Olivewood

The heartwood is generally pale brown, but has irregular markings and streaks ranging from brown and Grey to black, which can give the wood a marbled look. The grain is typically straight, but sometimes shallowly interlocked, with a fine and even texture. The sapwood is pale yellow.

Properties:

It is a hard and strong wood with a high density, and is very resistant to wear. The wood is rated high in strength for crushing, stiffness, bending and resistance to shock loads, and moderate for steam bending. It is a difficult wood to work with hand tools, and the interlocked grain can make it difficult to machine also, with a moderate blunting effect on cutting edges. Machine-planing should be done with a reduced cutting angel, and there can be problems with vibration, and with chattering when moulding. Pre-boring is advised for nailing and screwing. It sands, carves and varnishes well, and stains and polishes very well. Turning properties are very good indeed.

Seasoning:

The wood generally dries well with little degrade, but does tend to suffer from surface checking. It is very stable in use.

Durability:

The heartwood is highly durable, and extremely resistant to preservative treatment, which is not really necessary in any case. The sapwood is vulnerable to the powder-post beetle, and is moderately resistant to preservative treatment.

Typical Uses:

Furniture and cabinetmaking, flooring, bank and shop fittings, boat frames, billiard or pool tables and cues, oil presses and tool handles. Burma padauk is also sliced for decorative veneers.

Olea hochstetteri and O. welwitschii (Oleaceae)

Also called:

olive, loliondo, olivewood, ironwood, musharagi, olmasi

Grows:

Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam

Weight per Board Foot:

4.5 lbs

Typical dry weight:

55lb/ft3 (980kg/m3)

Specific Gravity:

.89

Typical Height:

80ft (24m)

Trunk Diameter:

2-3ft (0.6-0.9m)