Species data
Ziricote
Cordia dodecandra - a hardwood from central America and Mexico.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,970 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,585,000 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 | 6.7% tangential / 3.5% radial |
| Indicative price | $50.00 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 Ziricote compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 81% of them, heavier than 76%, and stiffer than 43%. Hard enough to be tough on edges and on machinery.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Ziricote 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, Ziricote is about 1.6x as hard and 1.16x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 6.7% tangential against 3.5% radial, a ratio of 1.9 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 Ziricote on hardness in this database: Pau Ferro (1,960 lbf), Bocote (2,010 lbf), Wenge (1,930 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. Surprisingly manageable for its density; it turns and finishes cleanly but checks during drying
Durability. Reported to hold up well against decay in its natural untreated state
Typical uses. furniture, veneer, cabinetry, gunstocks, musical instruments, turned objects.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (citing USDA FPL and related sources). This imported species is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient table, so CT/CR and movement source 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.