SOME VARIETIES of WOODS of Indian subcontinent
Post 126 ⇒ by Gautam Shah ➔
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With quality woods getting scarce due to deforestation and restrictions on
export and import, attention is now on low quality woods. These are few
species that were till now used for low quality products and in rural areas.
The species have individual drawbacks that need to need to be
technologically handled. This is not an exhaustive list, many such species
exist, and are used for specific products. Such species of wood are found
across the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Nepal) or geographically very large subregions of it. These are tropical
varieties and may be found in similar climate zones in other parts of the
world.
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| Neem Tree in Rajasthan India |
NEEM (Azadirachta indica) is also known as Neem, Nim-tree, Sanskrit
Nimba, or Indian Lilac. Neem is also called ‘arista’ in Sanskrit to mean
‘perfect, complete and imperishable plant.’ The Sanskrit word Nimba
derives from ‘nimbati syasthyamdadati’ meaning ‘to give good health’. It
is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. Originally from Burma
(Myanmar), but now found almost everywhere in Indian subcontinent, and
Iran. It is now planted in parts of Africa and Australia. Neem trees can
grow on village outskirts (Gochar or cattle grazing fields), farm borders,
and roadsides, singly or as plantation. For the Cart Festival (Rath-Yatra)
of Lord Jagannath at Puri, Orissa, India, Specific Neem trees are selected
after religious ceremony, cut and used for statues and huge wood cart.
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| Praying before a tree prior to cutting for Lord cart for Rath-Yatra |
Neem trees grow very fast in tropical climates. The tree grows to
substantial maturity in a decade, and fully grown can be 12 to 18 mts. tall
and can have trunk girths of 1.8 to 2.4 mts. It has a straight trunk and
long spreading branches that forming a crown of 20 mts. across. The
trunk and branches both offer good wood. It is an ever green tree,
providing green leaf for fodder for sheep and goats, whereas its dry
leaves and seeds provide organic fertilizer with biocide properties.
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| Grains of NEEM timber |
The sap wood of Neem is of lighter colour and the heart wood
resembles Mahogany, and is of darker reddish to brownish colour. The
timber of a fresh cut is dripping wet, but once sawn begins to season well.
After three years of natural drying, or plant-based seasoning, wood
dries with shrinkage. Neem timber has medium density. It can be worked
but its surface cannot take smooth finish, however it can be painted with
suitable surface filling primer. The wood is hard, lustrous and aromatic.
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| Neem timber sawn sections |
Neem wood was considered rural timber. It is better then Mango
wood, due to the compact grain. Its superior toughness and resistant
to moisture, termites, other insects like borers and fungi make it a
favourite wood for farm implements, carts, house beams and columns,
door and window frames, furniture like charpoys (country beds), cart,
axles, ship and boat building, helms & oars, tool handles. It is now widely
used for plywood making and as inserts in flush-doors and block-boards.
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MANGO tree is of genus Mangifera, and belongs to the flowering plant
family Anacardiaceae. Mango is a tropical tree, growing in many parts of
the world in as many varieties. The English word mango representing
the fruit, (pl. mangoes or mangos) originated from the Malayalam word
manna via Portuguese during spice trade with Kerala in 1498.
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| Mango Tree |
Mango trees are grown in every part of India, as single a farm tree or as
an orchid. Trees grow to a height of 35–40 mts., with a crown radius of 10
mts. The trees are fairly very sturdy, and bear fruit for very long time. The
trunk girth is 1.50 mts. So provide large section of timber. The heartwood
is mainly golden brown, to pale-whitish. Sapwood may not be very
distinct. The grains are straight, interlocked, curly or mottled. The grains
show coarse texture. Mango timbers have porous end grain, which restrict
its use for lathe turned articles. Timbers with interlocked or wild grain have
tear-out problems during planning or machining. Resins have a tendency
to bind on the heated saw or planning blades. Some varieties have high
silica content that can dull the cutting edges.
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| Mango tree cut section of trunk |
The timber is of light pale colour but with patchy irregular grains. The
open ends of fibres show dark colour. Fresh mango timbers contain lots
of moisture and sawn pieces if not properly held for storing and
seasoning, have a tendency to warp. Constituent resins make it difficult
to saw and plane the timer. Dry timber is very stable and durable. Mango
is considered durable to perishable, but also susceptible to moisture,
fungal and insect attack.
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| Mango timber grains |
Mango wood is easily available, and was fairly cheap. It has been truly
a country wood used only for rural or farm implements. The wide trunk
allows timbers for shelves, door planks, school bench tops, seats, and
chair handles. Mango wood cannot have clear polish, mainly due to the
irregular grains. Mango wood is used for wood stair and ladder steps
when Ironwood or Sadad is not easily available.
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