MAHOGANY SAPELI

Botanical name: Entandrophragma cylindricum

Family: Meliaceae

Other Common Names: Aboudikro (Ivory Coast), Penkwa (Ghana), Muyovu (Uganda), Sapelii (Cameroon), Libuyu (Zaire).

Distribution: Ranging from the Ivory Coast to the Cameroons and eastward through Zaire to Uganda. Occurs in evergreen, deciduous, and transitional forest formation.

The Tree: May reach a height of 150 to 200 ft; bole straight and cylindrical, clear to 100 ft; trunk diameters to 6 ft over broad, low buttresses, sometimes not buttressed.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Heartwood a medium to fairly dark reddish brown or purplish brown; sapwood whitish or pale yellow, distinct.Texture rather fine; grain interlocked, sometimes wavy, producing a narrow, uniform, roe figure on quartered surfaces; lustrous; without a distinctive taste but with a cedarlike scent.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) about 0.55; air-dry density 42 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (2-cm standard)

Moisture content                    Bending strength                    Modulus of elasticity                    Maximum crushing strength

(%)                                             (Psi)                                     (1,000 psi)                                            (Psi)               

Green (9)                                   10,700                                      1,390                                                 5,220

12%                                          16,100                                      1,700                                                 5,500

12% (26)                                   16,500                                      1,700                                                 8,900

Janka side hardness: 1,020 lb for green and 1,500 lb for dry material. Amsler toughness 200 in.-lb for dry material (2-cm specimen).

Drying and Shrinkage: Seasons fairly rapidly but with a marked tendency to warp, very variable in drying properties, requires careful stacking. Kiln schedule T2- D4 is suggested for 4/4 stock and T2-D3 for 8/4. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 4.6%; tangential 7.4%; volumetric 14.0%. Movement in service is rated as medium.

Working Properties: Works fairly well with hand and machine tools, tends to tear interlocked grain in planing, saws easily, finishes well, good gluing and nailing properties, satisfactory peeling and slicing.

Durability: Heartwood is moderately durable, resistance to termite attack variable. Sapwood liable to powder-post beetle attack.

Preservation: Heartwood resistant; sapwood moderately resistant.

Uses: Furniture and cabinetwork, decorative veneers, plywood, joinery, flooring, paneling.