Tropical wood · Southeast Asia and Oceania
Thingan wood
Thingan (Hopea spp., family Dipterocarpaceae) is a tropical timber from Southeast Asia and Oceania. Dry, its Janka hardness is 1,050–1,460 lbf (4,671–6,494 N), and air-dry it weighs about 48 lb/ft³ (769 kg/m³). The figures are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory's Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 663–664.
Other names, by country: Gagil (Sabah), Luis, Selangan (Sarawak), Manggachapui (Philippines), Koki (Cambodia), Mai Takien (Thailand).
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, dry
- 1,050–1,460 lbf (4,671–6,494 N)
- As printed: “Janka side hardness 1,050 to 1,460 lb for dry material.”
- Air-dry density
- 48 lb/ft³ (769 kg/m³)
- Basic specific gravity
- 0.64 oven-dry weight, green volume
- As printed: “Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) varies with species averaging about 0.64; air-dry density 48 pcf.”
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 6.5% tangential
- Radial 3.4%, volumetric 9.3%
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 | 13,100 psi (90 MPa) | 1.56 million psi (10.8 GPa) | 6,750 psi (47 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 16,860 psi (116 MPa) | 1.87 million psi (12.9 GPa) | 8,760 psi (60 MPa) |
| Green | 10,500 psi (72 MPa) | 1.67 million psi (11.5 GPa) | 5,950 psi (41 MPa) |
| 12% MC | 15,400 psi (106 MPa) | 2.3 million psi (15.9 GPa) | 8,450 psi (58 MPa) |
A dash means the sheet prints no value; none is filled in.
What the data sheet says
- Color, grain and texture
- Heartwood generally yellow when freshly cut sometimes light brown with a greenish or purplish cast, darkening on exposure to a goldenor red-brown; sapwood lighter in color and not sharply defined. Texture fine to medium and even; grain usually interlocked; luster rather low; without distinctive odor or taste. Prominent vertical resin canals produce conspicuous white streak.
- Working properties
- Generally reported to be easy to work though somewhat difficult to saw; worked surfaces are smooth; turns easily and cleanly.
- Durability
- Reported to be durable in ground contact and resistant to termite attack.
- Uses
- General construction, boatbuilding, furniture components, flooring, railroad crossties, joinery, turnery.
- Where it grows
- Throughout the Indo-Malayan region, Indonesia including Borneo and New Guinea, and the Philippines.
Quoted from Tropical Timbers of the World, pp. 663–664, 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 thingan against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.