Rubberwood
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Rubberwood is wood from the Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), often called the rubber tree. Rubberwood, also called parawood in Thailand, is used in high-end furniture as it is valued for its dense grain, attractive colour, minimal shrinkage, and acceptance of different finishes. It is also prized as an "environmentally friendly" wood, as it makes use of trees that have been cut down at the end of their latex-producing cycle.
Rubberwood is often misunderstood as a species of wood utilized in the furniture industry. The name of rubberwood itself invokes a variety of misconceptions as to its features and to its durability. It is one of the more durable hardwood lumbers used in the manufacturing of home furnishings of this decade. A member of the Euphorbiaceae family, rubberwood has a dense grain character that is easily controlled in the kiln drying process. Rubberwood has very little shrinkage making it one of the more stable construction materials available for furniture manufacturing. Rubberwood lumber takes easily many different types and colors of wood finishes such that rubberwood as used in furniture can mimic rosewood, or oak or other more expensive lumbers creating confusion in the identification of the type of wood used in the furniture.
Like many maples, rubberwood is also a sap producing species, producing specifically rubber. After the useful economic lifespan of rubber tapping, the older practice was to burn the "useless" tree. As a "Sustainability" marketing feature, rubberwood is the most ecologically "friendly" lumber used in today's furniture industry. Unlike other woods that are cut down for the sole purpose of producing furniture, rubberwood is used only after it completes its latex producing cycle and dies. This wood is therefore eco-friendly in the sense that we are now using what was going as waste.
Properties of Rubberwood:
Density (kg/m³ at 16°C) ---------------------------- 560-640
Tangential Shrinkage Coefficient (%) ------------- 1.2
Radical Shrinkage Coefficient (%) ----------------- 0.8
Hardness(N) ----------------------------------------------- 4,350
Static Bending, N/mm at 12% MC ------------------ 66
Modulus of elasticity,n/mm at 12%MC ------------ 9,700
Source: FRIM, Malaysia
