Species data
Bocote
Cordia spp. - a hardwood from mexico and Central and South America. Also sold as bocote.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 2,010 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,767,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.85 |
| Density | 53.0 lb/ft3 (850 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 4.42 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 7.4% tangential / 4% radial |
| Indicative price | $22.00 per board foot (estimated) |
Values are at about 12% moisture content. Density is specific gravity times 62.4; a board foot is one twelfth of a cubic foot, so weight per board foot is that density divided by twelve. Anything marked estimated is our own figure, not a measured one.
How Bocote compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 82% of them, heavier than 81%, and stiffer than 66%. Hard enough to be tough on edges and on machinery.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Bocote it weighs about 23.6 lb. A stack of ten is 236 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Bocote is about 1.6x as hard and 1.21x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 7.4% tangential against 4% radial, a ratio of 1.9 to 1. The wider that ratio, the more unevenly a flatsawn board moves across its width as humidity changes, and the more it wants to cup; anything near or above 2 to 1 is worth quartersawing or restraining for panels and wide tops. This one moves comparatively evenly.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Bocote on hardness in this database: Ziricote (1,970 lbf), Pau Ferro (1,960 lbf), Wenge (1,930 lbf), Shagbark Hickory (1,880 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Machines and works smoothly with fine results; bonds well despite its oils, and figure poses no machining trouble
Durability. Rated moderately to very durable by species; insects can still attack it
Typical uses. fine furniture, cabinetry, flooring, veneer, boatbuilding, musical instruments, gunstocks, turned objects.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Not in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional-change table, so movement coefficients are omitted. Uses, region, durability, workability summarized from The Wood Database. Price indicative.
These calculators are for planning and estimation. Engineering results (shelf sag, wood movement) use published average material properties; real boards vary by grade, grain, moisture and defects. Verify load-bearing designs with a professional.