Tropical wood · Southeast Asia and Oceania
Durian wood
Durian (Durio spp., family Bombacaceae) is a tropical timber from Southeast Asia and Oceania. Dry, its Janka hardness is 560–800 lbf (2,491–3,559 N), and air-dry it weighs about 30–50 lb/ft³ (481–801 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 625–626.
Other names, by country: Punggai, Apa apa, Bengang (Malaya).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 560–800 lbf (2,491–3,559 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 560-800 lb for dry material.”
- Air-dry density
- 30–50 lb/ft³ (481–801 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.40–0.66 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varies with species 0.40-0.66; air-dry density 30-50 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 7.2% tangential
- Radial 4.3%, volumetric 12.3%
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 | 7,990 psi (55 MPa) | 1.53 million psi (10.5 GPa) | 3,980 psi (27 MPa) |
| 16% MC | 10,690 psi (74 MPa) | 1.7 million psi (11.7 GPa) | 5,670 psi (39 MPa) |
| Green | 7,340 psi (51 MPa) | 1.26 million psi (8.7 GPa) | 3,850 psi (27 MPa) |
| 17% MC | 9,420 psi (65 MPa) | 1.38 million psi (9.5 GPa) | 4,730 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 pink-brown, red, or deep red-brown; sapwood white, pale yellow-brown or light reddish-yellow not always sharply defined. Texture coarse; grain straight to interlocked; somewhat lustrous; reported to have a fetid odor.
- Working properties
- The timbers saw easily and generally dress smoothly; nailing qualities are good.
- Durability
- The timbers are nondurable and not resistant to termite attack; sapwood prone to powder-post beetle attack.
- Uses
- Furniture components, veneer and plywood, light construction. Species of Durìo favored for their edible fruits.
- Where it grows
- Reported to have a wide distribution in Southeast Asia.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 625–626, 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 durian against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.