Species data
Garapa
Apuleia leiocarpa - a hardwood from south America. Also sold as grapia.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,650 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 2,257,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.82 |
| Density | 51.2 lb/ft3 (820 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 4.26 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 7.5% tangential / 4.2% radial |
| Indicative price | $6.00 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 Garapa compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 73% of them, heavier than 77%, and stiffer than 85%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Garapa it weighs about 22.7 lb. A stack of ten is 227 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Garapa is about 1.4x as hard and 1.17x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 7.5% tangential against 4.2% radial, a ratio of 1.8 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 Garapa on hardness in this database: European Hornbeam (1,630 lbf), Black Locust (1,700 lbf), Swamp White Oak (1,600 lbf), African Padauk (1,710 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Reasonably easy to machine for its density, gluing and finishing without much trouble
Durability. Durable overall, yet termites and other insects still pose a genuine threat
Typical uses. flooring, decking, docks, boatbuilding.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (citing USDA FPL and related sources). This imported species is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient table, so CT/CR and movement source are omitted. Uses, region, durability and 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.