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Tualang
Wood Flooring Species
Scientific Name:
Koompassia excelsa
Other Names and Species:
Dëoh
Honey Bee Tree
Kayu Rajah
Mengaris
Manggis
Menggeris
Tapang
Origin:
Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand)
Appearance:
The sapwood of tualang is gray-white to yellowish-brown, while the heartwood is dark red when fresh cut, changing to a deep chocolate-brown color with time. The species has a pronounced interlocked grain, with a coarse and generally even texture.
Properties:
Tualang does not have a natural resistance to either termites or borer insects. The wood is reported to have no odor. When wet, the wood can take on a blackish color with direct exposure to metals. To prevent warping and splitting, this species takes some time to dry properly.
Janka Hardness: 1624
Tualang is a hard and durable flooring option. It is ninety-four percent as hard as African padauk, close to sixty-one percent harder than black walnut, close to twenty-six percent harder than red oak, and about seventy-four percent as hard as santos mahogany’s ranking of 2200.
Workability:
Tualang requires special tips (chromium-plated is suggested) or band saws to cut properly. Special nails are suggested to prevent staining. Glue requires some effort to set properly but will hold well once installed. Tualang polishes to a high, lustrous finish and holds stain well, with some filling required.
Principal Uses:
Tualang’s many uses include furniture, railroad ties, building construction, and utility poles.
