Tropical wood · Tropical America
Balsamo wood
Balsamo (Myroxylon balsamum, family Leguminosae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 2,200 lbf (9,786 N), and air-dry it weighs about 54–62 lb/ft³ (865–993 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 205–206.
Other names, by country: Bálsamo, Palo de bálsamo (Spanish America generally), Cedro chino, Nabal (Mexico), Chirraca, Sándalo (Costa Rica), Tache, Tolú (Colombia), Estoraque (Peru), Cabriúva vermelha (Brazil), Incienso, Quina (Argentina).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 2,200 lbf (9,786 N)
- Green: 2,070 lbf (9,208 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 2,070 lb for green material and 2,200 lb at 12% moisture content.”
- Air-dry density
- 54–62 lb/ft³ (865–993 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.74–0.81 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.74 to 0.81; air-dry density 54 to 62 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 6.2% tangential
- Radial 3.8%, volumetric 10.0%
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 5 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 | 16,900 psi (117 MPa) | 1.82 million psi (12.5 GPa) | 8,600 psi (59 MPa) |
| 15% MC | 19,200 psi (132 MPa) | — | 10,300 psi (71 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 25,400 psi (175 MPa) | — | 13,400 psi (92 MPa) |
| Green | 17,270 psi (119 MPa) | 2.13 million psi (14.7 GPa) | 8,200 psi (57 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 20,130 psi (139 MPa) | 2.43 million psi (16.8 GPa) | 11,100 psi (77 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood reddish-brown becoming deep red or somewhat purplish upon exposure; fairly uniform to striped; sharply demarcated from the white sapwood. Luster medium to high; texture medium; grain is typically inter-locked; without distinctive taste, but may have a pleasant spicy scent.
- Working properties
- It is reported to be moderately difficult to work but can be finished smoothly with a high natural polish. Though nonsiliceous, there is more than the usual dulling of cutters.
- Durability
- The heartwood is reported to be highly resistant to attack by decay fungi.
- Uses
- Flooring, furniture, interior trim, turnery, railroad crossties. The tree is well known for its yield of balsam used in perfumes, harvested mainly in El Salvador.
- Where it grows
- Has a wide range from southern Mexico southward through Central America and continuing to Argentina.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 205–206, 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 balsamo against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.