Tropical wood · Africa
East African Satinwood wood
East African Satinwood (Fagara macrophylla, family Rutaceae) is a tropical timber from Africa. Air-dry, it weighs about 42–64 lb/ft³ (673–1,025 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 411–412.
Other names, by country: Olon dur (Gabon), Munyenye (Uganda).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- Not printed
- Air-dry density
- 42–64 lb/ft³ (673–1,025 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.55–0.83 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) very variable 0.55-0.83; air-dry density 42-64 pcf.”
- Shrinkage
- Not as one figure
- As printed: “Volumetric shrinkage green to ovendry about 11.5%.”
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 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 | 11,400 psi (79 MPa) | 1.57 million psi (10.8 GPa) | 6,100 psi (42 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 15,000 psi (103 MPa) | 1.99 million psi (13.7 GPa) | 8,020 psi (55 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 29,200 psi (201 MPa) | — | 15,100 psi (104 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 30,800 psi (212 MPa) | — | 14,100 psi (97 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood bright or pale yellow darkening slightly on exposure; sapwood narrow, somewhat lighter, barely distinguishable. Grain interlocked giving a stripe figure; texture medium to fairly coarse; luster rather high; has a sweet scent when freshly sawn that does not persist.
- Working properties
- Working characteristics variable, difficult to band plane, high feed speeds in power sawing are suggested, can be dressed to a good finish, difficult to glue, has good steam-bending properties.
- Durability
- Not durable, sapwood liable to borer attack.
- Uses
- Fine furniture and cabinetwork, flooring, paneling, veneer, turnery.
- Where it grows
- Widely distributed in the equatorial forests, occurring up to elevations of 8,000 ft.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 411–412, 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 east African Satinwood against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.