Tropical wood · Tropical America
Primavera wood
Primavera (Cybistax donnell-smithii, family Bignoniaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 680 lbf (3,025 N), and air-dry it weighs about 29 lb/ft³ (465 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 107–108.
Other names, by country: Duranga (Mexico), San Juan (Honduras), Palo blanco (Guatemala), Cortez, Cortez blanco (El Salvador).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 680 lbf (3,025 N)
- Green: 680 lbf (3,025 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness about 680 lb for both green and dry material.”
- Air-dry density
- 29 lb/ft³ (465 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.40 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.40; air-dry density 29 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 5.1% tangential
- Radial 3.1%, volumetric 9.1%
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 2 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 | 7,180 psi (50 MPa) | 0.99 million psi (6.8 GPa) | 3,510 psi (24 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 9,530 psi (66 MPa) | 1.04 million psi (7.2 GPa) | 5,600 psi (39 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- The wood is cream colored, yellowish-white to pale yellowish-brown, often more or less striped. Sapwood not clearly demarcated, slightly paler than the heartwood. Grain straight to roey; texture medium to rather coarse, uniform; luster fairly high; odorless and tasteless.
- Working properties
- The wood is easy to work in all operations even though there may be considerable grain variation; finishes smoothly and acquires an attractive polish. Produces a good quality veneer.
- Durability
- Laboratory tests indicate a variable resistance to both brown-rot and white-rot fungi, similar to field observations. Weathering characteristics are good.
- Uses
- Fine furniture, cabinet work, decorative veneers, and interior trim.
- Where it grows
- Southwestern Mexico, Pacific coast of Guatemala and El Salvador, and north central Honduras. Occurs in mixed forests on well-drained limestone, volcanic, or alluvial soils from sea level to an elevation of about 800 ft.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 107–108, 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 primavera against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.