Wood Species

Name	Wood	Janka Rating
Bangkirai		1798

Bangkirai
Shorea laevis

Also known as: Anggelam, Balau, Benuas, Kumus, Penapak

Origin: Indonesia

Appearance:

The sapwood of bangkirai is a light pale brown, while the heartwood is more brownish-yellow in color. The species has a straight or interlocked grain and is smooth and glossy in texture.

Resistance, Durability:

Bangkirai is hearty, durable exotic wood species, somewhat durable in its exposed form with regards to decay. The wood remains smooth under friction and is reported to have no odor. However, Bangkirai does require extra care in drying as splitting and cracking has a tendency to occur.

Janka Hardness: 1798

As a flooring choice, bangkirai is a very hard and durable wood. It is close in hardness to African padauk, twenty-four percent harder than hard maple, about thirty-nine percent harder than red oak, and is roughly eighty-one percent as hard as santos mahogany's ranking of 2200.

Workability:

Bangkirai cuts rather easily and cleanly. Predrill before nailing to prevent splitting. This species sands easily yet requires extra effort to finish properly.

Main Uses:

Bangkirai's uses include flooring, housing, marine construction, and heavy construction.

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.