A stately Shorea roxburghii, planted by King Bhumiphol of Thailand, now blatantly stolen from Wikipedia.
Trade Name: Balau.
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Dipterocarpaceae
Subfamily: Dipterocarpoideae
Genus: Shorea
Species: Many similar referenced here
Janka Hardness (pounds-force): 1560
Description: Balau, broadly speaking, refers to any number of woods of the Shorea genus. The coloration can vary greatly from species to species, and a great number are marketed as Balau. It is versatile, hard (while relatively easy to work), and for any number of reasons is the most widely used wood in a densely populated corner of the earth. Coarsely textured with medium or large pores. Grain is variable. Coloring ranges from very pale to a deep red-brown.
Location: Malay peninsula, Indochina, Indonesia, the Philippines. Densely grows in the forests of Borneo, Sumatra, and Malaysia.
Common Aliases: Balau, Membatu, Red balau, Red selangan batu, Red batu, Balau merah, Guijo, Lauan, Meranti***(It needs to be noted here that Meranti is not a proper name for Balau, but that Balau is a subgrouping of the Meranti, or Lauan wood group. The five main Merantis are: Light Red Meranti, Dark Red Meranti, White Meranti, Yellow Meranti, and Balau.)
Performance: Does about anything you might need it to do, though its density might make it somewhat tough on tools and a little difficult to work. Balau is an interior wood only, as it is vulnerable to insect attack.
Affordability: $$ Balau is a very popular and widely used lumber, especially in southeast Asia, where it is the most largely used regional timber.
Common Uses: Baskets, Building materials, cabinetry, furnishings, veneers, flooring, interior millwork, lauan, plywood.
From: The Wood Database:
Common Name(s): Balau
Scientific Name: Shorea spp.
Distribution: Southeast Asia
Tree Size: 150-200 ft (45-60 m) tall, 3-6 ft (1-2 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 53 lbs/ft3 (845 kg/m3)
Basic Specific Gravity: .62
Hardness: 1,560 lbf (6,940 N)
Rupture Strength: 18,400 lbf/in2 (126,900 kPa)
Elastic Strength: 2,560,000 lbf/in2 (17,660 MPa)
Crushing Strength: 10,000 lbf/in2 (69.0 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial: 6.2%, Tangential: 11.4%, Volumetric: 17.6%, T/R Ratio: 1.8
Dear Author,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I appreciate the effort you put into preparing this information I found at least one highly inaccurate tip in the text. I must indicate that Meranti, Lawaan, Selangan, Yakal, and Balau are all Shorea, however as inaccurate and vague as these classifications are, they expressly determine Shorea timber by virtue of density (each group vaguely clusters Shorea timber of a certain density). In other words when you say one term (here Balau) is the alternative for all the others, you are confusing all the timber categories recognised in the Market! Yakal, and Balau vaguely refer to the hardest heaviest Shorea timbers in the trade. This is followed in order of decreasing density by Selangan Batu, Meranti, and Lawaan. This makes the Lawaan group the lightest and softest in the Shorea genus. Like I said the classification is absolutely vague and unscientific but at least one common sense law governs it and that is the order of density. So it becomes very confusing for the readers when you identify Balau with say Lawaan (primarily used for plywood) or Meranti (used in light construction and furniture).