Species data
Zebrawood
Microberlinia brazzavillensis - a hardwood from west Africa. Also sold as zebrano, zingana.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,830 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 2,374,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.81 |
| Density | 50.5 lb/ft3 (810 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 4.21 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 10.8% tangential / 7.6% radial |
| Indicative price | $16.00 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 Zebrawood compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 78% of them, heavier than 76%, and stiffer than 86%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Zebrawood it weighs about 22.5 lb. A stack of ten is 225 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Zebrawood is about 1.5x as hard and 1.16x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 10.8% tangential against 7.6% 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 Zebrawood on hardness in this database: Pecan (1,820 lbf), Yellowheart (1,790 lbf), American Hornbeam (1,780 lbf), Shagbark Hickory (1,880 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Saws nicely yet planes poorly because interlocked grain tears often; glues and finishes well
Durability. Durable, with good resistance to insect damage
Typical uses. veneer, tool handles, furniture, musical instruments, boatbuilding, carving, turned objects.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). SG is the 12% MC value from the source's "Basic, 12% MC" pair (0.67, 0.81). 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.