Tropical wood · Africa
Cynometra alexandri wood
Cynometra alexandri (Cynometra alexandri, family Leguminosae) is a tropical timber from Africa. Dry, its Janka hardness is 2,540–3,410 lbf (11,298–15,168 N), and air-dry it weighs about 54 lb/ft³ (865 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 381–382.
Other names, by country: Muhindi (Uganda).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 2,540–3,410 lbf (11,298–15,168 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 2,540-3,410 lb for dry material.”
- Air-dry density
- 54 lb/ft³ (865 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.74 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.74; air-dry density 54 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to 12% moisture content
- 4.5% tangential
- Radial 2.5%
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 3 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) | 1.43 million psi (9.9 GPa) | 7,030 psi (48 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 21,900 psi (151 MPa) | 2.05 million psi (14.1 GPa) | 10,400 psi (72 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 21,450 psi (148 MPa) | 2.34 million psi (16.1 GPa) | 11,070 psi (76 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood dull reddish-brown with darker markings; sapwood grayish, turning pale yellow, clearly defined. Texture fine; grain usually interlocked; without luster; sometimes figured. MUHIMBI
- Working properties
- Fairly difficult to work with hand and machine tools, rather severe blunting effect on cutters, turns very well, moderate steam-bending properties.
- Durability
- Heartwood is rated as durable and highly resistant to termite attack. Resistant to abrasion.
- Uses
- Industrial and heavy-duty flooring, heavy construction including marine work, railroad crossties.
- Where it grows
- Central and East Africa, usually representing a somewhat dry type of forest, but not uncommon as a constituent of forest swamps, normally gregarious.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 381–382, a USDA Forest Products Laboratory work in the public domain.
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for flooring with the species picker
Weigh cynometra alexandri against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.