Wenge
| Wood Technical Fact Sheet
Millettia
spp. - Panga Panga - Wenge
Family:
Leguminosae
Other
Common Names: Millettia laurentii: Wenge (Zaire), Awong (Cameroon).
Millettia stuhlmannii: Panga panga, Mpande (Tanzania).
Distribution:
Southern regions of Tanzania and Mozambique, found
in
open forests. Wenge occurs in the Congo region in periodically
inundated
swampy forests.
The
Tree: Varies with species, about 60 to 90 ft; bole usually straight
and
unbuttressed; trunk diameters 3 to 4 ft.
The
Wood:
General
Characteristics: Heartwood dark brown to almost black with alternate
layers of light and dark tissue forming a decorative figure; sapwood yellowish
white, clearly demarcated. Texture rather coarse; grain straight.
Weight:
Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.65 to 0.78; air-dry
density 50 to 60 pcf.
Mechanical
Properties: (First set of data based on the 2-in. standard; second
and third sets on the 2-cm standard.)
Moisture
Content
-
% - |
Bending
Strenght
-
Psi -
|
Modulus
of Elasticity-1,000 psi
|
Maximum
Crushing Strength - Psi
|
| 12%
(5) |
16.200
|
1.970
|
9.950
|
| 12%
(46) |
28.400
|
2.530
|
14.500
|
| 12%
(44) |
17.700
|
NA
|
10.200
|
|
Janka
side hardness for dry material 1,630 lb. Amsler toughness 300 to 475 in.-lb.
12% moisture content (2-cm specimen).
Drying
and Shrinkage: Panga panga seasons well and rather rapidly with little
degrade. Wenge rather slowly but also without much distortion. Kiln schedule
T6-D2 is suggested for 4/4 stock and T3-D1 for 8/4. Panga panga shrinkage
green to ovendry: radial 3.1%; tangential 5.8%. Movement in service is
rated as small.
Working
Properties: Sawing and machining somewhat difficult, rapid blunting
of cutting edges occurs, turns well, difficult to glue if resinous.
Durability:
Heartwood is rated as very durable and resistant to termite attack.
Preservation:
Heartwood extremely resistant to impregnation; sapwood moderately resistant
to permeable.
Uses:
Parquet or strip flooring, joinery, general construction, specialty items.
Wenge is used as a hickory substitute in sporting goods, also for decorative
veneer.
Additional
Reading: (3), (5), (44), (46)
---
Source:
USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, One Gifford Pinchot Drive,
Madison, WI 53705-2398, (608) 231-9200, Excerpt from USDA Document.
