Calantas
Scientific name
Toona calantas syn. Cedrela calantas. Family: Meliaceae
Other names
Surian (Indonesia, Malaysia); Kalantas; Limpaga; New Guinea cedar
Description
- Medium to large hardwood.
- Grows to 40m high.
- Bark is grey to grey-brown bark, and sheds in thin patches.
Occurrence
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- Philippines
- Papua New Guinea
Appearance
Colour
- Heartwood is light red to red-brown.
- Sapwood is pink-grey.
Grain
- Grain is straight or interlocked and wavy.
- Texture moderately coarse.
- Similar appearance and odour to red cedar, Toona ciliata.
Uses
Decorative
- Panelling.
- Doors.
- Joinery.
- Furniture.
- Carving.
- Piano cases.
- Boat and ship interiors.
- Veneers.
- Turnery.
Properties
- Density: 480kg/m3 at 12% moisture content; about 2.1m3 of seasoned sawn timber per tonne.
- Strength groups: (<S7) unseasoned, (SD8) seasoned.
- Stress grades: F4, F5, F7 (unseasoned); F4, F5, F7, F8 (seasoned) when visually stress-graded according to AS 2082—2000: Timber—Hardwood—Visually stress-graded for structural purposes.
- Joint groups: J5 unseasoned, JD4 seasoned.
- Shrinkage to 12% MC: about 7.0% (tangential), 4.0% (radial).
- Unit shrinkage: not available.
- Durability above-ground: Class 1 (life expectancy more than 40 years).
- Durability in-ground: Class 2 (life expectancy 15–25 years.
- Lyctine susceptibility: sapwood is susceptible to lyctine borer attack.
- Termite resistance: not resistant.
- Preservation: sapwood readily impregnates with preservative.
- Seasoning: dries rapidly but be careful, due to the risk of internal checking and collapse.
- Hardness: very soft (rated 6 on a 6-class scale) to indent and work with hand tools.
- Machining: easy to work with hand and machine tools if blades are kept sharp; inclined to be ´woolly´.
- Fixing: no difficulty using standard fittings and fastenings.
- Gluing: can occasionally be difficult if the wood exudes resin.
- Finishing: stains, polishes and paints well, except occasionally, the wood may exude resin.
Identification features
General characteristics
- Sapwood: grey-white or pink, sharply defined.
- Heartwood: light red or red-brown.
- Texture: moderately coarse and uneven, grain interlocked and wavy; soft to cut.
Wood structure
- Vessels: range from large in the first formed part of the ring, to medium-small in the latter part of the ring; solitary, groups of 2–3 cells and an occasional cluster; sparse; occasional dark-red gum-like deposits; vessel lines very prominent on longitudinal surfaces.
- Parenchyma (soft tissue): scarce, visible only as fine terminal bands.
- Rays: fine to medium, clearly visible.
Other features
- Burning splinter test: wood burns to a full white ash.
- Figure: prominent on back-sawn faces due to ring-porosity.
Research and resources
- Ilic, J 1991, CSIRO atlas of hardwoods, Crawford House Press, Bathurst, Australia.
- Queensland Government, DAF 2018, Construction timbers in Queensland: properties and specifications for satisfactory performance of construction timbers in Queensland. Class 1 and Class 10 buildings, Books 1 & 2, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane.
- Standards Australia, 2000, AS 2082—2000: Timber—Hardwood—Visually stress-graded for structural purposes, Standards Australia International, Strathfield, NSW.