Tropical wood · Tropical America
Degame wood
Degame (Calycophyllum candidissimum, family Rubiaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 1,940 lbf (8,630 N), and air-dry it weighs about 51 lb/ft³ (817 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 67–68.
Other names, by country: Camarón, Palo camarón (Mexico), Surrá (Costa Rica), Alazano (Panama), Guayabo (Colombia), Araguato, Betún (Venezuela).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 1,940 lbf (8,630 N)
- Green: 1,630 lbf (7,251 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 1,630 lb when green and 1,940 lb at 12% moisture content.”
- Air-dry density
- 51 lb/ft³ (817 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.67 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.67; air-dry density 51 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 8.6% tangential
- Radial 4.8%, volumetric 13.2%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 14,290 psi (99 MPa) | 1.93 million psi (13.3 GPa) | 6,200 psi (43 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 22,300 psi (154 MPa) | 2.27 million psi (15.7 GPa) | 9,670 psi (67 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood ranges from light brown to oatmeal color and is sometimes grayish. Sapwood is lighter in color and merges gradually with the heartwood. Luster is low to medium; texture fine and uniform; grain is straight to interlocked; without distinctive odor or taste.
- Working properties
- The wood is difficult to saw and moderately difficult to work in planing and boring; no appreciable dulling effect on cutters. Machined surfaces are very smooth; takes a glossy polish.
- Durability
- The wood is generally regarded as lacking appreciable resistance to attack by decay fungi. Pureculture laboratory tests indicate high durability when exposed to a brown-rot fungus but only moderately durable with respect to deterioration by a white-rot fungus. Reported to be highly resistant to marine borers.
- Uses
- Has been used in the manufacture of archery bows and fishing rods. Suitable for tool handles and turnery and is used for shuttles and picker sticks and other textile manufacturing items.
- Where it grows
- Occurs in Cuba and ranges from southern Mexico through Central America to Colombia and Venezuela. Degame may occur in pure stands and is common on shaded hillsides and along waterways.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 67–68, 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 degame against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.