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Clicking any heading in the main data area (at right) will scroll the page back to this top position. Use the following links to jump to the associated section in the main data. Blunting Effect Boring Common Names Common Uses Countries of Distribution Cutting Resistance Distribution Overview Drying Defects Ease of Drying Environmental Profile Family Name Gluing Grain Heartwood Color Kiln Drying Rate Mortising Moulding Nailing Natural Durability Numerical Data Odor Painting Planing Polishing Product Sources References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Response to Hand Tools Routing & Recessing Sanding Sapwood Color Scientific Name Screwing Silica Content Texture Toxicity Trade Name Tree Size Varnishing Veneering Qualities Scientific Name Didelotia africana Trade Name Angok Family Name Leguminosae Common Names Angok, Bondu, Broutou, Bubinga, Ekop gombé, Gombé, Timba Regions of Distribution Africa Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zaire Common Uses Bedroom suites, Blockboard, Building construction, Building materials, Cabin construction, Cabinetmaking, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Construction, Core Stock, Cutting surfaces, Decorative veneer, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Domestic flooring, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Drum sticks, Excelsior, Factory construction, Factory flooring, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Flooring, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Heavy construction, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Living-room suites, Mine timbers, Musical instruments , Office furniture, Organ pipes, Parquet flooring, Turnery, Veneer Environmental Profile Secure within its range Extinct, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Rare in Cameroon. Its status in the wild is currently listed as unknown in Nigeria because of insufficient information (Source - World Conservation Monitoring Center - 1992 ) Distribution Overview Grows in the wet forests of West Africa, from Liberia and Sierra Leone in the west to Congo and Central African Republic in the east. Heartwood Color Red White Brown Pink Pale red to pink Initially pink brown Sapwood Color Red White White to yellow Clearly differentiated from the heartwood Width is about 4 inches (10 cm) or more Grain Even Interlocked Straight Straight Moderately to severely interlocked Texture Fine Medium Medium to coarse Coarse Natural Durability Perishable Non-durable Susceptible to insect attack Moderately durable Resistant to termites Non-resistant to powder post beetles Non-resistant to termites Susceptible to termite attack Susceptible to pinhole borer attack Heartwood is susceptible to decay fungi, termites, and pinhole borers Odor May have a slightly disagreeable smell when green Silica Content No affect on machining Contains negligible amounts of silica (<0.05% of dry weight) Toxicity Some toxic effects Drying Defects Distortion Checking Splitting Checking and splitting are some common drying defects Ease of Drying Fairly Easy Slowly Kiln dries well High tangential shrinkage can result from lack of care during drying. Air-dries rather well Kiln Drying Rate Naturally dries slowly Drying rate is fairly rapid to fast Tree Size Tree height is 20-30 m Tree height is 10-20 m Bole length is 10-20 m Tree height is 30-40 m Bole length is 0-10 m Bole length is 20-30 m Tree height is 50-60 m Trunk diameter is 100-150 cm Product Sources Some material, mainly in the form of logs is exported from the producing countries, especially Cameroon and Ivory Coast, but quantities can be increased substantially if demand increases. Blunting Effect Blunting effect on sawing dry wood is mild Boring Fairly difficult to very difficult Fairly easy to very easy Cutting Resistance Easy to saw Cutting Resistance with dry wood is easy Large percentage of sapwood in some logs may affect yield from sawing Gluing Fairly Easy to Very Easy Bonds well with industrial glues Mortising Fairly Easy to Very Easy Moulding Fairly Easy to Very Easy Fair to Good Results Very Good to Excellent Results Nailing Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Pre-Boring Recommended Satisfactory nailing properties Planing Fairly Easy to Very Easy Poor to Very Poor Results Fair to Good Results Very Good to Excellent Results Machined surfaces tend to yield wooly results Easy to use machine tools Resistance to Impregnation Resistant heartwood Resistant sapwood The heartwood is difficult to treat with preservatives, but the sapwood is treatable. Response to Hand Tools Easy to Work Routing & Recessing Fairly Easy to Very Easy Sanding Fairly Easy to Very Easy Very Good to Excellent Results Fair to Good Results Good sanding finish Screwing Good screw holding properties Veneering Qualities Logs are reported to peel without difficulty after steaming at about 175 degrees F (80 degrees C). They also slice rather easily to yield decorative veneers. Drying is rather difficult since veneers are liable to split. They respond readily to gluing either with UF or PF type glues. Mechanical strength of plywood is satisfactory Painting Very Good to Excellent Results Fair to Good Results Polishing Very Good to Excellent Results Fair to Good Results The material takes a high polish Varnishing Very Good to Excellent Results Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Good results Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Bending Strength 13164 psi Density 39 lbs/ft3 Maximum Crushing Strength 7113 psi Stiffness 1697 1000 psi Weight 55 45. lbs/ft3 Radial Shrinkage 5 % Tangential Shrinkage 8 % Volumetric Shrinkage 13 % Item Green Dry Metric Bending Strength 925 kg/cm2 Density 624 kg/m3 Maximum Crushing Strength 500 kg/cm2 Stiffness 119 1000 kg/cm2 Weight 881 721. kg/m3 Radial Shrinkage 5 % Tangential Shrinkage 8 % References Bolza, E., Keating, W.G.,1972,African Timbers - the Properties, Uses and Characteristics of 700 Species,C.S.I.R.O. Div. of Building Research ITTO. New Marketable Species Technical Notes. Prepared by Centre Technique Forestier Tropical (CTFT, Division of CIRAD, 45 bis, Avenue de la Belle Gabrielle, 94736 Nogent-sur-marne Cedex, France. Maeglin, R., C. K. Baah, G. Troemmer, J.D. Danielson, and S. P. Loehnertz. 1989. Pre-project Report: Sawing of Difficult Species. Prepared for International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.