DILLENIA Dillenia solomonensis 

USES

Building Construction (F17). Flooring; solid strip and overlay. Exterior joinery (upon preservative treatment) including; gazebos, pergolas etc. Furniture; including custom made and cabinet work. Speciality uses; including sliced/decorative veneer. Interior; wall linings (feature), panels.

● Round logs have, in the past, been exported to Japan, South Korea and other Asian countries, where they have been used for plywood and furniture manufacture. Sawn parcels have also been exported to New Zealand for a range of uses including furniture and cabinet work. The timber’s full market potential is yet to be realised.

● The wood is reddish-brown in colour, sometimes with a faint, purplish caste. It has an attractive silvery 'oak-like' figure on radial faces, due to the timber’s broad rays. Sometimes it has black bands on quarter-sawn faces. The wood is moderately coarse, but even in texture and slightly lustrous. Grain, straight or with slight interlock. Is very similar to Simpoh.

● The timber can be difficult to dry. It has a high shrinkage and requires great care in stacking and drying so as to alleviate distortion and degrade. All timber should be quarter-sawn since back sawn boards are prone to severe twist, bow, cupping and checking. However, quarter sawn boards tend to spring immediately after sawing.

● An attractive and decorative timber suitable for a range of end-uses. It has been successfully rotary-peeled for veneer and plywood. Slices very well producing an attractive and decorative face when cut on the full quarter. Suitable for flooring, furniture and cabinet work and interior wall linings. Its permeability to pressure impregnation renders it suitable for exterior joinery, posts and beams, and for boat-building. It is prone to blue stain and termite attack and requires a prophylactic treatment after milling.

P RO P E R T I E S

Density 530-620 kg/m3 @ 12% m.c Colour Red-brown; sometimes with purplish caste. Texture Moderately coarse but even; slightly lustrous. Grain Straight or slightly interlocked. Figure Highly decorative; silvery 'oak-like' figure on radial faces due to presence of broad rays. Durability Non-durable. Permeability Variable in its uptake of salts under pressure. Lyctid susceptibility Sapwood is rarely susceptible.

WO R K A B I L I T Y

General With care, the timber works well. Sawing Saws without undue difficulty. Tendency for saw dust to clog the saw gullets. Planing Good characteristics; slight roughness on radial faces. Blunting Moderate. Boring Relatively easy but rough finish. Turning Turns well to smooth finish. Nailing Pre-drilling advisable when nailing near board ends. Gluing Satisfactory. Finishing With care, takes an excellent high polish.

M E C H A N I C A L P R O P E R T I E S

Strength SD5 Structural Grade F22 (select grade). Toughness (Izod) 11J (seasoned), 9J (unseasoned). Hardness (Janka) 6.5kN (seasoned), 4.2kN (unseasoned). Max. Crushing Strength 45MPa (seasoned), 25MPa (unseasoned). Modulus of Elasticity 12GPa (seasoned), 10GPa (unseasoned). Modulus of Rupture 80MPa (seasoned), 50MPa (unseasoned).

S E A S O N I N G

General Careful stacking and drying is essential. Movement Medium. Shrinkage Very high.