Tropical wood · Africa
Mafu wood
Mafu (Fagaropsis angolensis, family Rutaceae) is a tropical timber from Africa. Dry, its Janka hardness is 1,370 lbf (6,094 N), and air-dry it weighs about 43 lb/ft³ (689 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 413–414.
Other names, by country: Mfu, Mkunguni, Mtongoti (Tanzania), Muyinja (Kenya).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 1,370 lbf (6,094 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 1,370 lb for dry material.”
- Air-dry density
- 43 lb/ft³ (689 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.56 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.56; air-dry density 43 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to 12% moisture content
- 3.7% tangential
- Radial 2.1%
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 one data set, each at the moisture content printed beside it, never restated as 12%.
| Moisture | Bending strength (MOR) | Stiffness (MOE) | Crushing strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12% MC | 15,200 psi (105 MPa) | 2.1 million psi (14.5 GPa) | 8,590 psi (59 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood dark green or brown tinged with green and yellow, darkening on exposure; sapwood pale yellow or grayish-white, distinct. Texture fine and even; grain usually straight but may be wavy and irregular; lustrous; bitter taste but without scent; sometimes figured.
- Working properties
- Boards often split during log breakdown, saws easily and machines well to a smooth finish, turns readily, poor nailing properties.
- Durability
- Heartwood is moderately durable and also moderately resistant to termite attack.
- Uses
- Fine furniture and cabinetwork, joinery, turnery, inlay work, decorative veneers, paneling.
- Where it grows
- East Africa, found in rain and subtropical forests to elevations of about 6,000 ft.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 413–414, 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 mafu against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.