Is it possible to make furniture or any woodworking project with afata wood?
Below we will explain the comprehensive guide before you use these wood in your project.
Afata Wood General Properties
Afata wood or Cordia Trichotoma is a type of tree that belongs to the family Boraginaceae.
This wood makes furniture, coatings, sheets, building materials, casks, boats, plates, sculptures, machimbre, the tool ends, and even propellers for light aircraft.
It has more than 250 species of trees, shrubs, and subshrubs from the New World.
Cordia species are common in Brazil’s plants. At least 65 species of this genus can be found all over the country.
In its natural environment, the tree is a pioneer species. It grows as a weed along fences and in secondary coppice areas.
Cordia trichotoma high commercial value comes from the high quality of its wood, how easy it is to work with, and the many ways it can be used.
It grows naturally in tropical and subtropical forests in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The tree has a high rate of survival and growth when planted, and it can be used to reforest areas that have been changed or for business purposes.
The top is round and dense, with fins at the bottom. The shaft is cylindrical and can be up to 25 m long.
The density of the wood is between 0.65 and 0.78 g/cm3.
There are other names for Afata wood
Louro pardo is another name for Cordia Trichotoma.
It has qualities that could make it good for commercial plantings, such as a good stem shape and high-quality wood.
Cordia trichotoma is a South American wood called peterbi (spelled differently) and Argentine black laurel. It is used for heavy construction in its native area (Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Brazil).
Names like Afata, petereby, and peterebi are common.
Afata Wood Aesthetics
The grain of the wood is another thing that might make the furniture look great. Afata wood is also nice to look at and smells good.
The valuable wood from the tree is cut down in the wild and traded in the area. It is a pretty tree that can be used for landscaping and is good for reforestation.
Depending on how the boards are cut from the tree, the veins can look different, but it can striped veins like those in pines, floral veins like those in Guatamb, overlapping arches like those in cedar, and gasped veins like those in Peteribi.
Afata Wood Availability
Typically offered as a veneer or turning blanks, boards are only infrequently made accessible.
Pricing
The prices of imported hardwood are about average.
Most of what drives the domestic market for wood from native forests is supply and demand.
The most valuable wood, like Cordia Trichotoma (US$ 250–350/m3), costs between US$ 200 and US$ 480/m3.
Geography
Cordia trichotoma grows in soils that drain well in secondary forests. It lives in the Atlantic rain forests and the cerrado in Brazil, from Missiones Province in Argentina to Bolivia and the north of Argentina to the east of Brazil.
It lives in an open and secondary semideciduous rainforest that avoids dry areas up to 1,000 m. Found in sandy or clayey soil near rivers.
This kind of animal lives in the southeast of Brazil, Paraguay, and the north of Argentina.
The plant has been tried out in several agroforestry systems in Brazil. It grows in the mountain ranges of Ceará, Para ba, and Pernambuco.
The area where it lives is the Atlantic Pluvial Tropical Forest and the Pluvial Subtropical Forest.
The louro-pardo is a natural plant that can be grown in the south, center-west, and southeast of Brazil.
Maintenance
The wood ages slowly and warps only slightly as it breaks down.
In general, there isn’t much you can do with surface inspection and end splitting.
The wood saws and machinery give good to great results in all activities. It is said to stick together easily and stay in place well when made.
Sustainability
Cordia trichotoma has a high population and a wider range.
The species are cut down for lumber, but this is not a big problem right now, and no other big problems for the future have been found.
The plant is on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species but on the “Least Concern” list.
Is Afata hard or softwood
Afata is a type of hardwood. The fibers of these trees are the thickest (fiber tracheids and libriform fibers).
Hardwood costs more than softwood because it grows more slowly. There are several differences because of the other things we looked at.
Hardwood is a fine-grained material that lasts for a long time. Its increased density makes it slightly harder for water to move through. Because of this, most outdoor furniture is made from hardwood.
Softwood comes from plants called gymnosperms. Pine, cedar, and saligna are all examples of softwood trees. Trees that have leaves all year are thinner than those that don’t, making them easier to cut down.
