Species data
Yellowheart
Euxylophora paraensis - a hardwood from brazil. Also sold as pau amarello.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,790 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 2,413,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.83 |
| Density | 51.8 lb/ft3 (830 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 4.32 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 6.7% tangential / 5.6% 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 Yellowheart compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 76% of them, heavier than 80%, and stiffer than 88%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Yellowheart it weighs about 23.0 lb. A stack of ten is 230 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Yellowheart is about 1.5x as hard and 1.19x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 6.7% tangential against 5.6% radial, a ratio of 1.2 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 Yellowheart on hardness in this database: American Hornbeam (1,780 lbf), Pecan (1,820 lbf), Zebrawood (1,830 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. Usually easy, though figured grain gets tricky and it moderately dulls cutters
Durability. Moderately durable, with conflicting accounts of insect resistance
Typical uses. flooring, furniture, boatbuilding, accents, turning.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). CT/CR omitted: yellowheart 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.