Tropical wood · Africa
Mansonia wood
Mansonia (Mansonia altissima, family Sterculiaceae) is a tropical timber from Africa. Dry, its Janka hardness is 1,290 lbf (5,738 N), and air-dry it weighs about 38–45 lb/ft³ (609–721 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 453–454.
Other names, by country: Aprono (Ghana), Bété (Ivory Coast), Ofun (Nigeria), Koul (Cameroon).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 1,290 lbf (5,738 N)
- Green: 1,210 lbf (5,382 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 1,210 lb for green and 1,290 lb for dry wood.”
- Air-dry density
- 38–45 lb/ft³ (609–721 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.50–0.58 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.50-0.58; air-dry density 38-45 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 7.3% tangential
- Radial 4.4%, volumetric 10.2%
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 13,000 psi (90 MPa) | 1.4 million psi (9.7 GPa) | 6,400 psi (44 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 17,700 psi (122 MPa) | 1.58 million psi (10.9 GPa) | 8,500 psi (59 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 17,200 psi (119 MPa) | 1.68 million psi (11.6 GPa) | 7,750 psi (53 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 14,900 psi (103 MPa) | 1.45 million psi (10 GPa) | 7,150 psi (49 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood yellow-brown or dark gray-brown, frequently with a purplish cast, often shows light and dark bands; sapwood whitish, sharply demarcated. Texture fine to medium; grain generally straight; luster low to medium. Resembles American black walnut. Lacks a distinct odor or caste.
- Working properties
- Works easily with hand and machine tools with little dulling of cutters, has good nailing and gluing properties, rated as a good steam-bending wood. Sawdust may cause nose and throat irritation.
- Durability
- Heartwood is very durable and highly resistant to termite attack.
- Uses
- High quality cabinet and furniture work, joinery, turnery, decorative veneers. Bark contains a cardiac poison of the digitalis group. Used as an alternate for walnut.
- Where it grows
- Occurs in the deciduous forest type from Ivory Coast to Cameroon.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 453–454, 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 mansonia against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.