Citra Indomebel - Keruing Specification

standard name: acacia mangium

Light Hardwood, similar to Akasia, Black Wattle, Brown Salwood, Coast Myall, Hickory Wattle, Mountain Brigalow, Sally Wattle

Botanical Name

Acacia Mangium

Family

Mimosoideae, Willd. Leguminosae

Distribution

Queensland, Australia, New Guinea and the Molucca Islands of Indonesia. It is planted in Sabah, Malaysia. It grows typically below 300 feet elevation, but can occur up to 2,000 feet. Mangium is a pioneer species, colonizing disturbed sites, such as field margins, railroad tracks and areas scarred by fire. It can be found naturally growing in wet sites on the edges of stands of melalueca or mangroves and in grasslands and along streams and rivers.

General Description

The genus Acacia is composed of 600 to 800 species, 21 are native to the United States, with the rest native to the tropics and subtropics. The word acacia is the classical Greek name of a thorny tree of Egypt, thought to be of this genus, from the Greek word for thorn. The word mangium is the native Moluccan name "mangi-mangi gunong."

Mangium is a tree which reaches 90 feet and diameters of 3 feet. The base of the bole is slightly fluted and lower branches are self-pruning. The light brown to dark brown bark is thick, rough, hard with furrows.

Seedling leaves are pinnately compound, while mature leaves have no blade, the petiole is flattened, forming a phyllode.

It produces loose clusters of whitish flowers, which later develop into blackish brown twisted pods.

The sapwood of mangium is narrow and pale yellow to light brown, while the heartwood is olive brown to gray brown, with darker streaks.

It is hard, with a medium texture, strong and durable (not in contact with the ground).

The grain shows an interlocked figure radially, but looks straight on the flat-sawn surface.

Physical Property

Air-Dry Density:	545 - 977 kg/m3
Radial Shrinkage:	2.5 %
Tangential Shrinkage:	8.5 %
Seasoning:	Seasons well, with negligible cupping or checking. Collapse can occur in early stage of drying in quarter-sawn boards.
Rec. Kiln Schedule:	n.a.

Mechanical Properties

Strength Group:	B
Static Bending MOE:	1.39x10⁶ - 1.68x10⁶ lbf/in²
Static Bending MOR:	10.7x10³ - 15.4x10³ lbf/in²
Compression Strength
Perpendicular to Grain:	4.45x10³ - 8.69x10³ lbf/in²
Parallel to Grain:	n.a.
Shear Strength:	1.34x10³ - 1.89x10³ lbf/in²

Durability

Durable when well ventilated, but is not durable when used in contact with the ground

Treatability

n.a.

Working Properties

No problem in sawing or peeling (recovery low).

Planes well.

Sands easily.

Drills easily and turns well with low pressure.

Excellent nailing properties.

No problems gluing using phenol and urea-formaldehyde adhesives.

Uses

Furniture, cabinets, handles of sporting goods, boxes, crates, door frames, window parts, moldings, veneer, light construction, fuel, particle board and pulp.

source from Smithsonian Center for Material Research and Education