Tropical wood · Africa
African Padauk wood
African Padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii, family Leguminosae) is a tropical timber from Africa. Air-dry, it weighs about 42–51 lb/ft³ (673–817 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 493–494.
Other names, by country: Mbé, Mbil (Cameroon), Ngula, Bosulu (Zaire).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- Not printed
- Air-dry density
- 42–51 lb/ft³ (673–817 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.55–0.67 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.55-0.67; air-dry density 42-51 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 5.2% tangential
- Radial 3.3%, volumetric 7.6%
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 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12% MC | 13,900 psi (96 MPa) | 1.56 million psi (10.8 GPa) | 8,450 psi (58 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 18,600 psi (128 MPa) | 1.75 million psi (12.1 GPa) | 7,800 psi (54 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood vivid red when freshly cut darkening to a purple-brown on exposure; sapwood 4-8 in. wide, whitish to brown-yellow, distinct. Texture coarse; grain straight to interlocked; lustrous; faint aromatic scent when freshly cut. Sawdust may cause respiratory problems.
- Working properties
- Saws well but requires slow feed, easy to machine but with some tearing of interlocked grain, takes a good finish, glues easily and holds nails and screws satisfactorily.
- Durability
- Heartwood is very durable and very resistant to termite attack.
- Uses
- Fine joinery, fancy turnery, carvings, flooring, decorative veneer, tool and knife handles.
- Where it grows
- Central and tropical West Africa; common in dense equatorial rain forests, often in small groups.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 493–494, 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 Padauk against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.