Trade Names:  Padauk, African Corail, African Padouk

Origin:  Africa

Range:  West Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Zaire, Angola, lower tropical rain forests. Different from the Burma Padauk, the Asian Padauk, which is less common.

Uses:  Sliced veneer, construction lumber, shape-retaining frame-work for precision instruments, etc., architectural woodwork and inlays. It is almost solely quarter cut and sliced.

Properties:  The heartwood is lustrous coral-red to red-brown, even orange-brown and most decorative. The flitches call for intensive cooking and the veneers must be completely covered when stored otherwise the wood quickly darkens.

Machining:  Padouk can be easily worked with both hand and machine tools. Tool blades are not dulled by crystalline deposits.

Seasoning:  Low shrinkage permits tensionless drying but this must be slow and controlled.