Softwood is made up of tracheids and medullary rays. It has more sap and a lighter color, but it doesn’t stand up well to fire.
Don’t forget that you couldn’t use this wood to make outdoor furniture. The furniture would be broken in no time.
Afata wood stain
The only things that are talked about are color, grain, flaws, texture, and sometimes smell, and all of these things can be wrong.
The heartwood isn’t very durable on its own, and it doesn’t take much treatment to make it last longer.
Afata wood is easy to work with by hand or machine and has a low effect on the cutting blades. It planes and molds to a clean, smooth finish and works well in most other operations.
The wood works well with dyes and other treatments and can also be glued. There are no channels of resin, pockets of pitch, or pitch streaks in the wood.
Greenwood air ages slowly, and if it doesn’t get enough air, stain and decay fungi can damage it during this time.
Cordia trichotoma Wood identification
Afata heartwood is light to medium brown and can be plain or have a pigment figure that shows the pattern of the growth rings. Sapwood is usually easy to spot because it is clear and has a yellowish or light brown color.
Most grain is straight or has small gaps between it. It has a medium and even feels.
The shiny wood rays make a unique and quite attractive pattern on quartered surfaces. In general, the shine is between medium and high.
The weight of the wood varies, but it is in the same range as mahogany and Cedro.
Color and Appearance
The color of the heartwood is between beige gray and yellowish brown gray. The color of the wood could be even or have tiny dark lines running through it.
Heartwood is golden to reddish brown with darker lines or patterns.
Sapwood is different from heartwood because it is light yellow. Quartersawn surfaces have ray flecks because the rays are so big.
Endgrain
Wood sometimes rings porous or semi-ring porous. White deposits can sometimes be found in groups of Heartwood vessels.
Fewer than six vessels per mm2 (rare). Axial parenchyma in areas that are on edge or seem to be on edge. The axial parenchyma of the apotracheum is either dispersed or clumped.
Radial clusters and multiples, and sometimes diagonal or tangential rows.
There are few medium-sized to large vessels, and tyloses and light brown deposits are common.
Parenchyma is diffuse, vasicentric, and banded (marginal). Rays are medium to large and far apart.
Flower
The flower structure showed that the number of locules could change from two to four along the ovary, with four locules in the ripe fruit.
The C. trichotoma flower is both dichlamydeous and heterochlamydeous. It is also actinomorphic and hypogynous.
The green synsepalous calyx and white sympetalous corolla stayed on the fruit as it grew, but they turned brown when it was fully grown.
The diaspore, composed of the fruit and perianth, showed the anemocoric dispersion.
Fruit
This plant’s fruit is a dry drupe. Most fruits of Cordia species are edible and have a thin to a moderately thick layer of sweet, pulpy flesh surrounding a single seed (though some are known to cause gastric disturbances).
On the other hand, this species belongs to a subgenus whose mesocarp is made of fibers instead of flesh.
The corolla tube and calyx wrap around the fruit of this species, and the base of the style has grown out and stays on top.
Even though the fruit looks like a drupe, it is a drupoid with anemocoric dispersion. The ovary is called 2-carpellate because it has two lobes and four ovules, but only one of them turns into a seed.
Grain and texture
Straight or interlaced grain, medium-coarse texture, nice natural luster.
When you harvest, you should plant again within five months. In a nursery, half-shade a seedbed. Between 50 and 90 days, seeds will grow.
Scarifying the seed coat makes it easier for water to get into the seed, which speeds up the process of germination. When the seedlings are 5–6 cm tall, put them in their own pots. They will be ready in 6 months.
Seeds
Cordia seeds can be saved like any other seeds. Some types of Cordia are more likely to die if they dry out and are stored than others.
These species and populations can be kept alive with the help of seed banks.
