Heavy Hopea - Hopea iriana spp
Heavy Hopea is found growing through out south east Asia and Papua New Guinea. Trees are report to grow upwards of 45m in height with trunks reaching 120cm in diameter or more. Timber is commonly used in New Zealand for decking, flooring and outdoor furniture.
The heartwood is dark brown in colour initialy. Exposure tends to darken the colour to an even deeper brown. Sapwood is light brown initially indistinct from the heartwood. The grain has a fine to medium texture and is typically interlocked. Resin canals produce white streaks on all surfaces. The wood has little or no figure, back sawn timber may exhibit a faint silver figure.
Heavy Hopea season's well and is dimensionally stable. The timber is generaly easy to work with and produces a clean smooth finish. Responds well to hand tools and machining.
Heavy Hopea is commonly use in Boat building and marine construction, Domestic and commercial flooring, Decking, Heavy construction, Joinery, Mine timbers, Wharf construction, Building and construction, Handles and Sporting Goods.
Names
Family:
Dipterocarpaceae
Species:
Hopea iriana spp
Standard Trade Names:
Heavy Hopea
Giam
Giam
Other Names:
gagil, giam (Sabah) merawan (Malaya) gisok-gisok, kaliot, magasusu, manggachapui, narek (Philippines) sangal, tjengal, balau (Indonesia) lao-two, mai tajien (Thailand) emang besi (Borneo)
PROPERTIES
Density:
870-960 Kg/m3 @ 12% m.c
Colour:
The sapwood is light brown and is initially indistinct from the heartwood. It becomes clearly demarcated after the heartwood darkens after exposure. The heartwood is brown to dark brown in color initially. Exposure darkens the color to an even deeper brown.
Texture:
The texture is fine to medium, and even.
Grain:
The grain is typically interlocked. Resin canals produce white streaks on all surfaces.
Figure:
The wood is reported to be usually devoid of figure, but back sawn timber may exhibit a faint silver figure.
Durability:
Class 2: Durable
Permeability:
Class 4: Highly resistant; heartwood is untreatable and sapwood is comparatively narrow
WORKABILITY
General:
The timber is easy to work with. Smooth surfaces can be readily obtained providing that cutting edges are kept sharp.
Sawing:
The timber is reported to be fairly difficult to saw because saw-teeth become gummed-up after a period of time.
Planing:
The timber is planes to yield a smooth surface.
Blunting:
Moderate
Boring:
The timber is generally easy to work. It turns to produce smooth, clean surfaces.
Turning:
The timber is generally easy to work. It turns to produce smooth, clean surfaces.
Nailing:
Requires pre-boring first.
Gluing:
The timber glues satisfactorily.
Finishing:
Excellent, will sand to a very fine finish and take a good polish.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Strength:
SD1
Structural Grade:
F34(select grade).
Hardness(Janka):
10kN (seasoned), 9.2kN (unseasoned).
Max. Crushing Strength:
94MPa (seasoned), 70Mpa (unseasoned).
Modulus of Elasticity:
24GPa (seasoned), 22GPa (unseasoned).
Modulus of Rupture:
169MPa (seasoned), 119MPa (unseasoned).
SEASONING
General:
Seasoned wood is reported to be dimensionally stable, and exhibits only small movement in use.
Movement:
Low
Shrinkage:
Low