Species data
Massaranduba
Manilkara bidentata - a hardwood from caribbean, Central and South America. Also sold as bulletwood.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 3,130 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 3,344,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 1.08 |
| Density | 67.4 lb/ft3 (1,080 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 5.62 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 9.4% tangential / 6.7% radial |
| Indicative price | $8.00 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 Massaranduba compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 96% of them, heavier than 96%, and stiffer than 100%. Hard enough to be tough on edges and on machinery. At this density a full sheet or a long board gets heavy fast; check the shelf-sag and weight tools before you size anything.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Massaranduba it weighs about 30.0 lb. A stack of ten is 300 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Massaranduba is about 2.6x as hard and 1.54x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 9.4% tangential against 6.7% radial, a ratio of 1.4 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 Massaranduba on hardness in this database: Gaboon Ebony (3,080 lbf), Pink Ivory (3,230 lbf), Cocobolo (2,960 lbf), Cumaru (3,330 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Machines well despite its weight, but dulls tools above average and resists gluing
Durability. Very durable with good insect resistance, though marine borers can still attack the wood
Typical uses. heavy construction, decking, flooring, boatbuilding, bent parts, turned objects.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database, which lists this species under the name Bulletwood (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.