Tropical wood · Tropical America
Helicostylis tomentosa wood
Helicostylis tomentosa (Helicostylis tomentosa, family Moraceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 2,700 lbf (12,010 N), and air-dry it weighs about 52–58 lb/ft³ (833–929 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 157–158.
Other names, by country: Feguó, Kabákrá (Costa Rica), Berbá, Choybá (Panama), Sukune (Guyana), Basri letri, Ombatapo (Surinam), Aimpem, Inaré, Muiratinga (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 2,700 lbf (12,010 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness about 2,700 lb for dry material.”
- Air-dry density
- 52–58 lb/ft³ (833–929 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.68–0.76 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.68 to 0.76; air-dry density 52 to 58 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 9.2% tangential
- Radial 5.4%, volumetric 14.6%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12% MC | 22,800 psi (157 MPa) | 2.86 million psi (19.7 GPa) | 12,300 psi (85 MPa) |
| 15% MC | 27,800 psi (192 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 dark brown, somewhat streaked or variegated with black and yellow; sharply demarcated from the wide, golden, lustrous sapwood. Luster medium in heartwood; texture medium; grain straight to roey; without distinctive odor or taste.
- Working properties
- The wood is rated fair to good in all machining operations but does cause excessive dulling of cutting edges; takes a high natural polish.
- Durability
- The heartwood is susceptible to attack by decay fungi; sapwood is prone to blue stain.
- Uses
- Heavy construction, flooring, turnery, and furniture.
- Where it grows
- Bahia, Brazil, through the Amazon region to northeastern Peru, Colombia, and the Guianas.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 157–158, 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 helicostylis tomentosa against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.