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Blunting Effect
Boring
Carving
Comments
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
Kiln Schedules
Mortising
Moulding
Nailing
Natural Durability
Numerical Data
Odor
Planing
Polishing
Product Sources
References
Regions of Distribution
Resistance to Impregnation
Resistance to Splitting
Response to Hand Tools
Routing & Recessing
Sanding
Sapwood Color
Scientific Name
Screwing
Silica Content
Strength Properties
Texture
Trade Name
Tree Identification
Turning

Scientific Name
Heritiera ornithocephala

Trade Name
Choboch

Family Name
Sterculiaceae

Wood Image 1

Common Names
Choboch, Chopwoch, Chumprak, Huynh, Kanze, Lumbayau, Mengkulang, Rosarosa

Regions of Distribution
Oceania and S.E. Asia

Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP]
Fiji [Polynesia], Fiji, Myanmar

Common Uses
Bedroom suites, Boat building (general), Boat building: framing, Boxes and crates, Building construction, Building materials, Cabin construction, Cabinetmaking, Carvings, Casks, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Construction, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Domestic flooring, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Factory construction, Factory flooring, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Flooring, Flooring: commercial heavy traffic, Flooring: industrial heavy traffic, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Furniture, Handles: general, Hatracks, Heavy construction, Joinery (external): ground contact, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Ladders, Light construction, Living-room suites, Mine timbers, Office furniture, Packing cases, Paneling, Parquet flooring, Piling, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Railroad ties, Rustic furniture, Sills, Sporting Goods, Stools, Sub-flooring, Tool handles, Toys, Turnery, Vehicle parts

Environmental Profile
Status has not been officially assessed


Distribution Overview
Indo-Malayan region

Heartwood Color
Yellow
Reddish brown
Red
Contains dark streaks


Sapwood Color
Yellow
White
Pinkish
Well defined
White to yellow


Grain
Figure
Variable (figure)
Interlocked
Growth rings (figure)

Interlocked
Variable figure
Irregular color
Fissile
Clear growth rings (figure)


Texture
Medium
Medium
Even textured


Natural Durability
Durable
Moderately durable
Durable
Susceptible to attack from powder post (Lyctid & Bostrychid) beetles
Vulnerable to drywood termite attack
Susceptible to attack from termites (Isoptera)
Moderately resistant to attack by marine borers


Odor
Has an odor
No specific smell or taste


Silica Content
Contains silica


Kiln Schedules
T3 - D2 (4/4) US
T3 - D1 (8/4) US
Kiln Drying Rate (in days) is fairly rapid


Drying Defects
Severe collapse and honeycomb
Moderate collapse and honeycombing


Ease of Drying
Rapidly
Fairly Easy
Little degrade
Moderate
Radial and tangential shrinkage from 1-4%
Easy
Difficult
Control drying yields best results
Air-drying under cover and weight yield best results

Quarter sawing is preferable over back sawing since reconditioning treatment may open up checks in backsawn material

Kiln Drying Rate
Fairly rapid (11-17 days for boards under 32 mm, to 31-51 days for boards greater than 63 mm)


Tree Identification
Bole/stem form is not buttressed
Bole/stem form is cylindrical


Product Sources
Log production from this species is about 2% of Fiji's total timber production. It is often sold as 'Fiji hardwood' in a mixture with several other species.

Comments
General finishing qualities are rated as good

Blunting Effect
Severe


Boring
Fair to good results
Fairly easy to very easy
Difficult


Carving
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Easy to Very Easy


Cutting Resistance
Easy to saw
Cutting Resistance with dry wood is difficult
Difficult to saw
Cutting Resistance with green wood is difficult
Cross-cutting easy


Gluing
Fair to Good Results


Mortising
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Easy to Very Easy


Moulding
Mortising, boring, routing, and carving are all difficult
Cutting edges dull rapidly


Nailing
Fair to Good Results
Very Good to Excellent Results
Holds nails well
Difficult to nail


