Tropical wood · Africa
Rhodesian-teak wood
Rhodesian-teak (Baikiaea plurijuga, family Leguminosae) is a tropical timber from Africa. Dry, its Janka hardness is 2,990 lbf (13,300 N), and air-dry it weighs about 56 lb/ft³ (897 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 339–340.
Other names, by country: Zambesi redwood, Umgusi, Mukushi (Rhodesia).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 2,990 lbf (13,300 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 2,990 lb at 12% moisture content.”
- Air-dry density
- 56 lb/ft³ (897 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.73 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.73; air-dry density 56 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to 12% moisture content
- 2.5% tangential
- Radial 1.5%
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 | 12,220 psi (84 MPa) | 1.23 million psi (8.5 GPa) | 9,600 psi (66 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood an attractive reddish-brown with irregular black lines or flecks; sapwood pale pinkish-brown, sharply demarcated from the heartwood. Texture fine and even; grain straight or slightly inter-locked; luster low; without characteristic odor or taste. Moist wood in contact with iron may stain because of tannin content.
- Working properties
- Rather difficult to saw and machine with severe blunting of cutters, gumming of teeth if sawn green; excellent turnery; good gluing.
- Durability
- Heartwood is rated as very durable; moderately resistant to termite attack. Sapwood liable to powderpost beetle attack.
- Uses
- Mainly used in flooring.
- Where it grows
- Dry regions of Zambia and Rhodesia and bordering areas to the west.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 339–340, 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 rhodesian-teak against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.