Falcon Timber | Products

AFROMOSIA

AMAZOUQUE

ASH

AYOUS

BEECH

BIRCH

BLACK WENGE

BUBINGA

CHERRY

DABEMA

FRAKE

IROKO

MAPLE

MERANTI

OKUME

RED OAK

SAPELE

TEAK

TIAMA

WALNUT

WAWA

WHITE OAK

YAYA

ZEBRANO

Products - Hardwoods

Common Name(s): Afromosia, Afrormosia, African Teak

Scientific Name: Pericopsis Elata

Distribution: West Africa

Average Dried Weight: 715 kg/ m³

Color: Yellowish brown, sometimes with a reddish or olive hue.

Grain: Straight or can also be interlocked.

Texture/Pore: Small pores and fine texture.

Durability: Very durable for use outdoors and decay resistant. It is also

resistant to termites and other insects.

Workability: Easy to work with both hand and machine tools. It glues well

and can be stained and polished leading to a good finish.

Scent: Distinct Scent while being worked.

Common Uses: boatbuilding, veneers, floorings and furniture.

Common Name(s): Amazique, Amazaqoue, Mozambique, Ovangkol

Scientific Name: Guibourtia Ehie

Distribution: Tropical west Africa

Average Dried Weight: 845 kg/m³

Color: Varying shades of yellowish to reddish brown body with darker brown,

gray, or black stripes.

Grain: Straight or slightly interlocked.

Texture/ Pores: Medium texture with medium pores.

Durability: Moderately durable, with good resistance to insect attack.

Workability: In general it is an easy wood to work with. However; it contains

silica which can dull cutters prematurely. It glues well and has a good finish.

Scent: Strong unpleasant scent when wet, which disappears once the wood

has dried.

Common Uses: Veneers, furniture, carpentry, turned objects, musical

instruments, and flooring.

Common Name(s): White Ash, American White Ash

Scientific Name: Fraxinus Americana

Distribution: Eastern North America

Average Dried Weight: 710 kg/ m³

Color: Light brown color, sometimes consists of darker shades.

Grain: Straight and regular, though sometimes curly or figured boards can be found.

Texture/ Pore: Has a medium to coarse texture similar to oak.

Durability: Slightly durable in regard to decay. It is not resistant to insect attack.

Workability: Easy to work, and takes glues, stains, and finishes well.

Scent: Can have a distinct, moderately unpleasant odor when being worked.

Common Uses: Flooring, millwork, boxes / crates, baseball bats, and other turned objects such as tool handles.

Common Name(s): Ayous, Wawa, Abache, Obeche, Samba

Scientific Name: Triplochiton Scleroxylon

Distribution: Africa

Average Dried Weight: 375kg/ m³

Color: Pale straw- yellow with a high natural luster giving it a silky shine.

Grain: Interlocked grain.

Texture/ Pores: Medium texture.

Durability: Not durable and is rapidly attacked by fungi in conditions favoring

decay.

Workability: It is easily used for sawing, machining and finishing. However, it is not

suitable for load bearing.

Scent: Unpleasant odor when wet, disappears when wood is dry.

Common Uses: Rotary veneer, plywood, block board, interior moldings, utility

furniture, shoe heels, sauna linings, toys and wood ware.

Common Name(s): European Beech

Scientific Name: Fagus Sylvatica

Distribution: Europe

Average Dried Weight: 720 kg/ m³

Color: Beech is typically a pale cream color, sometimes with a pink or brown

hue. It can exhibit a moderate amount of natural sheen.

Grain: Has an even grain structure

Texture/ Pores: Fine to medium texture, with closed pores.

Durability: Non- durable and is subject to insect attack.

Workability: It works well with machines and glues well leading to a good finish.

Beech responds fabulously to steam-bending. However, has a large amount of

movement in service as evidenced by its large shrinkage numbers. Hence

movement and wood stability must be taken into consideration when working with

beech.

Scent: No scent.

