Trade Names
Merbau
Latin Names
Inssia palembanica, Afzelia palembanica, Intsia bijuga
Similar to
Moabi, Bangkirai, Doussié
Origin
South-East Asia
Range
Merbau belongs to the family of Caesalpiniaceae. With seven species altogether, it is native to tropical South-East Asia. Intsia palembanica and Intsia bijuga count among the most important representatives of this species. These massive trees do not occur in groups, however, they are a constant part of the multi-stratums of the evergreen low- and highland rainforests and occur from Thailand to Papua New Guinea.
Uses
Due to its high sturdiness and load-carrying capacity, this wood species can be used particularly well for construction purposes in interiors and exteriors where Merbau is mainly used for windows, doors, stairways and parquet flooring. It is also used in hydraulic engineering and shipbuilding as well as in the automotive industry. As sliced veneer it is used for furniture and paneling. As veneer, Merbau is getting increasingly important in the parquet flooring industry.
Properties
The log form of this wood species is usually very irregular and differs strongly from its cylindrical ideal shape. Quite often, buttresses with a height of up to 3m are to be found at the butt ends.
Machining
The wood is uniformly light to dark brown. In the veneer industry, it is worked up as Quarters only. Small, light stains may show occasionally to frequently, however, they are not seen as defects in veneer production.
Seasoning
Merbau can be worked with tools only with great dif culty. Saw blades and other cutting tools regularly become dull and often agglutinate because of the wood extractives. Due to its load-carrying capacity, Merbau can be used very well for construction purposes.
Finishing
By deploying a great deal of strength and with the aid of cutting tools, extremely smooth surfaces can be produced. However, this has to be done very carefully since sharp edges arise during machining.
Jointing
Merbau takes glue very well and can consequently be glued easily.