Khaya
Mahogany | Wood Technical Fact Sheet
Khaya
grandifoliola and K. senegalensis - African Mahogany -
Benin
Mahogany - Senegal Mahogany
Family:
Meliaceae
Other
Common Names: Diala-iri (Ivory Coast, Ghana), Akuk, Ogwango (Nigeria),
Eri Kiree (Uganda), Bandoro (Sudan). Often marketed together with K.
ivorensis
and K.
anthotheca.
Distribution:
West tropical Africa from the Guinea Coast to Cameroon and extending eastward
through the Congo basin to Uganda and parts of Sudan. Often found in the
fringe between the rain forest and the savanna.
The
Tree: Reaches a height of 100 to 130 ft, boles sometimes twisted or
crooked with low branching; trunk diameters above buttresses 3 to 5 ft.
The
Wood:
General
Characteristics: Heartwood fairly uniform pink- to red brown darkening
to a rich mahogany brown; sapwood is lighter in color, not always sharply
defined. Texture moderately coarse; grain straight, interlocked, or irregular;
without taste or scent.
Weight:
Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) about 0.55 to 0.65;
air dry density 42 to 50 pcf.
Mechanical
Properties: (2-cm standard)
Moisture
Content-% |
Bending
Strenght
Psi
|
Modulus
of Elasticity-1,000 psi
|
Maximum
Crushing Strength-Psi
|
| Green
(40) |
10.000
|
1.320
|
5.200
|
| 12% |
14.100
|
1.540
|
8.000
|
| 12%
(44) |
13.800
|
NA
|
8.200
|
|
Janka
side hardness 1,170 lb for green and 1,350 lb for dry material. Amsler
toughness 190 in.-lb at 12% moisture content (2-cm specimen).
Drying
and Shrinkage: Dries rather slowly but fairly well with little checking
or warp. Kiln schedule T2-D4 is suggested for 4/4 stock and T2-D3 for 8/4.
Shrinkage green to 12% moisture content: radial 2.5%; tangential 4.5%.
Movement in service is rated as small.
Working
Properties: Good working properties with hand and machine tools. Material
with irregular grain difficult to dress to a smooth surface. Turns well,
good nailing and gluing properties.
Durability:
Heartwood moderately durable; trees and logs liable to attack by longhorn
and buprestid beetles; resistant to termites. Sapwood liable to powder-
post beetle attack.
Preservation:
Heartwood is extremely resistant to preservative treatments; sapwood moderately
resistant.
Uses:
Furniture and cabinetwork, joinery, shop fixtures, flooring, boatbuilding,
decorative veneers.
Additional
Reading: (3), (9), (40), (44)
-----------------
3.
Bolza, E., and W. G. Keating. 1972. African timbers-the properties, uses,
and characteristics of 700 species. CSIRO. Div. of Build. Res., Melbourne,
Australia.
9.
Farmer, R. H. 1972. Handbook of hardwoods. H. M. Stationery Office. London.
40.Lavers,
G. M. 1967. The strength properties of timbers. For. Prod. Res. Bul. No.
50. H. M. Stationery Office. London.
44.Sallenave,
P. 1955. Proprietes et mecaniques des bois tropicaux de l'union Francaise.
Pub. Centre Tech. For. Trop. No. 8.
From:
Chudnoff, Martin. 1984. Tropical Timbers of the World. USDA Forest Service.
Ag. Handbook No. 607.
---
Source:USDA
Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, One Gifford Pinchot Drive,
Madison, WI 53705-2398, (608) 231-9200, Excerpt from USDA Document
