Berangan |
The timber is moderately hard and moderately heavy to heavy. It has been classified under Light Hardwood with a density of 610-980 kg/m3air dry. Standard graveyard tests on C. malaccensis revealed that the timber has an average life span of 2.6 years (Tam, 1983). This thus placed the timber in the borderline between moderately and non-durable. Previous records, however, show that berangan is generally not durable, being susceptible to fungal, powder post and ambrosia beetle attacks (Foxworthy, 1930; Desch, 1957). The timber is very difficult to treat with preservatives. The texture is coarse and uneven due to the irregular distribution of the vessels. Grain is fairly straight but sometimes interlocked. The timber falls into Strength Group. It is moderately easy to resaw and easy to cross-cut. Planing is easy and the planed surface is smooth. The timber seasons fairly slowly without any defects, except for some staining. 25 mm thick boards take 5 months to air dry. Shrinkage is very high, with radial shrinkage averaging 2.3% and tangential shrinkage averaging 4.5%.
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