TAUN Pometia pinnata

USES

Flooring & staircase materials. Exterior joinery (out-of-ground): including screening, pre-treated decking, gazebos, pergolas. Furniture: including custom made and production line. Boat building: including ribs, planking. Speciality uses: Musical instruments, including piano frames. Interior: including joinery, door jambs. Building Construction (F17).

● A popular timber in Japan for production-line furniture since it stains uniformly to a colour of choice. The timber has good moulding and finishing properties and has been used in Japan for piano frames.

● The timber ranges in colour from a pale pinkish-brown through to a reddish-brown. Some trees produce a fiddleback type figure, similar to that of sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum) of West and Central Africa, thus making it an attractive and appealing timber for architects, furniture designers and furniture manufacturers. Pometia is a suitable substitute for Lauan, Seraya & Meranti.

● A very good multi-purpose timber, ideal for general building and construction purposes including bearers and joists. Due to its availability in large sections, it makes an excellent timber for staircase materials as well as for flooring. It also has excellent steam-bending properties, and is used in boat-building for a number of purposes, including ribs and planking.

● The timber can be kiln dried satisfactorily. However, preliminary air drying is recommended to alleviate degrade. All material should be quarter sawn.

● When working with seasoned timber, sander dust may irritate the mucous membranes. Workshops should be well ventilated and staff should wear face masks or respirators.

P RO P E R T I E S

Density 680kg/m3 (av.) @12% m.c Colour Pinkish brown to pale reddish brown. Texture Medium, slightly uneven; semi lustrous. Grain Usually straight; sometimes wavy. Figure Cathedral-like figure on back sawn faces. Ribbon or banded figure on quarter sawn faces. Durability Durable in exterior situations out of the ground. Permeability Heartwood, resistant to pressure impregnation. Lyctid susceptibility Susceptible.

WO R K A B I L I T Y

General Good working and finishing properties. Sawing Readily sawn with little blunting effect. Planing Reduction in cutting angle to 20° recommended. Blunting Low. Boring Good characteristics. Some slight burning may occur. Turning Good characteristics producing sharp arrises; finish sometimes slightly fibrous. Nailing Nails well, but pre-drilling advisable to prevent splitting on board ends. Gluing Glues well with all adhesives. Finishing Polishes very well, giving a lustrous surface.

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

Strength SD5 (seasoned). Structural Grade F17 (select grade). Toughness (Izod) 14J (seasoned), 14J (unseasoned). Hardness (Janka) 6.5kN (seasoned), 4.2kN (unseasoned). Max. Crushing Strength 60 MPa (seasoned), 31 MPa (unseasoned). Modulus of Elasticity 14 GPa (seasoned), 11 GPa (unseasoned). Modulus of Rupture 106 MPa (seasoned), 67 MPa (unseasoned).

S E A S O N I N G

General Seasons well but some collapse can occur. A high humidity re-conditioning treatment needs to be applied. Movement Medium. Shrinkage Medium.