SANTOS MAHOGANY/CABRREUVA
Myroxylon balsamum
Appearance
Color: Dark reddish brown.
Grain: Striped figuring in quartersawn selections; texture is even and very fine.
Variations Within Species And Grades: Moderate color variation.
Properties
Hardness/Janka: 2200; 71% harder than Northern red oak.
Dimensional Stability: Above average (change coefficient .00238; 36% more stable than red oak).
Durability: Excellent.
Workability
Sawing/Machining: Moderately difficult due to hardness; carbine tooling recommended.
Sanding: Sands satisfactorily.
Nailing: Good holding ability.
Finishing: No known problems.
Comments: Some respiratory allergic potential.
Cost
(relative to plainsawn select red oak)
Multiplier: 1.55
Availability
Moderately available.
Source: National Wood Flooring Association
Brazilian Cherry
Jatoba Hymenaea courbaril
Appearance
Color: Sapwood is gray-white; heartwood is salmon red to orange-brown when fresh, and becomes russet or reddish brown when seasoned; often marked with dark streaks.
Grain: Mostly interlocked; texture is medium to rather coarse.
Variations Within Species And Grades: Moderate to high color variation. Properties
Properties
Hardness/Janka: 2350; 82% harder than Northern red oak.
Dimensional Stability: Average (change coefficient .00300; 19% more stable than red oak).
Durability: Dense and very strong.
Workability
Sawing/Machining: Sawing is difficult due to high density; requires frequent resharpening of tools. Planing is difficult due to interlocked grain. Can be machined to a smooth surface. Carbide tooling recommended.
Sanding: Sands well.
Nailing: Good holding ability, but due to hardness may require adjustment of angle of penetration and/or height.
Finishing: No known problems.
Comments: Light-sensitive; darkens rapidly upon exposure to sunlight.
Cost
(relative to plainsawn select red oak)
Multiplier: 1.30
Availability
Readily available.
Source: National Wood Flooring Association
Ipe (Walnut Brazilian)
Appearance
Color: Can vary from light yellowish tan with green overtones to almost blackish brown; exhibits a large range of coloration when freshly milled; darkens over time to medium to dark brown.
Grain: Fine to medium, straight to very irregular.
Variations Within Species And Grades:
Properties
Hardness/Janka: 3680; 185% harder than Northern Red Oak
Dimensional Stability: Average (8.0; 7% more stable than red oak).
Durability:
Workability
Sawing/Machining: Difficult, especially with hand tools
Sanding: Difficult. This wood is identified as dense and oily. Scratches are easily seen – each sanding must carefully remove the scratches from the previous cut, or sanding marks will be visible in the finish.
Nailing: Standard nailing involves using 2-inch cleats or staples driven at a 50-degree angle using a pneumatic driver. An optimal method is to predrill with a 7/16 inch countersink bit and hand nail every 8 inches on center and every 16 inches on the joist line
Finishing: Test all products before using them on the actual floor. Oil-modified finishes may not dry if standard procedures are followed. Moisture-cure urethane, conversion varnish, or water base finishes are generally more successful. Alternate method is sealin
Comments: Has been known to cause contact dermatitis.
Availability
Readily available.
Source: National Wood Flooring Association
Cumaru
Appearance
Color: At first, red-brown or purple-brown with light yellow-brown or purple streaks, after exposure uniform light brown or yellow-brown.
Grain: Fine texture, interlocked, waxy or oily feel.
Variations Within Species And Grades: Dramatic shading that mellows as the floors matures.
Properties
Hardness/Janka: 3540; 174% harder than Northern red oak
Dimensional Stability: Average (7.6; 7% more stable than red oak).
Durability:
Workability
Sawing/Machining: Works well, but is very hard – use carbide blades and bits.
Sanding: Difficult. Scratches are easily seen – each sanding
Suggested Sequence:
First Cut: 36 or 40
Second Cu: 50 or 60
Third Cut: 80
Hard Plate: 100
Screen: 80, then 100
Nailing: Predrilling and hand-nailing is preferred.
Finishing: Test all products before using them on the actual floor. Oil-modified finishes may not dry if standard procedures are followed. Moisture-cure urethane, conversion varnish, or water base finishes are generally more successful.
Comments: Has been known to cause contact dermatitis.
Availability
Moderately available.
