Properties and Uses
Rubberwood |
The Standard Malaysian Name for the timber of Hevea brasiliensis (Euphorbiaceae). The timber is a light hardwood with a density of 560–640 kg m-3 air dry. The timber is moderately hard and light to moderately heavy. The sapwood is not differentiated from the heartwood, which is pale cream in colour, often with a pink tinge. Texture is moderately coarse but even, with straight to shallowly interlocked grain. The timber is only moderately strong (Strength group C). It is easy to resaw and cross-cut although latex may tend to clog up the saw teeth. The timber planes easily and the finish is smooth. The nailing property is rated as good. The timber seasons fairly rapidly with bowing and springing as the main defects. 13 mm boards take 2.5 months to air dry while 38 mm boards take 3.5 months. Shrinkage is rather low, radial shrinkage averages 0.8% while tangential shrinkage averages 1.9%. For kiln-drying, Schedule D is recommended and 25 mm boards can be dried in approximately 6 days. Main defects are bowing, springing and end-splitting. The timber is non-durable and is susceptible to both fungal and insect attacks. The timber is, however, very easily treated with preservative. USES: The timber is used extensively for the manufacture of furniture. Other major uses include flooring, toy, fruit bowl, chopping block, interior finishing, panelling, mouldings, charcoal manufacture, wooden pallets, stair threads, banisters and other staircase components. It has also been used as core material for blockboard and has been chipped for pulp and paper manufacture. Rubberwood is used as the main source of fibres material for the production of medium density fibreboard (MDF) in the country. A possible end-use for this timber is the manufacture of rayon. Vernacular names applied include kayu getah (P.M. and Sab.) and para rubber (P.M., Sab. and Sar.).
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