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Sapele – Pommelle (Entandrophragma cylindricum)

A large hardwood from the wetter regions of central and west Africa, growing as far east as Uganda. The heartwood is reddish-brown to purplish-brown and the sapwood is pale yellow, sometimes being up to 4 inches (100mm) wide. The texture is fine and even and the grain is usually interlocked, producing a narrow and uniformly distributed stripe on the radial surface. The wood also has a slight cedar-like odour when freshly cut, but the logs are likely to contain ring shakes.

Sapele is of medium weight and is around 650kg per cubic meter. It is slow to dry and needs careful handling to minimize twisting and warping. Quarter sawing is preferred for better performance. The shrinkage is around 2 per cent radial and 4 per cent tangential.

Because of the interlocked grain, extra care is needed when dressing the wood, otherwise it’s relatively easy to work – gluing well and nailing satisfactorily. The wood is considered as unsuitable for steam bending, though good results can still sometimes be had – especially in instrument making.

The wood takes polish well, but care is needed to fill the grain.

HANDCRAFTED EXOTIC SAPELE WOOD WINE STOPPER GREAT GIFT! US $23.99 Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 17:05:58 PST   | Watch this Item

Ludwig Epic Centurian Sapele Snare Drum 14x6.5 US $345.00 Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 17:21:28 PST   | Watch this Item

GOLDENHAWK american wood flute native Curly Maple simple exotic sapele pow wow US $22.74 (6 Bids) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 17:27:53 PST   | Watch this Item

Ribbon Sapele 14.5x3x3 Turning Spindle Blank Lathe Resaw Block Carve Craft #101 US $4.35 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 20:16:21 PST   | Watch this Item

2 PC EXOTIC SAPELE TURNING BLANKS LUMBER 9753 US $8.00 Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 20:30:51 PST   | Watch this Item

WOW Spalted Curly Mahogany Sapele Knifemaker Guitar Luthier Turning Wood P74 US $59.99 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Monday Feb-06-2012 21:45:50 PST   | Watch this Item

SAPELE 47 x 6 x 1 ~ EXOTIC WOOD LUMBER 6524 US $37.50 Auction Ends: Tuesday Feb-07-2012 1:37:23 PST   | Watch this Item

Sapele Exotic Hardwood Panel Cuts #2083 US $71.00 (0 Bid) Auction Ends: Tuesday Feb-07-2012 5:45:45 PST   | Watch this Item

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2006 at 3:02 am and is filed under Woods. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.