African Mahogany is one of the most sought after hardwoods for furniture. It has rich deep color with heartwood, often with varying shade, ranging from a pale pink to an almost black red. Dark color tends to intensify with age. The heartwood is extremely strong and is usually not susceptible to cracks, splits or breaks. It is very dense and as a result it is very resistant to moisture, termites or any insects that attack hardwood. Its strength and durability make it ideal for use in both indoor and outdoor furniture.
Zone Based Woods There are three basic types of African Mahogany. They are labelled by the zone of their origin: Eucalyptus, Aspen and Quercus. The heartwood is the soft part of the wood and is usually most visible in the "veneers" where it appears as grain. The darker strips located in between the heartwood provide the grain. This grain has little to no knotting and can be seen when the piece is cut. This grain can also be seen when the veneers are viewed. MDF The most commonly used variety is MDF or medium-density fiberboard. It is produced by combining quarter-sawn and heartwood to create long strands of dense wood. The fiberboard is chemically treated with urethane to resist moisture, termites and any insect that attack the wood. The quarter-sawn process is typically more expensive than heartwood but yields a denser product. Many experts believe that MDF provides the best solution as it is more durable, stronger and easier to work with, which is why it is the lumber of choice for interior and exterior use. Purchase Option A cheaper option is to purchase a split-reed wood which is often made from MDF and is softer than MDF. It contains more heartwood than MDF and has less of the knots typical of full-heartwood lumber. split-reed African Mahogany is often purchased in unfinished forms because it requires the user to strip the old bark from the ends of each board before it is glued. The advantage of using split-reed product is that there is enough wood density to resist weathering and there is enough sapwood to provide elasticity, making it ideal for planking and paneling applications. Explore hardwoods on Tropical Forest Products to optimize your purchase decision. Plywood An alternative to MDF is plywood which can also be made with the lighter and less expensive African Mahogany. There is some debate among experts as to the actual genetic source of African Mahogany. Some believe that it is actually a cross between Siamese and Burmese. Because of its distinct grain patterns and naturally striking red-brown color some experts consider it to be the most beautiful wood of all. The scientific name of this exotic hardwood is ivoretin but is known by many other names such as Burmese Redwood or Vietnamese Mahogany. In order to achieve greater stability and strength African Mahogany is processed into two types: white and black. The white variety is usually used for interior and exterior applications, whereas the black is used for interior finishes only. The most popular interior applications are interior hardwood flooring, turnings, closet doors, table tops and shelving. Exterior hardwood products are typically light timbers such as Indian boxwood, Indian poplar, and khaya spp. They are sometimes combined with the lighter colored khaya spp.
0 Comments
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2022
Categories |