Species data
East Indian Rosewood
Dalbergia latifolia - a hardwood from india, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Also sold as indian rosewood, indian palisander, sonokeling.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 2,350 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,783,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.86 |
| Density | 53.7 lb/ft3 (860 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 4.47 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 5.9% tangential / 2.6% radial |
| Indicative price | $30.00 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 East Indian Rosewood compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 86% of them, heavier than 83%, and stiffer than 68%. 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 East Indian Rosewood it weighs about 23.9 lb. A stack of ten is 239 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, East Indian Rosewood is about 1.9x as hard and 1.23x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 5.9% tangential against 2.6% radial, a ratio of 2.3 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 sits in that range.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to East Indian Rosewood on hardness in this database: Persimmon (2,300 lbf), Santos Mahogany (2,400 lbf), Bubinga (2,410 lbf), Purpleheart (2,520 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Interlocked grain and density make it tricky; chalky deposits blunt cutters, yet it usually glues and turns well
Durability. Very durable, with reliably solid resistance to termites
Typical uses. fine furniture, musical instruments, veneer, turned objects, specialty items.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). SG is the 12% MC value from the source's "Basic, 12% MC" pair (0.73, 0.86). 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.