Tropical wood · Tropical America
Sterculia wood
Sterculia (Sterculia pruriens, family Sterculiaceae) is a tropical timber from tropical America. Dry, its Janka hardness is 770–825 lbf (3,425–3,670 N), and air-dry it weighs about 37 lb/ft³ (593 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 285–286.
Other names, by country: Yahu, Maho, Manmaho (Guyana), Chicha brava, Capote, Envireira (Brazil).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 770–825 lbf (3,425–3,670 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness at 12% moisture content ranges from 770 to 825 lb.”
- Air-dry density
- 37 lb/ft³ (593 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.46 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.46; air-dry density 37 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 9.9% tangential
- Radial 4.7%
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 3 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 | 9,000 psi (62 MPa) | 1.89 million psi (13 GPa) | 4,350 psi (30 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 9,700 psi (67 MPa) | 1.93 million psi (13.3 GPa) | 8,230 psi (57 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 12,600 psi (87 MPa) | 1.78 million psi (12.3 GPa) | 6,550 psi (45 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood whitish or grayish and not distinct from the sapwood. Texture medium to coarse; grain usually straight; somewhat lustrous; without distinctive odor or taste.
- Working properties
- The wood works easily with both hand and machine tools; a smooth finish is obtained if sharp cutters are used.
- Durability
- Not resistant to attack by decay fungi and very susceptible to both dry-wood and subterranean termites. Also prone to blue stain.
- Uses
- Light construction work, interior joinery, boxes and crates, pulp and paper.
- Where it grows
- Occurs in the Guianas and. northern Brazil.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 285–286, a USDA Forest Products Laboratory work in the public domain.
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for cabinets and trim with the species picker
Weigh sterculia against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.