Planing
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Planes well, to a good finish
Easy to plane
Difficult to plane


Resistance to Impregnation
Extremely resistant


Resistance to Splitting
Poor


Response to Hand Tools
Easy to machine
Difficult to machine


Routing & Recessing
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Easy to Very Easy


Sanding
Fair to Good Results
Good sanding qualities


Screwing
Fair to Good Results
Very Good to Excellent Results
Fairly Easy to Very Easy


Turning
Fair to Good Results
Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Very Good to Excellent Results
Good results
Good results


Polishing
Fair to Good Results
Excellent results
Backsawn stock finishes very well


Strength Properties
Density (dry weight) = 53-60 lbs/cu. ft.
Max. crushing strength = high
Bending strength (MOR) = medium
Shearing strength (parallel to grain) = medium
Modulus of Elasticity (stiffness) = medium
Modulus of Elasticity (stiffness) = high
Shrinkage, Tangential = large
Shrinkage, Tangential = moderate
Shrinkage, Radial = small
Shrinkage, Radial = moderate
Shrinkage, Radial = large
Shrinkage, Radial = fairly large
Density (dry weight) = 46-52 lbs/cu. ft.
Bending strength (MOR) = high
Shrinkage, Tangential = small
Shrinkage, Tangential = fairly large


Numerical Data
ItemGreenDryEnglish
Bending Strength1144017988psi
Crushing Strength12841661psi
Density48lbs/ft3
Hardness2110lbs
Maximum Crushing Strength64609789psi
Shearing Strength2375psi
Static Bending737010025psi
Stiffness192722471000 psi
Toughness239inch-lbs
Specific Gravity0.640.7
Weight4742lbs/ft3
Radial Shrinkage5%
Tangential Shrinkage9%
ItemGreenDryMetric
Bending Strength8041264kg/cm2
Crushing Strength90116kg/cm2
Density769kg/m3
Hardness957kg
Maximum Crushing Strength454688kg/cm2
Shearing Strength166kg/cm2
Static Bending518704kg/cm2
Stiffness1351571000 kg/cm2
Toughness275cm-kg
Specific Gravity0.640.7
Weight753673kg/m3
Radial Shrinkage5%

References
Alston, A.S.,1966,Natural Heartwood Durability,Fiji Forestry Department, Suva. Fiji timbers and their uses No. 2

Alston, A.S.,1966,Powder Post Beetle Lyctus Species,Fiji Forestry Department, Suva. Fiji timbers and their uses No.6

Bolza, E., Kloot, N.H.,1972,The Mechanical Properties of 56 Fijian Timbers,Australia C.S.I.R.O. Division of Forest Products Technological Paper,No.,62

Chudnoff, M.,1984,Tropical Timbers of the World,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products,Laboratory, Madison.

Desch, H. E. 1957. Manual of Malayan Timbers. Malayan Forest Records, 28(30):315-318.

Fiji Department of Forestry,1969,A Summary of the Properties of 34 Indigenous Timbers,Fiji Forestry Department, Suva. Fiji timbers and their uses No.38

Fiji Department of Forestry,1972,Guide to the use of local timbers,Fiji Forestry Department, Suva. Fiji timbers and their uses No.55

Fiji Forestry Department,1967,The Properties and Potential Uses of Rosarosa (Heritiera ornithocephala) A,Summary of C.S.I.R.O. Investigations,Fiji Timbers and their Uses No.18, Forestry Department Suva, Fiji

Fiji Forestry Department,1969,Timbers for Flooring A Note on Current & Potential Species,Fiji Timbers and their Uses No.36, Department of Forestry, Suva, Fiji

Fiji Forestry Department,1981,The Properties and Uses of 43 Indigenous and Exotic Timbers,Fiji Forestry Department, Fiji Timbers and their Uses No.71

Keating, W.G., Bolza, E.,1982,Characteristics properties and uses of timbers. South East Asia, Northern,Australia and the Pacific,C.S.I.R.O. Div. Chemical Technology,Inkata Press,1