Wamara – (Swartzia leiocalycina)
Scientific Name: Swartzia leiocalycina
Family: Caesalpiniaceae
Common Name: Wamara, Brown Ebony, Ironwood
International Trade Name: Wamara
Wood Appearance
Heartwood chocolate to purplish brown with darker purple streaks, giving the wood and attractive appearance. White sap wood, pale in color, sharply demarcated from heartwood. Grain straight sometimes irregular. Texture fine.
Sapwood and heartwood often used in furniture to give two – toned effect.
Physical and Mechanical Properties
A very hard, very heavy wood with medium movement. Excellent mechanical strength
| Average Dried Weight: | 1000 to 1200 kg/m3 (62-73 lb/ft3) |
| Modulus of Rapture (Bending Strength) at 12% N/mm² | 213 |
| Janka Hardness | 12% MC |
| Elastic Modulus at 12% N/mm² | 23630 |
| Crushing Strength at 12% N/mm²: | 110 |
| Shrinkage: | Radial: 3.1 – 4.0% Tangential: 5.1 – 6.5% |
| Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): | .87 |
Natural Durability:
Heartwood durable and extremely resistant to insect and decay, but not to marine borers. The heartwood resists preservative treatment, but the sapwood is also not durable but permeable.
Timber Processing:
Drying: dries slowly with appreciable surface checking and end-splitting, but distortion is not serious.
Sawing: Power required
Machining: Difficult because of hardness and interlocked grain, power required. Easy to scape and sand and gives a fine finish.
Nailing: Pre-boring necessary, difficult to nail and screw and liable to split but fastenings are held well.
Working: difficult to work owing to harness and interlocked grain. Easy to scape and sand and gives a fine finish.
Finishes: finishes smoothly and polishes well. Stains will not penetrate the timber.
Uses:
Suitable for interior decorative work and fittings. Can be used for cabinet work, furniture making flooring. Very suitable for inlay and turnery.