Acacia Wood, the Strong, Durable and Inexpensive Wood

The Acacia tree is widely grown in tropical regions. The tree can grow on barren soil with little water. In Indonesia, the acacia tree is often planted to "green" the barren soil or roadside. The acacia tree can be used as an initial tree in the open area to cover the soil and build the forest. The acacia tree can grow in the lean soil to make it fertile and ready to be planted with more productive plants. After the tree grows, then some other productive plant can be grown in the area. The acacia trees can become the protectors for some other tree, such as a vegetable or fruit plant.

The acacia wood actually can be used for many purposes. There are many species of acacia, each of which has varied properties and many uses. In the woodworking industry, acacia wood is good wood for construction, furniture, flooring, ornaments, and other uses.

The acacia wood has a nice appearance, a light brown base color with strong grain character; the color varies from white with orange streaks at the sapwood to reddish with black streaks at the heartwood. The wood is strong, hard, and heavy. Its density varies from about 700 kg/m3 to 1200 kg/m3, depending on the species and its origin. Generally, it is heavy, strong, durable, and highly resistant to the insect attacked. It is strong enough to be used as outdoor furniture and hard enough to be used as flooring. The wood is also strong enough to be used as construction for houses and wooden building. 

 Acacia wood

Processing for acacia wood

Basically, the wood is quite ideal to be used in the woodworking industry. It has a medium hardness that makes it easy to be processed by the wood machines. It also has a good appearance and a light brown base color with dark stripes grain pattern that makes it can be used to make many wood products. The wood is also durable and strong, which means it can be used for outdoor products. The wood now is still less popular than teak and mahogany, and its sources might be difficult for the user. But with good management in cultivating and marketing, actually this wood can be a good option as a raw material for the woodworking industry. 

Good control is needed in the drying process of the acacia wood. It is hardwood; too fast drying is high risk to get the wood defect such as rupture or warping. The drying of wood takes a relatively long time, about 30 days to 45 days, depending on the thickness of the board.

acacia wood furniture

Finishing for acacia wood.

Overall, acacia wood has a light brown base color ranging from light brown at the sapwood to dark brown in the heartwood. This wood has a nice and strong character of grain with soft grain texture and small pores. The acacia wood can be finished in the transparent wood color with a nice and interesting look. The oil finish or natural wood finish is mostly used on the acacia outdoor furniture. The transparent finish is also most used on the acacia flooring.

The paint finish can also be accommodated well by this wood. This wood has a soft texture and small, shallow pores. You can make close pores finish quite easily. Two or three times application of paint coat is usually enough to make close pores finish for this wood.