Common Uses: Lumber, veneer, flooring, boat-building, furniture, cabinetry, musical

Instruments (piano pin blocks), plywood, and turned objects.

Common Name(s): Yellow Birch

Scientific Name: Betula Alleghaniensis

Distribution: Northeastern North America

Average Dried Weight: 740kg/ m³

Color: light reddish brown.

Grain: Generally straight or slightly wavy.

Texture/Pores: It has a fine and even texture, and closed pores.

Durability: Non- durable and is subject to insect attacks.

Workability: Generally easy to work with hand and machine tools, though boards

with wild grain can cause grain tear out during machining operations. Turns, glues,

and finishes well.

Scent: No scent.

Common Uses: Plywood, boxes, crates, turned objects, interior trim, and small

specialty.

Common Name(s): Wenge

Scientific Name: Millettia Laurentii

Distribution: Africa (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zaire)

Average Dried Weight: 910 kg/m³

Color: Very dark brown with black streaks. However, it becomes lighter once

exposed to light.

Grain: Has a straight grain.

Texture/ Pores: Has a coarse texture and very large pores.

Durability: Very durable, and resistant to terminate attack.

Workability: Difficult to work with hand and power tools. Can sand unevenly due to

differences in density between light and dark areas.

Scent: Wenge has a faint, slightly bitter scent when being worked.

Common Uses: Flooring, tool handles, paneling, and furniture.

Common Name: Bubinga

Scientific Name: Guibourtia spp. (G. Demeusei, G. Pellegriniana, G.

Tessmannii, etc.)

Distribution: Equatorial Africa.

Average Dried Weight: 925 kg/ m³

Color: Pinkish red to a darker reddish brown with darker purple or black

streaks.

Grain: Most often interlocked.

Texture/ Pores: Has a very fine texture and small pores.

Durability: Range from moderately durable to very durable depending upon the

species. It is resistant to termites.

Workability: This varies according to subspecies. In general, it is easily worked

with and has a good finish. It contains silica which can prematurely dull cutting

edges. Gluing can be problematic due to Bubinga’s high density and natural

oils.

Scent: Unpleasant odor when the lumber is wet. This disappears after the wood

is dry.

Common Uses: Veneers, inlays, fine furniture, cabinetry, turnings, and other

specialty items. Since Bubinga trees can grow quite wide, natural-edge slabs of

the wood have also been used in tabletops and other specialized projects.

Common Name(s): Black Cherry, Cherry, American Cherry

Scientific Name: Prunus Serotina

Distribution: Eastern North America

Average Dried Weight: 595 kg/ m³

Color: Light pinkish brown when freshly cut, darkening to a deeper golden

brown with time and upon exposure to light.

Grain: Has close grains with a curly pattern.

Texture/Pores: Has a fine texture.

Durability: It is very durable and resistant to decay.

Workability: Cherry is known as being one of the best all-around woods for

workability. It is stable, straight-grained, and machines well. The only difficulties

typically arise if the wood is being stained, as it can sometimes give blotchy

results due to its fine, closed pores.

Scent: Has a mild, distinctive scent when being worked.

Common Uses: Cabinetry, fine furniture, flooring, interior millwork, veneer,

turned objects,and small specialty wood items.

Common Name(s): Dabema, Dahoma, Atui, Bokungu, Bukundu, Ekhimi, Elae,

Koungou, Likundu, M’Beli, Odan, Tom

Scientific Name: Piptadeniastrum Africanum

Distribution: Tropical West Africa

Average Dried Weight: 700kg/ m³

Color: Streaky yellowish brown

Grain: Broadly interlocked producing an attractive ribbon figure.

Texture/Pores: Coarse texture

Durability: Moderate to high durability and is resistant to termite attacks.

Workability: Works well, blunting of tooth edges most pronounced in sawing,

cutting angle of 15 degrees is suggested for planning knives to minimize tearing

of interlocked grain, nailing and gluing satisfactory, moderate wood- bending

characteristics.

