Tropical wood · Tropical America
Canalete wood
Canalete (Cordia spp., family Boraginaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 2,200 lbf (9,786 N), and air-dry it weighs about 48–65 lb/ft³ (769–1,041 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 97–98.
Other names, by country: Anacahuite, Baría (Cuba), Siricote, Bocote, Cupané, Amapa asta (Mexico), Canalete (Colombia, Venezuela), Louro pardo (Brazil), Loro negro (Argentina).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 2,200 lbf (9,786 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 2,200 lb for air-dry material.”
- Air-dry density
- 48–65 lb/ft³ (769–1,041 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.63–0.84 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) ranges from 0.63 to 0.84; air-dry density 48 to 65 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 7.4% tangential
- Radial 4.0%, volumetric 11.6%
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 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 | 13,700 psi (94 MPa) | 1.39 million psi (9.6 GPa) | — |
| 12% MC | 15,700 psi (108 MPa) | 1.58 million psi (10.9 GPa) | — |
| Green | 13,700 psi (94 MPa) | 1.76 million psi (12.1 GPa) | 6,500 psi (45 MPa) |
| 15% MC | 18,500 psi (128 MPa) | — | 9,000 psi (62 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood tobacco-colored to reddish-brown, with irregular dark brown or blackish streaks and variegations, with more or less of an oily or waxy appearance; rather sharply demarcated from the grayish or yellowish sapwood. Luster variable; texture fine to medium; grain variable; taste not distinctive; scent mildly fragrant, at least when fresh.
- Durability
- Durability is rated high.
- Uses
- Fine furniture, cabinet work, turnery, flooring, rotary and sliced veneer, and rifle stocks.
- Where it grows
- The several species of this group are found in northern Florida, West Indies, Central America, and southward to Brazil and Argentina. Janka side hardness 2,200 lb for air-dry material. Amsler toughness 340 in.-lb at 15% moisture content (2-cm specimen).
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 97–98, 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 canalete against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.