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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 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 Schedules Mortising Moulding Movement in Service Nailing Natural Durability Numerical Data Odor Planing Polishing References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Response to Hand Tools Routing & Recessing Sanding Sapwood Color Scientific Name Screwing Silica Content Steam Bending Strength Properties Texture Toxicity Trade Name Tree Size Turning Weathering Scientific Name Palaquium spp. Trade Name Nyatoh Family Name Sapotaceae Common Names Bitis, Nato, Nyatoh, Nyatoh batu, Payerra spp, Pencil cedar, Red silkwood Regions of Distribution Oceania and S.E. Asia Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] Australia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands Common Uses Balusters, Bedroom suites, Boat building, Building construction, Building materials, Cabinetmaking, Canoes, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Construction, Decorative plywood, Decorative veneer, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Domestic flooring, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Fixtures, Floor lamps, Flooring, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Interior construction, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Lifeboats, Light construction, Living-room suites, Moldings, Office furniture, Parquet flooring, Plywood, Radio - stereo - TV cabinets, Rustic furniture, Turnery Environmental Profile Vulnerable Data source is World Conservation Monitoring Center Some species in the genus Palaquium are officially classified as Vulnerable within their natural habitats in the Philippines. They include P. bataaense , P. foxworthyi , P. luzoniense , P. mindanaense , P. nigrosense , P. sorsogonense , and P. vidalli Distribution Overview Nyatoh occurs extensively from Southeast Asia to the Philippines. It grows from Sumatra, throughout the Malay Peninsula to Borneo. Heartwood Color Brown Red Heartwood color varies from pale pink to reddish brown or purple brown, sometimes with darker streaks Sapwood Color Yellow Yellowish Straw Not clearly differentiated from the heartwood Width is usually 1.5 to 3 inches (3.8 to 7.6 cm) Grain Even The grain is straight to shallowly interlocked. The timber is reported to resemble Makore, (Tieghemella heckellii) in appearance, and has a moire or watered silk figure Texture Coarse Medium Medium Medium coarse to coarse Even textured Natural Durability Perishable Non-durable Sapwood susceptible to attack by powder post beetles Heartwood resistant to decay The wood could last between 10 and 15 years in contact with the ground without chemical protection and is vulnerable to termite attack Weathering Good Odor Has an odor No specific taste Freshly milled wood has a slight unpleasant odor which is described as sour Silica Content High Some Palaquium timbers are siliceous Toxicity Sawdust can cause throat irritation in some individuals Sawdust can cause skin irritation in some individuals Sawdust can cause nose irritation in some individuals Kiln Schedules UK=E US=T6D2/T3D1 Fr=5 Drying Defects Splitting Checking Distortion May end-split and warp during drying. Ease of Drying Slowly Moderately Difficult to Difficult Fairly easy Dries slowly Radial - 1.3 to 3.0% Shrinkage from Green to 12% MC Tangential - 2.3 to 4.0% Tree Size The trees attain a height of 100 feet (30 m) or more, with trunk diameter of up to 36 inches (90 cm). Boles are sometimes fluted Comments Palaquium and Payena are two separate but closely related genera, which are very similar in characteristics. They produce wood that are usually grouped in the Nyatoh or Bitis class. Nyatoh is a commercial grouping of species whose air-dry weights fall mostly between 38 and 45 lb/cu.ft or 610 and 720 kg/cu.m, but may be up to to 55 lb/cu.ft (880 kg/cu.m). They are often mixed and marketed with other light to medium-weight, red-colored timbers. Timbers in the Bitis class are described as heavier, and have weights greater than 55 lb/cu.ft (880 kg/cu.m). They are referred to as Nyatoh batu in Sabah (Malaysia) Blunting Effect High to severe Cutting edges may blunt severely, depending upon the amount of silica in the wood Boring Fairly difficult to very difficult Carving Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Cutting Resistance Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult to saw Sawing properties are reported to vary with species, and silica content. There may also be some gum build-up on cutters Gluing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Mortising Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Moulding Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Movement in Service Unstable with Poor Stability - Large Movement He material exhibits medium after manufacture Nailing Fair to Good Results Pre-Boring Recommended Planing Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Siliceous timbers in the genus are rather difficult to work in planing, moulding, boring, and other woodworking operations since they tend to dull and gum-up cutting tools rapidly. Non-siliceous species are relatively easy to work, and finish to yield a smooth surface Resistance to Impregnation Permeable sapwood Resistant heartwood Resistant sapwood Sapwood is permeable Heartwood is extremely resistant Response to Hand Tools Fairly Difficult to Difficult to Work Response to hand tools is dependent upon amount of silica and gum in the wood Routing & Recessing Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Sanding Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Screwing Pre-boring recommended Fair to Good Results Turning Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Steam Bending Fair to Good Results Polishing Fair to Good Results Non-Siliceous Palaquium timbers are reported to polish well Strength Properties Weight = heavy Max. crushing strength = high Compression strength (parallel to grain) = very high Bending strength in the air-dry condition (about 12 percent moisture content) is high - comparable to Teak. It is stronger than Hard maple, White oak, or Teak. It is fairly hard, resisting wear, denting, and marring fairly well Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Bending Strength 15288 psi Crushing Strength 1063 psi Hardness 1171 lbs Maximum Crushing Strength 8369 psi Shearing Strength 1176 psi Stiffness 2001 1000 psi Specific Gravity 0.51 Weight 37 30. lbs/ft3 Item Green Dry Metric Bending Strength 1074 kg/cm2 Crushing Strength 74 kg/cm2 Hardness 531 kg Maximum Crushing Strength 588 kg/cm2 Shearing Strength 82 kg/cm2 Stiffness 140 1000 kg/cm2 Specific Gravity 0.51 References Chudnoff, M.,1984,Tropical Timbers of the World,U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products,Laboratory, Madison. Desch, H. E. 1954. Manual of Malayan Timbers - Volume II. Malayan Forest Records, No. 15. Malaya Publishing House Ltd., Singapore. EcoTimber International, San Francisco, California. Personal Communication, 1993. Eddowes, P.J. 1977. Commercial Timbers of Papua New Guinea - Their Properties and Uses. Forest Products Research Center, Office of Forests, Department of Primary Industry, Papua New Guinea. HMSO. 1972. Handbook of Hardwoods, 2nd Edition. Revised by R.H. Farmer. Department of the Environment, Building Research Establishment, Princes Risborough Laboratory, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London. 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 Kloot, N. H. and E. Bolza. 1961. Properties of Timbers Imported into Australia. Technological Paper No. 12. Division of Forest Products, Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization, Melbourne, Australia. The Ecological Trading Company Limited (ETC, Newcastle upon Tyre, United Kingdom. Troup, R.S. 1909. Indian Woods and Their Uses. The Indian Forest Memoirs, Economic Products Series, Volume 1, No. 1. Superintendent, Government Printing, Calcutta, India.