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The African Padauk has a nice dark red colour which darkens to the air. Its texture
is rough enough and sometimes presents a contre-
When they are dry, the Padauks have an excellente stability at the use. They are very tough, particularly the one from Andaman islands whose qualities are superior at the ones of oak. There are dense woods which take a beautiful polishing. They are resistant against the rotting.
The Padauk, which regroups under this name the Padauk from India, Burman, the Philippines and the Amboine *, has a tint going to light brown to dark red according to the species and the trees themselves. The Amboine* is a curled Padauk which grows into the eastern of India.
Its texture is fine. It has a great power to resist to the insects without previous treatment. Its seasoning is easy but it has a tendency to crack. Its working is a little bit arduous because of its hardness.
It's used for different uses like decorative veneering for the cabinet making, the making of sleepers for the railways. The gnarls of Asian Padauk are known under the name of "gnarl of Amboine* ".
* I'm very sorry, I don't know the exact english name of this wood, then I would
prefer keep the french term. You can send my an e-
It's a very decorative tree, searched from the very beginning. It has a little or middle size. This name of rosewood is generic and regroups several species present somewhere in the world. The exportation countries are principally India and Brasil but one can also talk about Madagascar, Honduras and some other countries of central America.
Its colour is variable according to the specimens. It goes from purple-
This wood isn't difficult to season, it can be worked easily even if it needs the greatest care because of its specific weight. However, it blunts the sharp of tools. Generally, the gluing is satisfactory.
When it's going to be cut, its heart exhales a pleasant smell of rose during its working.
Its finishing doesn't present difficulties and its varnishing is easy. The wax finishing also gives a beautiful polishing but it's necessary to fill up the pores previously.
It's very appreciate by the cabinet makers. Used like veneering, it's also used like solid wood to realize various objects : desk sets, pedestals, handles of knives, music instruments... It's also used for the making of turning woodwork objects.
The sapelli comes from Africa and more particularly from a tropical region which stretches from Sierra Leone to Ouganda and Zaïre. It's exported from the occidental part of Africa, Ivory Coast to Cameroon.
It's a very high tree with a trunk of 1 meter of diameter minimum.
It looks like mahogany because it has a brown-
Its seasoning is simple and fast enough. It's tough, durable and shrinks weakly. Nevertheless, it's less stable for the use than the mahogany. Because of its hardness, its working is more difficult. The intertwining of its veins involve the warping when the saw parts season.
It's used for decorative veneering and some woodworks (window frames, stairs...).
Its name has been gave to numerous woods but the only one which is produced by the Tectona grandis can have this name. This tree grows in Burman and Thailand principally, which are the two main exporters, and in India, Indochina and Java. But one must know that it's cultivated in other regions. It's a high tree which can reach 40 meters with a diameter of 1 to 1.50 meters.
Its colour is middle brown to dark brown with sometimes some darker veins or even almost black. Its texture is rough enough. Its touch is soft and it exhales a smell of leather.
This wood seasones slowly but easily even if it has a tendency to split. It owns a great stability at the use and a good solidity. It's particularly durable. It's difficult to saw and work because it's abrasive. It has a good resistance against the acids, what explains its use for the making of the upper part of experiment tables.
It's used for decorative veneering but also for numerous other uses like the making of solid furniture for instance, skeleton of building, shipbuilding.
Genre Pterocarpus
Other names
of African Padauk
Corail
Tacula (Angola)
Osun (Nigeria)
Kisésé (Congo)
Other names of Padauk
Amboyna (Indonesia)
Maidou (Laos)
Pradoo (Thailand)
Padauk (Burman)
Danghuong
(Cambodia)
Mean dry weight
710 kg/m3
Specific weight
0.65 to 0.85 hard
Specific weight
0.56 to 0.80
semi-hard to hard
0.85 to 1.00 very hard (Padauk of Burman)
Genre Dalbergia
Other names
of Indian Rosewood
Bombay blackwood
Sisso
Indian rosewood
(India)
Ching-Chan (Thailand)
Burma rosewood (Burman)
Other name of Rio Rosewood
Jacaranda (Brasil)
Mean dry weight
870 kg/m3
Specific weight
0.85 to 1.05
hard to very hard
0.80 to 1.10 hard
(Rio Rosewood)
Entandrophragma cylindricum
Other names
Asi (Gabon)
Aboudikro
(Ivory Coast)
Penkwa (Ghana)
Lifaki (Zaïre)
Specific weight
0.60 to 0.75
semi-hard
Tectona grandis
Other names
Teak (Burman and India)
Djati (Java)
May Sak (Laos)
Mean dry weight
640 kg/m3
Specific weight
0.55 to 0.80 hard
The trees named Padauk come from the western Africa and, more particularly from Cameroon and Nigeria. However, the Andaman islands export them too. As for Burman, it supplied them in the past. There are middle high trees.
This chapter is intended to present to you some kinds of wood used in marquetry. Each wood will be described according to its technical qualities with a little biologic outline. Of course, this list isn't exhaustive and will be completed in the future.
