Gonfolo (Qualea albiflora)
Family: Vochysiaceae
Common names: Gonfolo, Grignon Fou, Gronfolo, Guaruba, Kouali, Mandio, Mandioqueira, Quaruba
Distributed in: Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname (Latin America)
Distribution overview: Species in the genus Qualea are well represented throughout tropical America, from southern Mexico to Peru, and are most common in the Guianas and Brazil.
Common uses: Beams, Building construction, Building materials, Cabin construction, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Concrete formwork, Construction, Core Stock, Decks, Decorative plywood, Decorative veneer, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Domestic flooring, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Factory construction, Factory flooring, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Flooring, Form work, Foundation posts, Framing, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Heavy construction, Interior construction, Interior trim, Joinery, Joists, Kitchen cabinets, Millwork, Plywood, Veneer
Environment profile: Status has not been officially assessed
Tree size: Trunk diameter is 150-200 cm
Colors: the heart isPurple, Redand the sapwoodBrown - light grayish , Yellowish.The grain isStraight to interlocked, the textureMedium to coarseand the luster
Some pieces may have a golden luster
Natural durability: Moderately durable, Moderately resistant to attack by termites
Odor: No specific smell or taste
Silica Content: Contains silica
Silica accumulations of 0.10% (of ovendry weight) have been reported. Accumulations of 0.05% is generally regarded as the threshold above which machining properties become affected
Kiln Schedules: US=T3-D2/T3-D1
Kiln Drying Rate: Naturally dries slowly
Drying Defects: Staining, Warping can be expected
Ease of Drying: Slowly
Comments: Bears some resemblance to Spanish cedar (Cedrela )Varies widely in appearance and properties
Blunting Effect: High effect due to high silica content
Cutting Resistance: Difficult to saw
Gluing: Satisfactory gluing properties
Nailing: Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult
Planing:
Qualea woods are generally difficult to plane, turn, mould, bore, and work in most machining operations, especially material containing roey grain. They tend to blunt cutting edges rather severely and rapidly because of high accumulations of silica
Resistance to Impregnation: Resistant sapwood
Response to hand tools: Fairly Difficult to Difficult to Work
Veneering qualities: Difficult to veneer
Steam bending: Very Good to Excellent Results
Painting: Fair to Good; Polishing: Fair to Good; Staining: Fair to Good;
- Numerical data Metric
- Numerical data English
- Strength properties
- References
|
|
|
|
Item |
Green |
Dry |
Metric |
Specific Gravity |
0,49 |
0,54 |
|
Density |
|
|
kg/m3 |
Bending Strength |
623 |
995 |
kg/cm2 |
Crushing Strength |
46 |
50 |
kg/cm2 |
Hardness |
|
404 |
kg |
Impact Strength |
|
|
cm |
Shearing Strength |
|
104 |
kg/cm2 |
Stiffness |
115 |
135 |
1000 kg/cm2 |
Tangential Shrinkage |
8 |
|
% |
Radial Shrinkage |
4 |
|
% |
Weight |
|
|
kg/m3 |
Maximum Load |
0,49 |
0,63 |
cm-kg/cm3 |
Toughness |
|
108 |
cm-kg |
Static Bending |
410 |
713 |
kg/cm2 |
|
| | | | Item | Green | Dry | English | Bending Strength | 8869 | 14161 | psi | Crushing Strength | 666 | 725 | psi | Hardness | | 892 | lbs | Maximum Crushing Strength | 4694 | 8173 | psi | Shearing Strength | | 1490 | psi | Static Bending | 5841 | 10143 | psi | Stiffness | 1637 | 1931 | 1000 psi | Toughness | | 94 | inch-lbs | Work to Maximum Load | 7 | 9 | inch-lbs/in3 | Specific Gravity | 0.49 | 0.54 | | Radial Shrinkage | 4 | | % | Tangential Shrinkage | 8 | | % | Volumetric Shrinkage | 11 | | % | |
Resists denting and marring Fairly hard Compression strength (parallel to grain) = high Comparable to teak Bending strength (MOR) = high Air-Dried condition about 12% moisture content
Other species in this range include Teak, White oak, and Hard maple
Chichignoud, M., G. Deon, P. Detienne, B. Parant and P. Vantomme.1990.Tropical Timber Atlas of Latin America.International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO, Centre Technique Forestier Tropical, Division of CIRAD, 45 bis Avenue de la Belle Gabrielle, Nogent-sur-Marne, CEDEX, France.Chudnoff, M.,1984,Tropical Timbers of the World,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products,Laboratory, Madison.Record, S.J. and R.W. Hess. 1943. Timbers of the New World. Published on the Charles Lathrop Pack Foundation, Yale University Press, New Haven CT.Wangaard, F.F., and A.F. Muschler. 1952. Tropical Woods - Properties and Uses of Tropical Woods, Volume III, No. 98. School of Forestry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
|