The sapwood is pale yellowish or whitish. The heartwood is
pinkish when freshly cut darkening to typical mahogany colour of reddish
brown. Sapele is characterised by a marked and regular stripe on the quarter
cut face.
Working Properties:
Works fairly well with hand and machine tools but the
interlocking grain is often a problem in planeing and moulding. Glues
satisfactorily, stains and polishes well.
Physical Properties:
Sapele in much harder than
African mahogany and is equal in strength to English oak. It dries rapidly
with a tendancy to distort quarter sawn material is less likely to degrade
in drying.
Durability:
Moderately durable.
Main Uses:
Used for furniture, shop fitting, boat
building and joinery.
