Tropical wood · Tropical America
Manbarklak wood
Manbarklak (Eschweilera spp., family Lecythidaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Green, its Janka hardness is 1,280–2,480 lbf (5,694–11,032 N), and air-dry it weighs about 48–74 lb/ft³ (769–1,185 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 139–140.
Other names, by country: Oxito, Olleto (Panama), Coco de mono, Montanero (Venezuela), Coco cristal, Tete congo (Colombia), Haudan, Kakeralli (Guyana), Oemanbarklak, Manbarklak (Surinam), Matá-matá, Aterebá, Jarána (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- Not printed
- Green: 1,280–2,480 lbf (5,694–11,032 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness for green material ranges from 1,280 lb to 2,480 lb.”
- Air-dry density
- 48–74 lb/ft³ (769–1,185 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.62–0.95 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varies with species from 0.62 to 0.95, mostly about 0.85; air-dry density ranges from 48 to 74 pcf, averaging about 64.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 10.3% tangential
- Radial 5.8%, volumetric 15.9%
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 5 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 | 10,870 psi (75 MPa) | 1.48 million psi (10.2 GPa) | 3,880 psi (27 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 14,460 psi (100 MPa) | 1.76 million psi (12.1 GPa) | 6,370 psi (44 MPa) |
| Green | 17,110 psi (118 MPa) | 2.7 million psi (18.6 GPa) | 7,340 psi (51 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 26,470 psi (183 MPa) | 3.14 million psi (21.6 GPa) | 11,210 psi (77 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 30,300 psi (209 MPa) | 3.18 million psi (21.9 GPa) | 13,400 psi (92 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood of most species is light brown, grayish-brown, reddish-brown, or brownish-buff, sometimes with black streaks, usually distinct from the yellowish sapwood. Luster low; grain typically straight; texture fine and uniform; without distinctive odor or taste. Depending on species, silica content may be as high as 2.4%.
- Working properties
- Most of the species are difficult to work because of the high density and high silica content (excepting E. tenax); specially tipped cutters are suggested.
- Durability
- Most species are highly resistant to attack by both brown-rot and white-rot fungi. Also most of the species have gained wide recognition for their high degree of resistance to marine-borer attack. Resistance to dry-wood termite attack is variable, depending on species.
- Uses
- Marine and other heavy construction, industrial flooring, pulpmill equipment, railroad crossties, piling, and turnery.
- Where it grows
- About 80 species are distributed from eastern Brazil through the Amazon Basin to the Guianas, Trinidad, and Costa Rica.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 139–140, 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 manbarklak against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.