Tropical wood · Southeast Asia and Oceania
Amoora wood
Amoora (Amoora spp., family Meliaceae) is a tropical timber from Southeast Asia and Oceania. Dry, its Janka hardness is 895 lbf (3,981 N), and air-dry it weighs about 33–58 lb/ft³ (529–929 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 555–556.
Other names, by country: Ta-sua (Thailand), Kato, Malatumbaga (Philippines), Bekak (Malaysia), Thitni (Burma), Amoora, Amari (India).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 895 lbf (3,981 N)
- Green: 755 lbf (3,358 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 755 lb for green material and 895 lb at 12% moisture content.”
- Air-dry density
- 33–58 lb/ft³ (529–929 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.44–0.76 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varying with species from 0.44 to 0.76; air-dry density 33 to 58 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- Not printed
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | — | — | 4,330 psi (30 MPa) |
| 12% MC | — | — | 7,550 psi (52 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood light to dark red, red-brown or walnut-brown; sharply defined from the straw to pinkish sapwood. Grain straight to somewhat interlocked; texture mostly medium to coarse; luster variable; without distinctive odor or taste.
- Working properties
- Saws and works well with both hand and machine tools; turns easily; takes a smooth finish.
- Durability
- Generally reported to be moderately durable when exposed to the weather or in ground contact.
- Uses
- Furniture and cabinetwork, flooring, construction, joinery, turnery, veneer and plywood.
- Where it grows
- India, Burma, Malay Peninsula, Philippines, and Sabah. Widely distributed but seldom very abundant in the Sub-Himalayan regions.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 555–556, a USDA Forest Products Laboratory work in the public domain.
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for furniture with the species picker
Weigh amoora against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.