Species data
Monkeypod
Albizia saman - a hardwood from central and South America; widely planted across the tropics. Also sold as monkey pod, raintree, saman.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 900 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,149,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.60 |
| Density | 37.4 lb/ft3 (600 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 3.12 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 3.4% tangential / 2% radial |
| Indicative price | $10.00 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 Monkeypod compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 45% of them, heavier than 46%, and stiffer than 8%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Monkeypod it weighs about 16.6 lb. A stack of ten is 166 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Monkeypod is about 74% as hard and 86% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 3.4% tangential against 2% radial, a ratio of 1.7 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 Monkeypod on hardness in this database: Eastern Redcedar (900 lbf), Honduran Mahogany (900 lbf), Paper Birch (910 lbf), Hackberry (880 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Usually works easily, though planing interlocked grain may cause tearout; takes glue and finish well
Durability. Rates durable to very durable, with good resistance against insect attack
Typical uses. furniture, cabinetry, carving, millwork, veneer, turning.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). CT/CR omitted: monkeypod is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient table. 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.