Wood Species

Name	Wood	Janka Rating
Bloodwood		2900

Bloodwood
Brosimum rubescens

Also known as: Cardinal wood, Conduru, Muirapiranga, Satine rubane, Satine rouge, Satinjout

Origin: South America (Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname)

Appearance:

The heartwood of this species varies from a grayish red to a deep, rich crimson. The texture of bloodwood is exceedingly fine and smooth, almost silky, and the grain can range from straight to variable. This wood is quite lustrous and may have variegated red and yellow stripes. Untreated, bloodwood ages to a deep brown color. To preserve the distinctive red color of the wood, lacquer can be applied to extend aging.

Resistance, Durability:

Bloodwood is durable and has high crushing and bending strength. While it possesses characteristics of medium stiffness and resistance to shock, it does tend to splinter. This wood is very resistant to decay and insects; these resistant properties may contribute to a possible allergic response to the dust.

Janka Hardness: 2900

As a flooring choice, Bloodwood is a very hard wood flooring species. It is just over one hundred and twenty-four percent harder than red oak, twice as hard as hard maple, slightly over fifty-nine percent harder than hickory or pecan, nearly fifty-one percent harder than jarrah, and just under one third harder than santos mahogany's ranking of 2200.

Workability:

Despite being hard and tough, bloodwood works easily with both hand and power tools. If you are nailing the wood, it may require pre-drilled holds to prevent splitting. It holds screws well, and it glues, stains, and polishes to a very attractive finish. To avoid a possible allergic reaction to the material, wear a dusk mask and long-sleeve shirt when working with bloodwood.

Main Uses:

Bloodwood is widely used in wood flooring, cabinetry, furniture, decorative inlays and veneers, and marquetry work.

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.