Tropical wood · Southeast Asia and Oceania
Binuang wood
Binuang (Octomeles sumatrana, family Tetramelaceae) is a tropical timber from Southeast Asia and Oceania. Dry, its Janka hardness is 355–370 lbf (1,579–1,646 N), and air-dry it weighs about 23 lb/ft³ (368 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 695–696.
Other names, by country: Erima, Ilimo (New Guinea), Benuang (Indonesia).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 355–370 lbf (1,579–1,646 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 355-370 lb for dry material.”
- Air-dry density
- 23 lb/ft³ (368 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.32 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.32; air-dry density 23 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to 12% moisture content
- 7.0% tangential
- Radial 3.0%
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 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 | 5,250 psi (36 MPa) | 0.95 million psi (6.6 GPa) | 3,300 psi (23 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 7,700 psi (53 MPa) | 1.19 million psi (8.2 GPa) | 5,270 psi (36 MPa) |
| Green | 5,400 psi (37 MPa) | 0.77 million psi (5.3 GPa) | 3,160 psi (22 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 7,550 psi (52 MPa) | 0.92 million psi (6.3 GPa) | 4,800 psi (33 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood pale yellow, buff to pale brown or pinkish-brown; sapwood whitish, wide, not always clearly defined. Grain interlocked; texture coarse; luster low; without distinctive odor or taste. Brittle heart is frequently present.
- Working properties
- The timber works easily with hand and machine tools but sharp knives are needed to avoid a woolly finish; a poor finish is usually obtained in crosscutting and drilling; nails satisfactorily.
- Durability
- Heartwood is perishable and highly susceptible to termite attack. Sapwood liable to powder-post beetle attack.
- Uses
- Backs and cores of plywood, form work, light construction, furniture components, burial caskets, cabinetwork, shingles and shakes.
- Where it grows
- Extends from Sumatra to Papua and the Solomons and northwards to the Philippines; a low altitude riverine species, often in almost pure stands.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 695–696, 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 binuang against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.