Scent: Has a smell when wet and disappears once wood is dry.

Common Uses: Heavy construction, wharf decking and flooring. This is

characteristically an outdoor timber.

Common Name(s): Frake, Limba, Limbo, Nayer du Mayombe, Nganga, Ofram,

Afara, Korina, Kojagei

Scientific Name: Terminalia Superba

Distribution: West Africa

Average Dried Weight: 550kg/ m³

Color: Light yellow

Grain: Straight or interlocking grain.

Texture/Pores: Medium texture

Durability: Non- durable, not resistant to termites.

Workability: It works well with hand and machine tools, saws easily, glues well

and leads to a good finish.

Scent: Mild Scent.

Common Uses: Veneer for interior, furniture, interior joinery, interior paneling,

boxes crates, house framing, fiber or particle boards, pallets.

Common Name(s): Iroko

Scientific Name: Milicia Excelsa, M. Regia (syn.Chlorophora

Excelsa, C. Regia)

Distribution: Tropical Africa

Average Dried Weight: 675 kg/ m³

Color: Yellow to golden or medium brown, with color tending to darken over

time.

Grain: Interlocked.

Texture/ Pores: Medium to coarse texture, with open pores.

Durability: Very durable and is resistant to both rot and insect attack.

Workability: Generally easy to work with and glues well resulting in a good

finish. However, deposits of calcium carbonate are sometimes present, which

can have a significant dulling effect on cutters.

Scent: No scent.

Common Uses: Veneer, flooring, furniture, cabinetry, boatbuilding, turned

items, and other small specialty wood items. It could be an alternative instead

of teak.

Common Name(s): Hard Maple, Sugar Maple, Rock Maple

Scientific Name: Acer Saccharum

Distribution: Northeastern North America

Average Dried Weight: 705 kg/ m³

Color: Ranges from nearly white, to an off-white cream color, sometimes with a

reddish or golden hue.

Grain: Curly or quilted grain patterns.

Texture/ Pores: Has a fine, even, and uniform texture, and small pores that do

not require filling.

Durability: Non durable in regard to decay resistance.

Workability: Fairly easy to work with by both hand and machine tools, though

slightly more difficult than Soft Maple due to Hard Maple’s higher density. Maple

has a tendency to burn when being machined with high-speed cutters such as

in a router. Turns, glues, and finishes well, though blotches can occur when

staining, and a pre-conditioner, gel stain, or toner maybe necessary to get an

even color.

Scent: No Scent.

Common Uses: Flooring (from basketball courts and dance-floors to bowling

alleys and residential floorings), veneer, pulpwood, musical instruments, cutting

boards, butcher blocks, workbenches, baseball bats, and other turned objects

and specialty wood items.

Common Name(s): Dark Red Meranti, Lauan, Philippine Mahogany

Scientific Name: Shorea spp.

Distribution: Southeast Asia

Average Dried Weight: 710 kg/ m³

Color: Typically a dark reddish brown or purplish brown, with white resin

streaks present.

Grain: Grain is sometimes interlocked.

Texture/ Pores: Has a coarse texture with medium to large pores.

Durability: Reported as moderately-durable to non-durable with regard to decay

resistance, but is subject to insect attack.

Workability: Typically easy to work, though any interlocked grain can present

problems during planing, and Dark Red Meranti can have very poor steam-

bending properties. Some species may have a slight blunting effect on tools due

to small levels of silica present in the wood. Glues, stains, and finishes well.

Scent: There is no characteristic smell associated with this wood species.

Common uses: Plywood, interior furniture, general construction, concrete

forms, veneer, and boatbuilding.

Common Name(s): Acoume, Gaboon wood, Uume and Zouga.

Scientific Name: Aucoumea Klaineana

Distribution: A specie native to west-central Africa; in particular Gabon,

Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo.

Average Dried Weight: 430 kg/m³.

Color: Okoume heartwood is typically a lustrous pinkish-brown to light red with

a fine, uniform texture.

