Sonokeling Rosewood

Sonokeling (Dalbergia latifolia) is an Indonesian native rosewood with a deep purple brown, reddish brown, sometimes greenish brown, more or less striped, hard and heavy wood. Indonesian Sonokeling is the same tree as Indian rosewood but differs because of the plantation origins and to some extent climate, in having a broader colour range and a little less hardness and density. Sonokeling is a hardwood whose weight ranges from medium to hard with characteristic streaks of ash gray, black to dark purple and light brown. Sonokeling rosewood is a valuable material, used for high end flooring, furniture, decorative veneers, souvenirs, and handcrafted products.

SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION Botanical Name: Dalbergia latifolia Common Name(s): Sonokeling Rosewood Specific Gravity: 0.75 Strength: Very Strong Tangential Stability: 5.8% Hand Tools: Difficult Gluing: Adequate Janka Hardness: 3010 kg/m3, very hard Bend ability: High Radial Stability: 2.7% Power Tools: Difficult Durability: Sonokeling is very durable and moderately resistant to termites. The sapwood is liable to attack from powder post beetle. General Discription: From rose to dark purple-black lines terminating the growth zones. The grain is narrowly interlocked producing a ribbon grain figure; the texture uniform and moderatley coarse and the surface dull but with a fragrant scent. Properties: Sonokeling is heavy, with high crushing and bending strengths, medium resistance to shock loads, and low stiffness. Due to its hardness – 2 ½ times that of oak – it is difficult to work by hand or machine. Calcareous deposits in the wood can make it very difficult to saw and work, and can blunt cutting edges rapidly and severey. Slow speeds are advised for mortising, and boring can be tricky. The wood turns, sands, screws and glues well, but is difficult to nail. It can be brought to an excellent polished or waxed finish after pre-filling. Properties: Sonokeling is heavy, with high crushing and bending strengths, medium resistance to shock loads, and low stiffness. Due to its hardness – 2 ½ times that of oak – it is difficult to work by hand or machine. Calcareous deposits in the wood can make it very difficult to saw and work, and can blunt cutting edges rapidly and severey. Slow speeds are advised for mortising, and boring can be tricky. The wood turns, sands, screws and glues well, but is difficult to nail. It can be brought to an excellent polished or waxed finish after pre-filling. Working Properties: There is severe blunting of cutting edges and is fairly hard to saw or machine due to calcareous deposits present in some of the vessels (the heart is usually boxed out in conversion). It is not suitable for nailing. Glues satisfactorily and requires grain filling for an excellent polished or waxed finish. Mechanical Properties: The material has high bending and crushing strengths with low stiffness and medium resistance to shock loads. Seasoning: The timber air dries fairly rapidly with no undue degrade but must be protected against too rapid drying to avoid surface checking and end splitting. Kiln dries well but slowly and the colour improves during this process. There is small movement in service and it has remarkable dimensional stability. Common Uses: Furniture, cabinets, musical instruments, trim, flooring, turnings, boats, veneer.