Tropical wood · Southeast Asia and Oceania
Kasai wood
Kasai (Pometia spp., family Sapindaceae) is a tropical timber from Southeast Asia and Oceania. Dry, its Janka hardness is 1,300–1,890 lbf (5,783–8,407 N), and air-dry it weighs about 41 lb/ft³ (657 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 713–714.
Other names, by country: Malugai (Philippines), Taun (New Guinea), Truong (Indo-China), Sibu (Sarawak).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 1,300–1,890 lbf (5,783–8,407 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 1,300-1,890 lb for dry material; Forest Products Laboratory toughness 255 in.-lb for dry material (2-cm specimen).”
- Air-dry density
- 41 lb/ft³ (657 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.54 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.54; air-dry density 41 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 6.8% tangential
- Radial 5.5%, volumetric 13.2%
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 6 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 | — | — | 5,365 psi (37 MPa) |
| 17% MC | — | — | 7,158 psi (49 MPa) |
| Green | 8,100 psi (56 MPa) | 1.36 million psi (9.4 GPa) | 3,900 psi (27 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 13,700 psi (94 MPa) | 1.79 million psi (12.3 GPa) | 7,250 psi (50 MPa) |
| Green | 9,650 psi (67 MPa) | 1.62 million psi (11.2 GPa) | 4,560 psi (31 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 15,400 psi (106 MPa) | 2.08 million psi (14.3 GPa) | 8,670 psi (60 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood light to dark red-brown, usually with a dull purple-red cast; sapwood rather lighter in color but not always sharply defined; texture moderately coarse; grain straight to interlocked, sometimes wavy; luster usually low; without characteristic odor or taste.
- Working properties
- Easy to work and takes a fine finish; reported to be good stock for steam bending.
- Durability
- Heartwood moderately durable when exposed or in ground contact; only moderately resistant to termite attack.
- Uses
- Furniture components, flooring, joinery, general carpentry work, tight cooperage, tool handles, light construction, veneer and plywood, bent-work, boatbuilding.
- Where it grows
- Malaysia, Indo-China, Indonesia, Philippines, and other western Pacific islands. Widespread and abundant in coastal areas and foothills.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 713–714, 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 kasai against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.