Grain: The grain is straight to slightly wavy and may be slightly interlocking.

Texture/ pore: The sapwood is pale and grayish, clearly demarcated from the

heartwood. Fresh-cut Okoume heartwood darkens with age and exposure to

light and air.

Durability: It is considered very soft, rendering it unsuitable for use in

situations requiring durability, such as flooring.

Workability: Okoume accepts stain and glue very well. However, even though

soft, this wood is only moderately easy to work by turning, carving, cutting or

planing. The wood nails well but is average or worse for holding screws. It is not

suitable for steam bending. Okoume peels and slices easily and evenly, and

this combines with its good acceptance of glue to give it wide use as veneer and

in plywood.

Scent: The cut wood is not resinous, and lacks any pronounced scent.

Common uses: Plywood, veneer, furniture and joinery.

Common Name(s): Red Oak

Scientific Name: Quercus rubra

Distribution: Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada.

Average Dried Weight: 725 kg/ m³

Color: Has a light to medium reddish-brown color, though there can be a fair

amount of variation in color.

Grain: Fairly coarse grain.

Texture/ Pores: Massive pores.

Durability: Slightly durable to non-durable.

Workability: Produces good results with hand and machine tools. Responds

well to steam-bending. Easy to glue, and takes stain and finishes very well.

Scent: Has a tell-tale smell that is common to most oaks. Most find it

appealing.

Common Uses: Cabinetry, furniture, interior trim, flooring, and veneer.

Common Name(s): Sapelli

Scientific Name: Entandrophragma cylindricum

Distribution: Africa

Average Dried Weight: 715 kg/m³

Color: Medium to dark reddish brown or purplish brown. Color tends to darken

with age.

Grain: Interlocked and sometimes wavy.

Texture/Pores: Fine texture and small pores.

Durability: Ranges from moderately durable to very durable in regard to decay

resistance. However, it is subject to insect attack.

Workability: It glues well and gives a good finish. However, it can be

troublesome to work in some machining operations due to its interlocked grain.

It also reacts when put into direct contact with iron, becoming discolored and

stained.

Scent: Sapele has a distinct, cedar-like scent while being worked.

Common Uses: Veneer, plywood, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, boatbuilding,

musical instruments, turned objects, and other small wooden specialty items. It

is sometimes used as a substitute to mahogany.

Common Name(s): Teak, Burmese Teak

Scientific Name: Tectona grandis

Distribution: Native to southern Asia, Teak is also widely grown on plantations

throughout tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Average Dried Weight: 650 kg/m³

Color: Golden or medium brown, color darkening with age.

Grain: Straight grains, however, can occasionally be wavy or interlocked.

Texture/ Pores: It has a coarse texture with medium-sized open pores. It has a

slightly oily or greasy feel due to its natural oils.

Durability: Very durable and is resistant to terminates.

Workability: Easy to work with machines and glues well; leading to a good

finish. However, due to its high level of silica it affects cutting edges and due to

natural oils, in some instances it may be necessary to wipe the surface of wood

with a solvent prior to gluing/finishing to reduce the negative working effects of

these natural oils on the surface of the wood.

Scent: Teak can have a leather-like scent when freshly milled.

Common Uses: Ship and boat-building, veneer, furniture, exterior construction,

carving, turnings, and other small wood objects.

Common Name(s): Tiama, Edinam, Gedu-Nohor, Dong omanguila, Abeubegne,

Kiluka, Mukusu

Scientific Name: Entandrophragma angolense

Average Dried Weight: 750kg/ m³

Color: Red brown, darkening slightly an exposure.

Grain: Slightly occasionally interlocked to high frequently interlocked.

Texture/Pores: Medium to coarse texture.

Durability: Ranges from not-durable to moderately durable.

