Trade Names:  Wenge

Origin:  Africa

Range:  West Africa, Gabon, Cameroon, Congo, Zaire

Uses:  Valuable veneer wood. Architectural wood for furniture, paneling and parquet flooring, construction lumber. Primarily used for the quarter grain.

Properties:  The heartwood is a dark chocolate brown and has to be intensively cooked and sliced hot. Most resistant to fungi, insect attack and the weather.

Machining:  Despite its hardness Wenge can still be worked well with all tools but this calls for considerable power.

Seasoning:  Drying is very slow and only when properly controlled is there little risk of dry checking. Stability is very good in dried state.