All
    Anegre
    Arapatanga
    Ash
    Beech
    Birch
    American Cherry
    Ebony
    Elm Burr
    Indian Mahogany
    Iroko
    Khaya
    Khaya Curl
    Makore
    Maple
    Birdseye Maple
    Mazur Birch
    Movingue
    Myrtle
    Oak
    Santos Rosewood
    Sapele
    Indian Satinwood
    Sycamore
    Teak
    Tuari
    American Walnut
    European Walnut
    Yew
    Zebrano
Back

Sapele

	Sapele Crown
	Sapele Quartered

The following information is posted with permission of Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) and is taken from their red booklets Timbers of the World. © TRADA

Entandrophragma cylindricum Sprague. Family: Meliaceae

Other names
sapelewood (Nigeria) aboudikro Savory coast) sapelli (Cameroons).

Distribution
It is found in the rain forests of West Africa from the Ivory Coast through Ghana and Nigeria to the Cameroons, and it extends eastwards to Uganda and Tanzania.

The tree
A very large tree with cylindrical bole and small or no buttresses. Grows to a height of 45m or more, and a diameter at breast height of 1.0m or slightly more.

The timber
The sapwood is pale yellow or whitish, the heartwood pinkish when freshly cut, darkening to typical mahogany colour of reddish-brown. Sapele is characterised by a marked and regular stripe, particularly pronounced on quarter-sawn surfaces. Occasionally mottle figure is present. It is fairly close textured, and the grain is interlocked. It is harder and heavier than African mahogany, weighing about 640 kg/rn3 when dried. It has a pronounced cedar-like scent when freshly cut.

Drying
The timber dries rapidly with a marked tendency to distort. Quarter-sawn material is less liable to degrade in drying.

Strength
Sapele is much harder than African or American mahogany, and in resistance to indentation, bending strength, stiffness, and resistance to shock loads, is practically equal with English oak.

Durability
Moderately durable.

Working qualities
Works fairly well with hand and machine tools, but the inter-locked grain is often troublesome in planing and moulding, and a reduction of cutting angle to 15^o is needed to obtain a good finish. It takes screws and nails well, glues satisfactorily, stains readily, and takes an excellent polish.

Uses
Constructional and decorative veneer, furniture, cabinet making, shop-fitting, boat-building. panelling, flooring. joinery.