Tropical wood · Tropical America
Quebracho wood
Quebracho (Schinopsis spp., family Anacardiaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Air-dry, it weighs about 75 lb/ft³ (1,201 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 273–274.
Other names, by country: Baraúva, Braúna, Quebracho hembra (Brazil), Quebracho colorado, Q. chaqueño, Q. santiagueno (Argentina).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- Not printed
- Air-dry density
- 75 lb/ft³ (1,201 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 1.00 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 1.00; air-dry density 75 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- Not printed
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15% MC | 19,800 psi (137 MPa) | 2.19 million psi (15.1 GPa) | — |
| 15% MC | 13,800 psi (95 MPa) | 1.95 million psi (13.4 GPa) | 8,900 psi (61 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood light red, deepening to brick red, uniform or with black streaks; distinct but not sharply demarcated from the yellowish sapwood. Luster low to medium; texture fine and uniform; grain irregular, often roey; odor not distinctive, taste astringent. Heartwood contains 20 to 30% tannin.
- Working properties
- Very difficult to work, especially when dry but takes a high natural polish
- Durability
- Highly durable, though standing trees are often defective as a result of heart rot.
- Uses
- Tannin extraction, railroad crossties, heavy construction, fenceposts, poles, fuel.
- Where it grows
- Botanical range extends over northern Argentina, western Paraguay, a small portion of Bolivia, and to the interior of the state of Bahia in Brazil.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 273–274, a USDA Forest Products Laboratory work in the public domain.
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for outdoor work with the species picker
Weigh quebracho against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.