Source: National Wood Flooring Association
Oak (White)
Quercus alba
Appearance
Color: Heartwood is light brown; some boards may have a pinkish tint or a slight grayish cast. Sapwood is white to cream.
Grain: Open, with longer rays than red oak. Occasional crotches, swirls and burls. Plainsawn boards have a plumed or flared grain appearance; riftsawn has a tighter grain pattern, low figuring; quartersawn has a flake pattern, sometimes called tiger rays or butt
Variations Within Species And Grades: Considerable variation among boards in color and grain texture, but variations not as pronounced as in red oak.
Properties
Hardness/Janka: 1360; 5% harder than Northern red oak.
Dimensional Stability: Average (change coefficient .00365, 1% more stable than red oak).
Durability: More durable than red oak. Tannic acid in the wood protects it from fungi and insects.
Workability
Sawing/Machining: Excellent machining qualities.
Sanding: Good resistance to splitting; excellent holding ability.
Nailing: Good resistance to splitting; excellent holding ability.
Finishing: Absorbs finishes more evenly than red oak. Does not bleach well.
Comments: During the finishing process, tannins at the surface can react with some liquids to turn wood gren or brown. This effect tends to be more pronounced with products that have a high water content, such as bleach and water-based finishes.
Cost
(relative to plainsawn select red oak)
Multiplier: .95
Availability
Commodity item, available in nearly all types, styles and sizes of flooring, including parquet, strip, plank and veneer, both unfinished and prefinished.
Source: National Wood Flooring Association
Oak (Red)
Quercus spp.
Appearance
Color: Heartwood and sapwood are similar, with sapwood lighter in color; most pieces have a reddish tone. Slightly redder than white oak.
Grain: Open, slightly coarser (more porous) than white oak. Plainsawn boards have a plumed or flared grain appearance; riftsawn has a tighter grain pattern, low figuring; quartersawn has a flake pattern, sometimes called tiger rays or butterflies.
Variations Within Species And Grades: More than 200 subspecies in North America; great variation in color and grain, depending on the origin of the wood and corresponding differences in growing seasons. Northern, Southern and Appalachian red oak can all be divided into upland and lowland spec
Properties
Hardness/Janka: Northern 1290 (benchmark).
Dimensional Stability: Average (change coefficient .00369).
Durability: Stiff and dense; resists wear, with high shock resistance, tough less durable than white oak.
Workability
Sawing/Machining: Above average in all machining operations except shaping.
Sanding: Sands satisfactorily, better than white oak.
Nailing: Good resistance to splitting; excellent holding ability.
Finishing: Strong stain contrast because of large pores.
Comments: Red oak generally works better than white for bleached floors, because it is more porous and accepts bleach better, and because tannins in white oak can discolor floor.
Cost
(relative to plainsawn select red oak)
Multiplier: 1.00(plainsawn), 1.30(quartersawn),1.65 (riftsawn)
Availability
Commodity Item, available in all types, styles and sizes of flooring, including parquet, strip, plank and veneer, both unfinished and prefinished.
Source: National Wood Flooring Association
Maple (Hard)
Acer saccharum
Appearance
Color: Heartwood is creamy white to light reddish brown; sapwood is pale to creamy white.
Grain: Closed, subdued grain, with medium figuring and uniform texture. Occasionally shows quilted, fiddleback, curly or bird's-eye figuring. Figured boards often culled during grading and sold at a premium.
Variations Within Species And Grades: Black maple (B. nigrum) is also hard; other species are classified as soft.
Properties
Hardness/Janka: 1450; 12% harder than Northern red oak.
Dimensional Stability: Average (change coefficient .00353; 4% more stable than red oak). However actual installation experience shows that maple is more likely to expand than oak or jatoba.
Durability: Dense, strong, tough, stiff; excellent shock resistance - often used in bowling alleys and athletic facilities. Markedly resistant to abrasive wear.
Workability
Sawing/Machining: Density makes machining difficult.
Sanding: Sands satisfactorily.
Nailing: Fair resistance to splitting; good holding ability.
Finishing: Takes neutral finish well; does not stain uniformly.
Comments: Light color lends itself to contemporary light floors. Extra care must be taken during sanding and finishing, as sanding marks and finish lines are more obvious due to maple's density and light color.
Cost
(relative to plainsawn select red oak)
Multiplier: 1.30
Availability
Commodity item; figured grains limited.
Source: National Wood Flooring Association
