Calophyllum
Calophyllum is a useful, general-purpose timber. Due to its wide range in density, its mechanical properties can be variable. It is suitable for range of end uses including; furniture and cabinet work, interior joinery, mouldings, architraves and doorjambs, flooring and panelling.
The timbers range in colour from a pale pinkish-brown to pale red-brown to pale red. Quarter-sawn boards produce a pronounced ribbon figure, whilst back sawn material is nicely figured with a fine zigzag pattern.
The timbers can be dried satisfactorily. Quarter-sawn material dries well with little degrade. Back-sawn material has a tendency to cup and twist especially in wide boards.
Calophyllum is popular for a variety of end uses including furniture manufacture and cabinet work as well as for veneer and plywood manufacture.
| Botanical Name: | Calophyllum spp. incl. |
| Standard Trade Names: | Calophyllum. |
| Other Names: | Bush Calophyllum, Kalofilum (Papua New Guinea); Bintangor (Malaysia); Bintangur (Indonesia); Bitanghol, Dangkalan (Phillipines); Damanu (Fiji); Entangor, Bakokol, Mentanngor (Sarawak); Ba’aula, Gwarogwaro (Solomon Islands), Bintanina (Madagascar). |
| Origin of Product: | |
| Grade: | |
| Availability: | Available ex-stock in kiln dried sizes 75 x 25, 100 x 25 and 150 x 25. |
| Names | |
| Family: | Guttiferae. |
| Species: | Calophyllum spp. incl. C. papuanum Laut. C. pauciflorum A.C.Sm. C. peekelii Laut. C. pseudovitiense Stevens C. soulattri Burm. |
| Properties | |
| Density: | 540-620 Kg/m3 @ 12% m.c |
| Durability: | Class 3: Moderately Durable. |
| Colour: | Pale pinkish-brown to pale red. |
| Texture: | Moderately coarse and slightly uneven. |
| Grain: | Varies from straight to deeply interlocked. |
| Figure: | Ribbon or striped effect on quarter-sawn faces. |
| Permeability: | Class 4: Highly resistant; heartwood is untreatable and sapwood is comparatively narrow. |
| Workability | |
| General: | Reasonably good working and finishing properties. |
| Sawing: | Readily sawn; some boards a little fibrous in nature. |
| Planing: | Generally planes well dependent on grain and cutting angle. A reduction of cutter angle (20°) will assist. |
| Blunting: | Low. |
| Boring: | Good characteristics; may be a little fibrous. |
| Turning: | Generally good; may be a little fibrous. |
| Nailing: | Pre-drilling on board ends advisable to prevent splitting. |
| Gluing: | Glues very well with all adhesives. |
| Finishing: | With care, smooth finish obtainable. Polishes very well. |
| Mechanical Properties | |
| Strength: | SD6. |
| Structural Grade: | F22(select grade). |
| Hardness (Janka): | 4.6kN (seasoned), 3.6kN (unseasoned). |
| Max. Crushing Strength: | 58MPa (seasoned), 34Mpa (unseasoned). |
| Modulus of Elasticity: | 14GPa (seasoned), 11GPa (unseasoned). |
| Modulus of Rupture: | 102MPa (seasoned), 59MPa (unseasoned). |
| Seasoning | |
| General: | Seasons readily and well, providing proper drying practices are adhered to regarding sticker and weighting of stacks. |
| Movement: | Medium. |
| Shrinkage: | Medium. |