Workability: Generally, Tiama works rather easily with hand and machine

tools, and has a low resistance to sawing. However, the lighter colored wood

tends to be woolly and more difficult to saw than darker Tiama. There can be

tearing of interlocked grain, but otherwise, a good finish is usually relatively

easy to obtain. Tiama nails and screws satisfactorily with good holding

properties. It also has good gluing properties. The wood has good polishing

characteristics and stains well and evenly.

Scent: No scent

Common Uses: Furniture, domestic flooring, interior fittings (stairs), interior

joinery (paneling).

Common Name(s): Black Walnut

Scientific Name: Juglans Nigra

Distribution: Eastern United States

Average Dried Weight: 655 kg/ m³

Color: Can range from a lighter pale brown to a dark chocolate brown with

darker brown streaks. Color can sometimes have a grey, purple, or reddish

cast.

Grain: The grain is usually straight, but can be irregular. It can be found with

figured grain patterns such as: curly, crotch, and burl.

Texture/Pores: Medium texture and mid-sized pores.

Durability: Very durable in terms of decay resistance, though it is subject to

insect attack.

Workability: Easy to work with provided the grain is straight and regular. It

glues, stains and finishes well. Responds well to steam bending.

Scent: Black Walnut has a faint, mild scent when being worked.

Common Uses: Furniture, cabinets, gunstocks, interior paneling, veneer, turned

items, and other small wooden objects and novelties.

Common Name(s): White Oak

Scientific Name: Quercus Alba

Distribution: Eastern United States

Average Dried Weight: 805 kg/ m³

Color: Has a light to medium brown color, though there can be a fair amount

of variation in color.

Grain: Has a fairly coarse grain.

Texture/ Pores: Has medium-to-large pores.

Durability: Good rot resistance.

Workability: Produces good results with hand and machine tools. Responds

well to steam-bending. Easy to glue, and takes stain and finishes very well.

Scent: Has a tell-tale smell that is common to most oaks. Most find it

appealing.

Common Uses: Cabinetry, furniture, interior trim, flooring, boatbuilding, barrels,

and veneers.

Common Name(s): Yaya, Asanfran, Bokanga, Edzui, Lati, Vatue

Scientific Name: Amphimas pterocarpoides

Distribution: Africa

Average Dried Weight: 775kg/ m³

Color: Yellowish white

Grain: Straight grain

Texture/Pores: Has a fairly coarse texture

Durability: Not durable regarding decay resistance.

Workability: Easy to work with machining, gluing and finishing. It has great

steaming characteristics.

Scent: No scent

Common Uses: Interior joinery, paneling, trim, furniture, veneer, plywood, doors

molding.

Common Name(s): Zebrawood, Zebrano

Scientific Name: Microberlinia Brazzavillensis

Distribution: West Africa

Average Dried Weight: 860 kg/m³

Color: light brown or cream color with dark blackish brown streaks vaguely

resembling a zebra’s stripes.

Grain: Interlocked or wavy.

Texture/ Pores: Fairly coarse texture and open pores.

Durability: Durable and is resistant to insect damage.

Workability: It can be very difficult to plane or surface due to the prevalence of

interlocking grain. It glues well and has a good finish. Pore filler may be desired

for the large open pores of the wood grains.

Scent: Has an unpleasant scent working with it.

Common uses: Veneer, tool handles, furniture, boatbuilding, and skis.

Common Name(s): Ayous, Wawa, Abache, Obeche, Samba

Scientific Name: Triplochiton Scleroxylon

Distribution: Africa

Average Dried Weight: 375kg/ m³

Color: Pale straw- yellow with a high natural luster giving it a silky shine.

Grain: Interlocked grain.

Texture/ Pores: Medium texture.

Durability: Not durable and is rapidly attacked by fungi in conditions favoring

decay.

Workability: It is easily used for sawing, machining and finishing. However, it is not

suitable for load bearing.

Scent: Unpleasant odor when wet, disappears when wood is dry.

Common Uses: Rotary veneer, plywood, block board, interior moldings, utility

furniture, shoe heels, sauna linings, toys and wood ware.