Wood Species

Name	Wood	Janka Rating
Padauk		1725

Padauk
Pterocarpus soyauxii

Also known as: African Coralwood, Barwood, Bosulu, Comwood, Corail, Mbe, Mbil, Mtuti, Ngula, Vermillion, Yomo

Origin: Central and tropical West Africa, especially in dense equatorial rain forest regions.

Appearance:

Although the sapwood of padauk tends to be a very uniform cream or pale beige color, the heartwood is prized for its rich reddish orange tone which over time seasons nicely to a dark reddish- or purple-brown color, or even black. Padauk has a moderately coarse texture, with large pores and a grain that can be straight or interlocked.

Resistance, Durability:

White oak is slightly harder than red oak, and also more durable. However, both types are notably stiff and dense, have high shock resistance, and resist wear. Because of the high concentration of tannic acid in white oak, it is particularly resistant to fungi and insects.

Janka Hardness: 1725

As a flooring choice, padauk is one of the harder wood species. It is over one third harder than red oak, is just over eighteen percent harder than hard maple, about five percent harder than wenge, and approaches seventy-eight percent of santos mahogany's ranking of 2200.

Workability:

Padauk saws well, but because of its hardness and density it requires a slow saw rate. For best results, carbide tools are recommended. Although it machines easily, there may be some tearing of the interlocked grain. It sands satisfactorily and has good holding ability. Padauk can be finished to an eye catching sheen without the need for staining. The wood has a tendency to bleed when finished with stains, but it has been found that water-based finishes may hold color better than other types when applied to padauk.

Main Uses:

This exceptionally vivid and striking wood species is most often used for decorative purposes, as in wood flooring and veneers, inlay, broad building, fine joinery, fancy turnery, tool and knife handles, and carvings.

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.