Padauk Wood
African Padauk wood lumber is used in fine joinery, fancy turnery, carvings, flooring, decorative veneer, tool and knife handles. Padauk wood may sometimes be confused with Rosewood but it is coarser and less decorative in figure.
Stock Information
Species Information
- GRADES: FAS/SEL
- CUTS: Mixed Grain
- SIZES: 4/4, 8/4
- DRYING: Kiln-Dried (KD)
- OTHER NAMES: Padouk, Mukwa, Narra
- ORIGIN: Central and Tropical West Africa
- APPEARANCE: Heartwood vivid red when freshly cut darkening to a purple brown on exposure; sapwood 4 to 8 in. wide, whitish to brown yellow, distinct. Texture coarse; grain straight to interlocked; lustrous; faint aromatic scent when freshly cut
- DENSITY: Janka scale hardness is 1,630 for dry material
- WEIGHT: 51 lbs. / cu. ft., or approximately 4.25 lbs. per board foot
- DRYING: Dries very well with a minimum of degrade
- WORKABILITY: Saws well but requires slow feed, easy to machine but with some tearing of interlocked grain, takes a good finish, glues easily and holds nails and screws satisfactorily
- DURABILITY: Heartwood is very durable and very resistant to termite attack. Excellent weathering properties
- PRESERVATION: Heartwood fairly resistant to preservative treatments; sapwood moderately resistant
- FINISHING: Finishes well