Sapele
Quick Facts:
Common Name’s: Sapele, Sapelli, Sapeli
Scientific Name: Entandrophragma cylindricum
Tree size in length: 100-150 feet/ 30-45 meter
Tree size in diameter: 3-5 feet/100-150 cm
Average dried weight: 42 lbs per cubic ft/ 670 kg per cubic meter
Shrinkage radial: 4.8%
Shrinkage tangential: 7.2%
Shrinkage volumetric: 12.8%
Odor: Sapele has a distinct, cedar like scent while being worked.
Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices, and is reported by the IUCN as being a species of least concern.
General Info:
Heartwood is a golden to dark reddish brown. Color tends to darken with age. Besides the common ribbon pattern seen on quartersawn boards, Sapele is also known for a wide variety of other figured grain patterns, such as: pommele, quilted, mottled, wavy, beeswing, and fiddleback.
Grain/Texture:
Grain is interlocked, and sometimes wavy. Fine uniform texture and good natural luster.
Workability:
Sapele can be troublesome to work in some machining operations, (i.e., planing, routing, etc.), resulting in tearout due to its interlocked grain. It will also react when put into direct contact with iron, becoming discolored and stained. Sapele has a slight blunting effect on cutters, but it turns, glues, and finishes well.
Notes/Comments:
Sapele is a commonly exported and economically important African wood species. It’s sold both in lumber and veneer form. It is occasionally used as a substitute for Genuine Mahogany, and is sometimes referred to as “Sapele Mahogany.” Technically, the two genera that are commonly associated with mahogany are Swietenia and Khaya, while Sapele is in the Entandrophragma genus, but all three are included in the broader Meliaceae family, so comparisons to true mahogany may not be too farfetched.