The newest hardwoods out of Africa

This is the rtrst of a two-part article on the hardwoods of Ghana-ed.

/A HANA. a hardwood-rich coun1l try on the west coast of Africa, has been exporting logs and sawn wood for decades. Still, only a handful of its more than 200 different species are known on the world market. Years ago the country's output was limited to shipments of mahogany in log form, though now a variety of hardwoods in many forms are each year being introduced to international importers.

In February, for example, the Timber Export Development Board of Ghana invited woodsmen from around the globe to a week-long international furniture and woodworking industry exhibition to showcase its extensive catalog of woods.

African mahogany (Khaya ivorensis) was the first and remains a leading export from Ghana. Readily available, the reddish-brown wood's pattern illustrates a very distinct, pleasing grain. The durable product is highly lustrous and relatively hard, working and polishing well.

Very similar in appearance to African mahogany is gedu nohor (Entandrophragma angolense). A large buttressed tree reaching heights of 190 ft. and widths of l7 ft.,it has medium hardness, weight, durability and strength properties. It features great working qualities, sawing easily and cleanly and working easily with very little dulling effect on cutting edges. The wood also planes and turns well, with good boring, nailing, screwing and gluing capabilities, in addition to finishing well. It is used as a decorative wood for paneling, shop and bank fittings, furniture and high-class joinery.

Niangon (Tarrietia atilrU also has red-brown heartwood, yet its resemblance to mahogany is mostly superficial. It surpasses African mahogany in hardness and staunchly resists shearing, splitting and compression. The woods work easily and readily. Suitable uses include furniture, building, joinery, cabinet work, mouldings, boat building, greenhouses and stretchers.

Elegant avodire (Turraeanthus africanus) is said to work just as easily. With its natural satiny luster, the wood is a pale cream color tending to darken to a golden yellow with no distinction between the heartwood and sapwood. The grain is often irregularly interlocked and such timber has a beautiful mottled figure when quarter sawn.

Story at a Glance

West African country of Ghana is home to hundreds of little known hardwoods.. features and qualities of the various species.. Other woods ioin long-time export mahogany.

for plywood, box boarding and railway coach paneling, figured material for sliced veneers, high-grade cabinet work and paneling, and general joinery work of all kin$s.

Dahomt (Piptadeniastrum africanum) grows up to 150 ft. high and 16 ft. in girth, with tall, thin, wide-spreading buttresses. The trees are frequently so crooked and misshapen, though, that theY can be nearly worthless for milling purposes, with a tendency to split in felling. Still, the tree is so abundant that selective exploitation is possible.

The general construction timber is whitish to greyish-red in color. with a coarse but uniform texture. Hard and moderately heavy, the wood has good bending and strength properties resembling those of white oak. It saws cleanlY and works fairly well, but may somewhat blunt cutting edges and there is a slight tendency to split in nailing near the edge. Dahoma is moderately resistant to decay but logs are sometimes attacked by pinhole borers and the sapwoo{ is susceptible to attack by powderpost beetles.

It is firm, medium hard and of medium weight, with good strength properties especially in bending and compression along the grain. Yet avodire is a perishable product, liable to blue stain, so quick extraction and rapid conversion are essential. Plain stock has been used

Idigbo (Terminalia ivorensis) fea' tures the same susceptibilities in durability. lt willalso grow to about 150 ft. high and 15 ft. wide, but large trees often have brittle hearts. The wood is soft to medium in hardness and moderately heavy, but with a large variation in density due to the prevalence of lightweight brittle wood. Dimensionally stable and strong, it is as strong and stiffas oak, yet softer and less resistant. A general utility and construction timber, it is suitable for furniture, joinery, plywood, light bridging and roof shingles.

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