Tropical wood · Africa
Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum wood
Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum (Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum, family Leguminosae) is a tropical timber from Africa. Dry, its Janka hardness is 740 lbf (3,292 N), and air-dry it weighs about 30 lb/ft³ (481 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 419–420.
Other names, by country: Achi, Egba, Emongi (Nigeria), Tola blanc (Congo-Brazzaville), Tola branca (Angola), N'Tola (Zaire).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 740 lbf (3,292 N)
- Green: 620 lbf (2,758 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 620 lb for green material and 740 lb for dry.”
- Air-dry density
- 30 lb/ft³ (481 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.40 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) about 0.40; air-dry density 30 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to 12% moisture content
- 3.0% tangential
- Radial 1.5%
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 | 7,500 psi (52 MPa) | 0.87 million psi (6 GPa) | 3,520 psi (24 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 11,800 psi (81 MPa) | 1.1 million psi (7.6 GPa) | 6,270 psi (43 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 9,500 psi (66 MPa) | 0.92 million psi (6.3 GPa) | 4,800 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 yellowishto pinkish-brown, darkening on exposure; sapwood 4 in. wide, slightly lighter in color, not well demarcated. Texture moderately fine and even; grain straight to slightly wavy or interlocked; luster high; resinous odor; large resin deposits may accumulate in shakes near the heart.
- Working properties
- Saws readily and works easily with hand and machine tools, gums may collect on sawteeth and cutters, good gluing properties, moderately good steambending characteristics.
- Durability
- Heartwood is rated as durable, fairly resistant to termite attack.
- Uses
- A general purpose timber, furniture, joinery, boatbuilding, light construction, millwork, corestock, plywood, domestic flooring.
- Where it grows
- Tropical West Africa from Nigeria southwards to the Congo basin, scattered or in local pockets, favoring deep soil and plenty of moisture.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 419–420, 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 gossweilerodendron balsamiferum against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.