Is Sapele A Hardwood

Also like mahogany sapele is a popular wood for guitar necks.

Is sapele a hardwood.

Sugar maple and black maple are hard. Sapele is a dusty lumber and this fine dust can cause respiratory problems and skin irritation. Sound characteristics of sapele. Sapele is technically a hardwood or a deciduous tree.

Sapele is an excellent grade quality hardwood. Maple trees are classified as either hard or soft. Sapele hardwood lumber is twice as hard as maple and has a strength similar to oak. A word of caution to contractors and carpenters however.

Sapele is a hardwood and is one of europe s most desired woods for handcrafted window frames and doors. An array mbira made of sapele wood this commercially important hardwood is reminiscent of mahogany and is a part of the same meliaceae family. But to answer to more common question it is also a quite hard wood when you compare it to the typical north american species and much harder than much of the typical exterior woods like cedar and cypress. Sustainably sourced it also has a number of benefits of other popular but less sustainable hardwoods.

Hard maple is a workable wood resistant to abrasion with a uniform texture and fine grain. Sapele is derived in central africa and is a very common hardwood in europe especially germany. The wood is strong stiff and shock resistant. Interesting sapele hardwood facts.

Sapele is actually somewhat soft for a hardwood although it is still harder than mahogany and it is therefore very gentle on tools. While reminiscent of mahogany indeed it s part of the same family it s much harder than both its african or american counterparts and with respect to resistance to indentation bending strength stiffness and resistance to shock loads is practically equal with english oak. Sapele is a hardwood from tropical africa that successfully emulates the characteristics that have made mahogany so popular. It is darker in tone and has a distinctive figure typically applied where figure is important.

It s sold both in lumber and veneer form. Sapele hardwood lumber is commonly used to manufacture guitars and ukeleles. Rich heartwood colored in golden and dark reddish brown is perfect for use in creating expensive furniture musical and specialty objects. This is no surprise given that it s quite a hard wood but is still easy to carve.

It is occasionally used as a substitute for genuine mahogany and is sometimes referred to as sapele mahogany. Sapele comes from west africa and its scientific name is entandrophragma cylindricum.