Chukrasia tabularis

Chickrassy

Family: Meliaceae

Other Common Names: Boga porna, Lal devderi, Aglay (India), Yinma (Burma), Repoh (Malaya).

Distribution: India, Burma, Indochina, and southwards to the Malay Peninsula and Borneo.

The Tree: Up to 80 ft high with a straight cylindrical bole up to 30 ft in length; trunk diameters are about 2 ft.

The Wood:

General Characteristics: Heartwood yellowish red to red, aging to a yellowish- or reddish-brown; sapwood yellowish or light buff, grading into the heartwood. Lustrous with a satiny sheen; texture moderately fine; grain irregularly interlocked, wavy, figured; fragrant odor when fresh but without characteristic odor or taste when dry.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.57; air-dry density 42 pcf.

Mechanical Properties: (2-in. standard)

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Maximum crushing strength

(%) (Psi) (1,000 psi) (Psi)

Green (38) 8,380 1,190 4,040

13% 11,940 1,570 6,870

Janka side hardness 1,060 lb for green material and 1,310 lb for dry.

Drying and Shrinkage: The timber seasons well even in thick sections but does tend to develop very fine surface checks. Kiln schedule T6-D2 is suggested for 4/4 stock and T3-D1 for 8/4. Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial 3.9%; tangential 6.0%; volumetric 10.9%. Reported to have a small movement.

Working Properties: The wood saws and machines easily and works well with hand tool finishes smoothly and polishes well.

Durability: Rated as nondurable and reports on resistance to termite attack vary from moderately resistant to liable to attack.

Preservation: Extremely resistant to preservative treatment.

Uses: furniture, decorative veneers, paneling, carving, turnery, cooperage.

Additional Reading: (17), (38), (47)

M 150 282-3Logs are delivered to a sawmill in southern Nigeria. African mahogany

(mostly Khaya ivorensis) is in high demand on overseas markets. Export of logs fro

this region, as well as from most other tropical areas, is being restricted.

M 150 282-2Band mills in Ghana are designed to handle logs 5 feet and more in

diameter. Obeche or Wawa (Triplochiton scleroxylon) logs yield lumber favored for

joinery and millwork.

M 150 273-14In many areas of the tropics, fast-growing species are being introduced

future supplies of fuel wood and industrial wood. Batai (Albizia falcataria) is

a favored plantation species in the Philipines.