SAPELI RIGATO

Similar Woods: Tiama, Kosipo, Sipo, African Mahogany.
Origin: Africa.
Range: West, Central and East Africa, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Angola,
Zaire and Uganda.
Uses: Sliced veneer for faces, furniture, panelling, parquet flooring, doors, pianos and construction lumber.
Properties: Weak pink to dark red heartwood, quickly darkening to a red brown in time.
As a rule Aboudikro-Sapele is darker than the wood from other growing areas.
Blocks with numerous bark pockets, color defects or pin knots are not suitable for veneer production.
There is a heavy demand for narrowly streaked blocks (pencil stripe) with an average diameter of 1 mt.
and over.
Machining: Sapele is easily worked with hand machine tools despite of a certain hardness.
Only irregular fibre grains make it difficult to produce smooth surface.
Seasoning: Kiln seasoning is difficult because Sapele has a marked tendency to distort when fried too quickly.
This is why drying must be carried out very slowly and carefully so that the lumber is not degraded.
Finishing: The wood takes well to stains, varnishes and polishes but the resin exudation must be considered and,
if necessary, washed out.
Jointing: No difficulty to produce joints with glue, screws and nails all of which are durable.