Wood Species

Name	Wood	Janka Rating
Andiroba		1220

Andiroba
Carapa guianensis

Also known as:

Bateo, Carapa, Crabwood, Crappo, Figueroa, Masabalo, Tangere

Origin: Central and Latin America

Appearance:

The sapwood of andiroba is pink when freshly cut but very soon turns to a pale grayish-brown after exposure to air. The heartwood is reddish brown when freshly cut and dulls slightly in shade with age. The species has a straight and sometimes interlocked grain and is medium to mildly coarse in texture.

Resistance, Durability:

Andiroba has no strong odor, dries easily, and has high quality dimensional stability characteristics.

Janka Hardness: 1220

As a flooring choice, andiroba is a hard and durable wood. This species is almost thirty-six percent harder than cedar, is just under one percent softer than either movingui or heart pine, it is roughly ninety-four percent as hard as red oak, roughly eighty-four percent as hard as hard maple, and is about two thirds as hard as either hickory or pecan.

Workability:

Andiroba is relatively easy to cut and shows only slight dulling effects on tools. The wood does have a tendency to split under nailing so pre-boring will be a necessity. Screws hold well with andiroba flooring. Andiroba is reported to take stain and polish well.

Main Uses:

Some of andiroba's uses include flooring, interior construction, cabinetry, veneer, furniture, and stairworks.

What is a Janka Rating?

"It is one of the best measures of the ability of a wood species to withstand denting and wear. It is also a good indicator of how hard a species is to saw or nail.

The hardness of wood usually varies with the direction of the wood grain.

A common use of Janka hardness ratings is to determine whether a species is suitable for use as flooring."

Colored Bamboo

Some species have different janka ratings depending on how they have been treated.

Bamboo is one example of this. If left with a natural finish, Bamboo falls at 1380 on the hardness scale. If you carbonize it to get a darker color, the rank falls to 1180.