What is Padauk lumber?
Padauk is moderately heavy, strong, and stiff, with exceptional stability. It’s a popular hardwood among hobbyist woodworkers because of its unique color and low cost.
source: The Wood-Database
African Padauk is a group of exotic hardwood species native to Western and Coastal Africa. It describes dozens of species within the Pterocarpus genus. Padauk wood has colors that range from bright orange or almost crimson wood to pale or purple white. Like cherry and purpleheart, it oxidizes over time as a result of air exposure. Accordingly, a chemical reaction alters the wood color, at least in terms of appearance.
As of 2021, 35 variations of Padauk wood fall under the Pterocarpus wood genus. Accordingly, since a large number of species fall under the umbrella of pterocarpus, there is ambiguity within the marketplace. This is similar to how mahogany informally describes many species.
According to Wikipedia:
Padauk wood is obtained from several species of Pterocarpus. All padauks are of African or Asian origin. Padauks are valued for their toughness, stability in use, and decorativeness, most having a reddish wood. Most Pterocarpus woods contain either water- or alcohol-soluble substances and can be used as dyes.
The padauk found most often is African padauk from P. soyauxii which, when freshly cut, is a very bright red/orange but when exposed to sunlight fades over time to a warm brown. Its colour makes it a favourite among woodworkers. Burmese padauk (ပိတောက်) is P. macrocarpus while Andaman padauk is P. dalbergioides. Padauks can be confused with true rosewoods to which they are somewhat related, but as a general rule padauks are coarser and less decorative in figure. Like rosewood, padauk is sometimes used to make xylophone, organ and marimba keys, and guitars. It is an important material in traditional Chinese furniture.
Some padauks, e.g. P. soyauxii, are used as herbal medicines, for example to treat skin parasites and fungal infections.[6]?
Where Does Padauk Grow?
Primarily of tropical African origin, padauk subspecies grow in other areas with similar tropical climates.
- South Pacific
- India
- Vietnam
- Laos
- Cambodia
- Southern United States
How Is Padauk Pronounced?
Padauk is pronounced phonetically as (pad-ook). This is based on my experience in the hardwood lumber industry. I have never heard a different pronunciation from wood industry professionals.
Interestingly, I found this YouTube pronunciation video that provides a different pronunciation. However, based on the amount of downvotes the video received, I suspect the it is incorrect.
Padauk Technical Information
- Scientific name: Pterocarpus (acapulcensis, albopubescens,amazonum, angolensis, antunesii, brenanii, claessensii, dalbergioides, echinatus, erinaceus,muninga, gilletii,hockii ,homblei,indicus,lucens, macrocarpus, marsupium, mildbraedii, mutondo,officinalis,orbiculatus, osun, rohrii, rotundifolius, santalinoides,, santalinus, soyauxii, ternatus, tessmannii, tinctorius, velutinus, villosus, violaceus , zehntneri , zenkeri acapulcensis,albopubescens,amazonum, angolensis , antunesii brenanii, claessensii, dalbergioides echinatus, erinaceus, gilletii, hockii, homblei, indicus, lucens, macrocarpus, marsupium, mildbraedii, mutondo, officinalis, orbiculatus, osun, rohrii, rotundifoliu, santalinoides, santalinus, soyauxii, ternatus, tessmannii, tinctorius, velutinus, villosus, violaceus, zehntneri, zenkeri
- Alternative Names: Padauk, African Padauk, Sandalwood, Narra, Mukwa, Amboyna
- Region of Origin: Africa
- Average Dried Weight: 48 LB/cubic foot
- Janka Hardness Rating: 1975
- Specific Gravity: .76
- IUCN Red List: Some species of Pterocarpus
- CITES wood:
- Some species of Pterocarpus
What is Marbled Padauk?
Marbled padauk, in our experience, is a very special type of figured lumber. Figured padauk commonly refers to swirling grain, pomelle figure or light color variation. Often, normal paduak wood cut in a flat-sawn grain orientation is marketed as figured. In our experience with figured wood, this is rare or particularly interesting.
Marble figure occurs when the heartwood and sapwood of padauk vary significantly. This results in a two or three tone figured effect. Some woodworkers describe the figure as bacon-like in appearance.
Traditionally, padauk logs are yield a uniform red heartwood color. Of course, logs with only slight color variation produce a low marble effect. Thus, only high contrast logs yield a marketable marble figure.
When marbled padauk is cut in quartersawn grain orientation the grain is straight. However, the color variations are still stark and contrasting. When plain-sawn, both grain and color vary. The result is spectacular.
Marbled Padauk 2 piece guitar top sets available for sale here
Is Padauk Wood Rare?
Padauk is somewhat rare in the United States, as a wood specie. However, this is due to the lack of widespread commercial applications for the wood.
Figured Padauk lumber such as marbled or curly padauk is rare. As with many figured woods, it’s easier to find highly figured Padauk in veneer form as opposed to figured padauk lumber.
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