Specs
- Common Names
- Zebrawood, Zebrano
- Scientific Name
- Microberlinia brazzavillensis
- Origin
- West Africa
- Appearance
- Heartwood is a light brown or cream color with dark blackish brown streaks vaguely resembling a zebra’s stripes. Depending on whether the wood is flatsawn or quartersawn, the stripes can be either chaotic and wavy (flatsawn), or somewhat uniform (quartersawn). Has a fairly coarse texture and open pores. Grain is usually wavy or interlocked. Endgrain: Diffuse-porous; large to very large pores in no specific arrangement, few to very few; solitary and radial multiples of 2-3; heartwood deposits (brown) occasionally present; narrow rays not visible without lens, spacing fairly close; parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates, unilateral, vasicentric, winged, lozenge, and confluent, and banded (marginal).
- Avg. Dried Weight
- 50 lbs/ft3 (805 kg/m3)
- Janka Hardness
- 1830 lbf
- Modulus of Rupture
- 17,800 lbf/in2 (122.8 MPa)
- Elastic Modulus
- 2,374,000 lbf/in2 (16.37 GPa)
- Crushing Strength
- 9,210 lbf/in2 (63.5 MPa)
- Shrinkage
- Radial: 7.6%, Tangential: 10.8%, Volumetric: 17.8%, T/R Ratio: 1.4
- Durability
- Heartwood is rated as durable and is also resistant to insect damage.
- Workability
- The wood saws well, but can be very difficult to plane or surface due to the prevalence of interlocking grain. Tearout is common. Zebrawood glues and finishes well, though a transparent pore filler may be necessary for the large open pores which occur on both dark and light surfaces.
