Species data
Sapele
Entandrophragma cylindricum - a hardwood from tropical Africa. Also sold as sapelli, sapeli mahogany.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,360 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,790,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.67 |
| Density | 41.8 lb/ft3 (670 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 3.48 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 7.2% tangential / 5.2% radial |
| Indicative price | $9.00 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 Sapele compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 63% of them, heavier than 57%, and stiffer than 70%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Sapele it weighs about 18.6 lb. A stack of ten is 186 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Sapele is about 1.1x as hard and 96% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 7.2% tangential against 5.2% 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 Sapele on hardness in this database: Bur Oak (1,360 lbf), White Oak (1,350 lbf), White Ash (1,320 lbf), American Beech (1,300 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Interlocked grain can tear out when planing or routing; reacts with iron and stains, but turns, glues and finishes well
Durability. Decay resistance runs from moderate to high; only limited protection against borers
Typical uses. furniture, cabinetry, flooring, musical instruments, boatbuilding, veneer.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Sapele is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient table, so CT/CR 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.