Jabon Wood for Furniture

Kayu jabon, jati kebon (Anthocephalus cadamba) is starting to be favored to be cultivated by wood plantation companies or residence peoples. It can be a good alternative to supply the woodworking industry demand for cheap wood but with acceptable quality. Jabon tree has a straight trunk and grows quite fast if planted in the suitable areas. It can live in the tropical area with a level of 0 to 1000 m above the sea. The jabon wood is considered soft and inexpensive to be used for the interior parts in the woodworking industry. Now it is still less popular than the sengon wood, but jabon wood has great potential to fulfill the wood for the woodworking industry. In the proper climate, the jabon trees can grow quite fast, are easy to plant, and have a straight trunk. He has straight branches that are easy to be cut and processed to give the cleaner and straight stem with less knot. This wood is also relatively easy to be dried; it has small volume shrinkage, so it can be dried fast. For interior use, the jabon wood can be dried within a few days.
Jabon wood is light and soft with smooth pores and grain and pores texture. It is a good choice for plywood or barecore. Generally, the wood has a straight and long stem, which is easy to be sliced and cut to make veneer or plywood.
Some people also use this wood to make furniture with quite good results. This wood is hard and strong enough to make furniture. It can be shaped, machined, engraved, and carved to produce a nice and interesting wood furniture product. This wood has a yellowish-white base color; with the proper finishing, it could produce furniture with an attractive appearance.

Jabon wood properties:

 
Volume shrinkage from wet to dry (m.c. 12%) : 3% for tangential,  6.9% for radial
Specific gravity                                              :  0.29 to 0.56
Modulus of elasticity                                      :  42.9 to 68.0 kg/cm2
Hardness (Janka test )                                   :  276-409 kg/cm (edges), 239-268 (side)

 

                                                   jabon wood furniture
                                                     picture is from : jabon


Finishing for jabon wood. 

Jabon timber has a great potential to be used as raw materials for furniture. This wood has a yellow base color, so it can be finished in any wood color without much difficulty. With proper application of finishing material, it can produce a wide range of transparent wood colors without any problem. It also still has grain, which is special. Although its grain may not be as beautiful as hard wood such as teak or mahogany, it can still be enhanced in the finishing process. It has small and shallow grain and pores texture, making it quite easy to be finished in the close pores finish. The pores and grain texture can be easily covered with the sealer application without the hard process of filler application.
The solid-color finishing is a better option since it would be easier to do. His shallow pores and grain are an advantage because it will be easily covered with paint or a base coat. The solid color in many colors, either antique or clean-looking, can be generated to make the attractive look.

The jabon wood should be considered softwood. It has a risk for blotchy color if it is not well prepared. A good sanding is very important to get a good finishing result. A glue sizing can be done to help the sanding process and minimize the color blotchy problem. The wood is also susceptible to the insects attacked. The proper wood treatment is recommended to minimize the insect attack problem later on.