in western, central, and parts of eastern Africa; locally frequent in the drier high forests.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 365–366, a USDA Forest Products Laboratory work in the public domain.
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for flooring with the species picker
Weigh african Celtis against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.