Is Sapele A Hardwood
It is darker in tone and has a distinctive figure typically applied where figure is important.
Is sapele a hardwood. Hard maple is a workable wood resistant to abrasion with a uniform texture and fine grain. Sapele is a hardwood and is one of europe s most desired woods for handcrafted window frames and doors. But to answer to more common question it is also a quite hard wood when you compare it to the typical north american species and much harder than much of the typical exterior woods like cedar and cypress. Sapele is a dusty lumber and this fine dust can cause respiratory problems and skin irritation.
Also like mahogany sapele is a popular wood for guitar necks. An array mbira made of sapele wood this commercially important hardwood is reminiscent of mahogany and is a part of the same meliaceae family. It s harder than both honduran and african mahogany. Sapele is an excellent grade quality hardwood.
Sapele hardwood lumber is twice as hard as maple and has a strength similar to oak. This is no surprise given that it s quite a hard wood but is still easy to carve. Maple trees are classified as either hard or soft. Sapele is technically a hardwood or a deciduous tree.
While reminiscent of mahogany indeed it s part of the same family it s much harder than both its african or american counterparts and with respect to resistance to indentation bending strength stiffness and resistance to shock loads is practically equal with english oak. The wood is strong stiff and shock resistant. Sapele is actually somewhat soft for a hardwood although it is still harder than mahogany and it is therefore very gentle on tools. Be sure to take care while machining this wood.
Sapele is derived in central africa and is a very common hardwood in europe especially germany. Sapele is a commonly exported and economically important african wood species. A word of caution to contractors and carpenters however. Rich heartwood colored in golden and dark reddish brown is perfect for use in creating expensive furniture musical and specialty objects.
It is occasionally used as a substitute for genuine mahogany and is sometimes referred to as sapele mahogany. Sustainably sourced it also has a number of benefits of other popular but less sustainable hardwoods. Sugar maple and black maple are hard. Sapele hardwood lumber is commonly used to manufacture guitars and ukeleles.
Sapele is a hardwood from tropical africa that successfully emulates the characteristics that have made mahogany so popular. Sound characteristics of sapele.