Tropical wood · Africa
Ayan wood
Ayan (Distemonanthus benthamianus, family Leguminosae) is a tropical timber from Africa. Dry, its Janka hardness is 1,230 lbf (5,471 N), and air-dry it weighs about 45 lb/ft³ (721 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 395–396.
Other names, by country: Movingui (Gabon), Barré (Ivory Coast), Bonsamdua (Ghana), Eyèn (Cameroon), Ayanran (Nigeria).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 1,230 lbf (5,471 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness for dry material 1,230 lb.”
- Air-dry density
- 45 lb/ft³ (721 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.58 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) about 0.58; air-dry density 45 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 5.2% tangential
- Radial 3.1%, volumetric 10.7%
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 | 15,700 psi (108 MPa) | 1.65 million psi (11.4 GPa) | 8,310 psi (57 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 19,000 psi (131 MPa) | — | 9,800 psi (68 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood yellowish to yellow-brown, sometimes with dark streaking; sapwood narrow, whitish or straw colored, fairly distinct. Texture fine; grain often interlocked, sometimes wavy; lustrous; some logs produce a decorative figure; may contain up to 1.3% silica; Contains a yellow extractive that may stain fabrics if moistened.
- Working properties
- Works fairly readily with machine and hand tools. Blunting effect on cutters varies depending on silica content. Gum buildup on saws causes overheating. Takes a good finish, good gluing properties, easy to peel into veneers, moderately good steam-bending properties.
- Durability
- Heartwood is rated as moderately durable and moderately resistant to termite attack.
- Uses
- Cabinetwork, joinery, flooring, decorative veneers. It's suggested as an oak alternative.
- Where it grows
- Widely but sparsely distributed throughout the high forests of West Africa, mainly in Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 395–396, a USDA Forest Products Laboratory work in the public domain.
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for cabinets and trim with the species picker
Weigh ayan against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.