Is Sapele A Hardwood

A word of caution to contractors and carpenters however.

Is sapele a hardwood.

Sapele is technically a hardwood or a deciduous tree. 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. Sapele is derived in central africa and is a very common hardwood in europe especially germany.

It s harder than both honduran and african mahogany. Interesting sapele hardwood facts. It is occasionally used as a substitute for genuine mahogany and is sometimes referred to as sapele mahogany. Sapele is actually somewhat soft for a hardwood although it is still harder than mahogany and it is therefore very gentle on tools.

Sapele is an excellent grade quality hardwood. Also like mahogany sapele is a popular wood for guitar necks. Sapele comes from west africa and its scientific name is entandrophragma cylindricum. Maple trees are classified as either hard or soft.

Sapele is a commonly exported and economically important african wood species. This is no surprise given that it s quite a hard wood but is still easy to carve. Be sure to take care while machining this wood. Rich heartwood colored in golden and dark reddish brown is perfect for use in creating expensive furniture musical and specialty objects.

It s sold both in lumber and veneer form. Sapele hardwood lumber is commonly used to manufacture guitars and ukeleles. 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. 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.

It is darker in tone and has a distinctive figure typically applied where figure is important. Sapele hardwood lumber is twice as hard as maple and has a strength similar to oak. Sound characteristics of sapele. An array mbira made of sapele wood this commercially important hardwood is reminiscent of mahogany and is a part of the same meliaceae family.

Sustainably sourced it also has a number of benefits of other popular but less sustainable hardwoods. Sapele is a dusty lumber and this fine dust can cause respiratory problems and skin irritation.