Tropical wood · Tropical America
Jutahy wood
Jutahy (Dialium guianense, family Leguminosae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 4,000 lbf (17,793 N), and air-dry it weighs about 63–73 lb/ft³ (1,009–1,169 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 121–122.
Other names, by country: Guapaque (Mexico), Paleta (Guatemala, Honduras), Tamarindo montero (Nicaragua), Hauso (Panama), Tamarindo (Colombia), Cacho (Venezuela), Huitillo (Peru), Jataí-peba, Parajuba (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 4,000 lbf (17,793 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness about 4,000 lb at 12% moisture content.”
- Air-dry density
- 63–73 lb/ft³ (1,009–1,169 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.81–0.93 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.81 to 0.93; air-dry density 63 to 73 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 8.9% tangential
- Radial 5.3%, volumetric 13.9%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12% MC | 24,400 psi (168 MPa) | 2.92 million psi (20.1 GPa) | — |
| 12% MC | 34,000 psi (234 MPa) | — | 15,700 psi (108 MPa) |
| Green | 23,800 psi (164 MPa) | 3.07 million psi (21.2 GPa) | 11,000 psi (76 MPa) |
| 15% MC | 28,800 psi (199 MPa) | — | 13,900 psi (96 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood uniform brown or reddish-brown, becoming darker upon exposure; very distinct but not sharply demarcated from the thick whitish or yellowish sapwood. Luster medium; texture fine to medium; grain straight to interlocked; without distinctive odor or taste. Silica content reported to be as high as 1.83%.
- Working properties
- The wood is rated as very difficult to work because of its high density and high silica content. Specially tipped cutters are required to effectively saw or machine this wood. Torn grain is common.
- Durability
- The durability of this wood is reported to be high and with high resistance to insect attack.
- Uses
- Heavy construction, railway crossties, industrial flooring, turnery, vehicle framing.
- Where it grows
- From southern Mexico through Central America to the Peruvian Amazon and Bahia and Matte Crosso, Brazil. In parts of its range the tree is very common on well-drained clay soils or sandy soils.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 121–122, a USDA Forest Products Laboratory work in the public domain.
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for flooring with the species picker
Weigh jutahy against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.