Utile: Janka Hardness 1,180 lbf (5,260 N) For a frame of reference White Oak is 1,350 lb f (5,990 N) while Eastern White Pine has a Hardness of 380 lbf (1,690 N). INTERESTING FACTS: Sapele is a large rain forest tree from Africa. Janka Hardness Value: 1510. Like Mahogany, Sapele is used as both a top wood and a back/sides wood. Scientific Name: Entandrophragma cylindricum, Tree Size: 100-150 ft (30-45 m) tall, 3-5 ft (1-1.5 m) trunk diameter, Average Dried Weight: 42 lbs/ft3 (670 kg/m3), Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .50, .67, Modulus of Rupture: 15,930 lbf/in2 (109.9 MPa), Elastic Modulus: 1,746,000 lbf/in2 (12.04 GPa), Crushing Strength: 8,750 lbf/in2 (60.4 MPa), Shrinkage: Radial: 4.8%, Tangential: 7.2%, Volumetric: 12.8%, T/R Ratio: 1.5. Copyright © 2008-2020 Eric Meier | All Rights Reserved. The stain/varnish applied to your sapele may be blistering because it was never treated with a stripper prior to applying the stain. Odies Oil, plant based, non toxic, food safe, resists water and stains. It was a waste of beautiful lumber, but I was making tambour door breadboxes for Christmas gifts and used most of this just to make… Read more ». Vertically it is not too problematic to keep a finish on. It’s   sold both in lumber and veneer form. Sapele has a slight blunting effect on cutters, but it turns, glues, and finishes well. I’m trying to get into more exotic type woods, like this African Sapele, over my standard maples and oaks. It’s much harder. I work at a lumberyard in NJ and I sell a lot of sapele. Its so natural and STUNNING!!! Hard for me to imagine a finish that is not food safe ONCE IT HAS CURED. Wondering if sapelle is compatible with radiant heat flooring? The wood also benefits from a distinctive red-brown colour that darkens as it matures and ages. I am having some wooden windows in our home replaced. I read an article saying that Sapele was a dead ringer for Mahogany. He carefully cut and banded his sheets to acheive a sequence pattern for his kitchen cabinet doors. Color/Appearance: Heartwood is a golden to dark reddish brown. ), resulting in tearout due to its interlocked grain. Dear all Hi there, could you tell me what is the best way to presenve and revive sapele wood on the exterior of my house? Also like Mahogany, Sapele is a popular wood for guitar necks. I would love to keep the finish food safe, but the three or four coats of beeswax I applied is faded and getting dull. LATIN: ENTANDROPHRAGMA CYLINDRICUM ORIGIN: AFRICA. Is a wood that with such a beautiful grain the right choice for window framing that will just be covered up? We’ve used Sapele for our custom doors since we can’t get the quality of mahogany from the good old days. Much harder than African Mahogany and red oak. > Hardwoods > Apocynaceae > Alstonia > spectabilis Common Name(s): Hard milkwood, Scientific Name: (and A. macrophylla) Distribution: South and Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, and northern Australia Tree Size: 100-130 ft (30-40 m) tall, 2-4 ft (.6-1.2 m) trunk diameter Average Dried Weight: lbs/ft3 ( kg/m3) Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): , Janka Hardness: lbf … I just feel like it’s too soft. It’s very close to a pommele but maybe not perfect enough to be sold as such (which this lumber yard doesn’t sell anyway). I am think of a few coats of danish oil, then finishing off with solvent-based polyurethane. They will be painted. The piece was then sculpted. It sounds like the finish is the problem, and not necessarily the wood? It shattered the lower point of my RG shaped body. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information. The hardness of the Sapele wood makes it better than the Mahogany but as noted earlier, there is not much difference in the sound due to this. Your advice is much appreciated. Alibaba.com offers 228 sapele wood hardness products. From my experience, both methods can finish Sapele with super smooth surface and stood up so far for the heavy use in the kitchen, but oil+polyurethane is easier to apply. From my experience, both methods can finish Sapele with super smooth surface and stood up so far for the heavy use in the kitchen, but oil+polyurethane is easier to apply. Endgrain: Diffuse-porous; large pores in no specific arrangement, few; solitary and radial multiples of 2-3; reddish brown deposits occasionally present; parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates, unilateral, and marginal; rays narrow to medium, spacing normal; ripple marks present. As soon as the timber leaves the kiln it would be exposed to an average air moisture content of above 18% so short of shrink wrapping it is going to absorb between the kiln and retailer/ wholesaler. Relative Hardness Table for Domestic and Imported Woods Janka Numbers For Domestic & Exotic Wood Species The Janka Side Hardness test measures the force required to press an 11.28mm (0.444 inch) steel ball to half its diameter cross-grain into a block of wood. It brings out the wonderful glow of sapele as well. It comes with an interlocking pattern wherein the fiber appears to twist as the tree grows. Medium woods, cedar, not oily, always stick very well. They may darken some but should even out in color. After sanding down using 1000 grit I have applied a coat of Boiled linseed oil, once dry rub gently with 0000 wire wool. I work with Sapele almost daily in a custom door manufacturing plant. Sapele is an economically-important wood to the continent of Africa, and one that continues to grow in popularity in other industries beyond veneer mills, here in the US. I finished 4 kitchen chairs with boiled linseed oil + oil-based polyurethane (3 coats), which made the chairs slightly darker/richer than the table (grain filler + Polyurethane). It reflects the force in pounds required to push a small steel ball into the wood. P.S. Poplar ranks 540 on the low end of the scale. The Janka hardness test is the international standard for measuring the resistance of a sample of wood to denting and wear. Any advice is helpful. The problem seems to be that the wood we have been receiving has been in the 11-13% range, not the 9-10% we believe to be a more correct range. this is a BEAUTIFUL wood! I had to repair with epoxy and Sapele shavings. The test measures the pressure required to embed an 11.28mm (.444 in) diameter steel ball into wood to half the ball's diameter. This seems like it would be a perfect wood for a baseball bat. Wood Hardness Chart – Bigger, Better, More Woods July 3, 2015 June 30, 2015 by Best Bass Gear With our last wood hardness chart, several noted that there were certain woods missing that should be in the list, so we’ve expanded the list to 224 different species. but not sure how it may turn out for Sapele. Looks great. https://www.dalyspaint.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=12, (This is a monthly update, and your email will be kept private.). Many of the joints have opened up considerably, along with some checking and splitting on the timbers. The wood is light to deep reddish brown. First wood I had problem gluing. The Janka scale is used to determine the relative hardness of particular … The effect is amazing and certainly resembles rich dark mahogany. someone knows if sapele can make a good bow? Horizontal installations are another phenomena. Are Rosewoods (and Bubinga) really banned by CITES? Question from a friend; when steam bending Sapele for the sides of a 3/4 guitar it seemed to develope blackish purple mold spots. Please help me out with this, We use it often for doors, door frames, mouldings. Polyurethane is. It is also a good indicator of how hard or easy a species is to saw or nail. Sapele mahogany should be cleaned with a Trisodium Phosphate Solution before applying any stain. On odies oil and the owners are the nicest people boiled linseed oil, finishing. Pattern for his kitchen cabinet doors in brigght light ( not direct sunlight )! For kitchen countertops darken some but should even out using to topcoat/finish the wood also benefits from a ;! Is interlocked, and not necessarily the wood also benefits from a distinctive red-brown colour that as. Mahogany due to grain going in every direction and density variation in the butt stain! Of Sapele as well durability, interlocked grain produces beautiful ribbon pattern on quarter-sawn Sapele a lot Sapele! 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