{"id":454,"date":"2009-01-06T18:44:03","date_gmt":"2009-01-07T00:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/?p=454"},"modified":"2023-08-23T05:31:31","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T10:31:31","slug":"african-padauk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/african-padauk\/","title":{"rendered":"African Padauk"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/a> > Hardwoods<\/a> > Fabaceae<\/a> > Pterocarpus <\/a>> <\/strong>soyauxii\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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DATA SOURCE(S):<\/a> 1,5,8,14,36<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"\"<\/a>
African padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Common Name(s):<\/strong><\/a> African padauk, vermillion<\/p>

Scientific Name:<\/strong><\/a> Pterocarpus soyauxii<\/i><\/p>

Distribution:<\/strong><\/a> Central and tropical west Africa<\/p>

Tree Size:<\/strong><\/a> 100-130 ft (30-40 m)<\/span> tall,<\/p>

                     2-4 ft (.6-1.2 m)<\/span> trunk diameter<\/p>

Average Dried Weight:<\/strong><\/a> 46.5 lbs\/ft3<\/sup> (745 kg\/m3<\/sup>)<\/span><\/p>

Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC)<\/strong><\/a>:<\/span> 0.63, 0.75<\/p>

Janka Hardness<\/strong><\/a>:<\/span> 1,710 lbf<\/sub> (7,580 N)<\/span><\/p>

Modulus of Rupture<\/strong><\/a>:<\/span> 18,380 lbf<\/sub>\/in2<\/sup> (126.7 MPa)<\/span><\/p>

Elastic Modulus<\/strong><\/a>:<\/span> 1,895,000 lbf<\/sub>\/in2<\/sup> (13.07 GPa)<\/span><\/p>

Crushing Strength<\/strong><\/a>:<\/span> 9,240 lbf<\/sub>\/in2<\/sup> (63.7 MPa)<\/span><\/p>

Shrinkage<\/strong><\/a>:<\/span> Radial: 3.1%, Tangential: 5.0%,<\/p>

                          Volumetric: 7.9%, T\/R Ratio: 1.6<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i> More images<\/strong><\/a> | <\/i> Identification<\/strong><\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Color\/Appearance:<\/strong><\/a> Heartwood color can vary, ranging from a pale pinkish orange to a deep brownish red. Most pieces tend to start a vibrant reddish orange when freshly cut, darkening substantially over time to a reddish\/purplish brown (some lighter-colored pieces can age to a grayish brown). UV-inhibiting finishes may prolong, but not prevent the gradual color-shift of this brightly colored wood. See the article Preventing Color Changes in Exotic Woods<\/a> for more information.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Grain\/Texture:<\/a> <\/strong>Grain is usually straight, but can sometimes be interlocked. With\u00a0a coarse, open texture and good natural luster.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Rot Resistance:<\/a> <\/strong>Has excellent decay resistance, and is rated as durable to very durable. Padauk is also reported to be resistant to termites and other insects.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Workability:<\/strong><\/a> Overall padauk is easy to work, though tearout may occur when planing quartersawn or interlocked grain. Padauk turns and glues well. Filling the large open pores is usually necessary if a smooth, glass-like surface is desired. Reactive oil-based finishes, such as polyurethane, may have curing issues<\/a> if the heartwood is not sealed properly beforehand.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Odor:<\/a> <\/strong>Padauk has a faint, pleasing scent while being worked.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Allergies\/Toxicity:<\/strong><\/a> Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, padauk has been reported as a sensitizer<\/a>. Usually most common reactions simply include eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity<\/a> and Wood Dust Safety<\/a> for more information.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Pricing\/Availability:<\/strong><\/a> Widely imported as lumber in a variety of lengths and thicknesses, as well as turning and craft blanks (though with increasing levels of scarcity and trade restrictions.) Should be moderately priced for an import.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Sustainability:<\/strong><\/a> African padauk is listed in CITES Appendix II under the genus-wide restriction of all Pterocarpus<\/em> species from Africa. Curiously, this popular commercial timber has not yet been evaluated by the IUCN and is therefore not on the Red List of Threatened Species.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Common Uses:<\/strong><\/span> Veneer, flooring, turned objects, musical instruments, furniture, tool handles, and other small specialty wood objects.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Comments:<\/strong><\/span> Padauk has a very unique reddish orange coloration, and the wood is sometimes referred to by the name vermillion. It’s moderately heavy, strong, and stiff, with exceptional stability. Padauk is a popular hardwood among hobbyist woodworkers because of its unique color and relatively low cost. It also occupies a sweet spot in density where it’s sufficiently hard and dense for higher-wear applications, yet not so dense as to be excessively difficult to work.<\/p>

This wood species has a number of variant spellings and pronunciations, with a few being predominant. Padauk is the most common spelling, followed by padouk, paduk, and paduak. The most common pronunciation is pah-DUKE, followed by PAD-oak; it is sometimes mispronounced as Paducah\u2014a city in Kentucky.<\/p>

The unusual and decidedly non-Latin specific epithet soyauxii\u00a0<\/em>is in honor of Hermann Soyaux, a German botanist who went on several expeditions to West Africa in the 19th century. In addition to P. soyauxii,<\/em> there are a handful of other less-common species sold interchangeably as padauk, such as P. osun<\/em> and P. tinctorius<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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