Species data
Wenge
Millettia laurentii - a hardwood from central Africa. Also sold as wenge.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,930 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 2,548,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.87 |
| Density | 54.3 lb/ft3 (870 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 4.52 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 8.3% tangential / 4.8% radial |
| Indicative price | $22.00 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 Wenge compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 80% of them, heavier than 85%, and stiffer than 91%. 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 Wenge it weighs about 24.1 lb. A stack of ten is 241 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Wenge is about 1.6x as hard and 1.24x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 8.3% tangential against 4.8% 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 Wenge on hardness in this database: Pau Ferro (1,960 lbf), Ziricote (1,970 lbf), Shagbark Hickory (1,880 lbf), Bocote (2,010 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Often tricky to machine; dulls edges, sands unevenly from varying density, splinters readily, and its large pores resist filling
Durability. Very durable, with solid resistance to termites
Typical uses. veneer, paneling, furniture, turned objects, musical instruments.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). 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.