Sapele
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Sapele Crown
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Sapele Quartered
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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
15o 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.
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