Still, it’s important to think about how different seeds germinate, dry, and store before making plans for how to germinate and store them.
leaves
Cordia Trichotoma is a tree that grows between 20 and 30 meters tall and has leaves that fall off. The cylinder-shaped bole has no supports and can be anywhere from 12 to 15 m long and 70 to 90 cm in diameter.
The leaves of Cordia leucocephala Moric (Boraginaceae) from northeast Brazil were put through a process called hydrodistillation to get the essential oil.
odor
When being dealt with, it releases a lovely scent.
Tree
Wood is a porous material. Vessels in groups, most often in short radial rows of two to three vessels and in clusters. The average diameter of a tangential vessel is between 120 and 160 m.
2–5 vessels/mm2 is the average number.
Cordia trichotoma is a tree that loses its leaves and grows between 20 and 30 meters tall. The cylinder-shaped bole has no supports and can be between 70 and 90 cm in diameter and 12 to 15 m long.
The tree is cut down in the wild for its valuable wood, traded in the area. It’s a pretty tree that can be used for landscaping and is good for reforestation.
Afata wood bark
Peterebi is a tree that can grow up to 125 feet tall, has a thin trunk that is 18 to 24 inches in diameter, and doesn’t have any branches for 40 to 50 feet.
It doesn’t have buttresses, and the bark is rough and dark brown, like an Elm’s (Ulmus).
It has a strong trunk and bark that can be peeled off in thin layers. The pale reddish brown wood is light and porous. It looks nice, but it is rarely used.
The bark is sometimes used for tanning and has some healing properties because it contains the alkaloid carapina.
Pros and Cons
Rot Resistance
It is mildly to not at all resistant to decay, and it has low resistance to insects.
Either white-rot or brown-rot fungus can’t kill it. It is very strong against dry wood termites.
The treatment to make the wood last longer doesn’t do much to the heartwood.
Strength and Durability
Cordia wood is strong and long-lasting when used close to the ground. It is also more resistant to dry wood termites than mahogany.
People say the darker wood is less likely to rot and attract termites than the lighter wood.
The strength of these Cordias is about the same as that of mahogany and Cedro.
In a test called the “face and back-face test,” which was used to find out which species stuck together best, it was found that Cordia trichotoma had the highest shear strength when it was dry.
allergies and toxicity
Afata hasn’t been linked to any other health effects besides the risks that come with any wood dust.
But it has been found that some Cordia species can irritate the skin, and some Cordia species contain cordiachromes, which can irritate the skin.
Water resistance
No- it cannot be used in water.
Workability
The majority of hand tools and machine tools are easy to operate.
This tree ranges from large to enormous and is pleasant to the touch. It is strong, resilient, and versatile all at the same time. Additionally, it holds screws, may be nailed and adheres well to surfaces.
Because the woods are lovely, simple to work with, durable, and don’t compress or expand much, afata wood is widely used to make a variety of products, including furniture, cabinets, general construction, and boats, among others.
The wood needs to be usable in various ways comparable to those in which mahogany and cedro are utilized in the United States.
SAWING: It is said that sawing this species is not difficult.
ROTARY VENEER CUTTING: presents some fascinating opportunities for peeling and slicing.
SLICED VENEER: Peeling and slicing the veneer presents some unique challenges.
EFFECT ON BLUNTING: The wood of this species has very little impact on the cutting instruments, making them slightly less effective.
PLANNING: Putting together a plan is not difficult.
NAILING: achieving a strong holding of the nails.
Gluing: The gluing process goes smoothly thanks to its cooperative nature.
POLISHING: It can be polished with little effort.
Afata wood uses
Amongst other applications, it is utilized in producing ornamental coverings, wainscoting, laminates, small boats, veneer, furniture, cabinets, and interior trim.
Afata Wood for Furniture
Cordia Wood, also called afata wood, is popular for making furniture, and there is enough of it, which is usually a worry for the person making the furniture.
This wood is about as dense as American walnut and has a neutral tone like chestnut. Because its texture and grain are close together, it can handle stress well and get a smooth patina finish with little work.
It looks good in bank fixtures, club room decor, and Spanish-style furniture. It can be used in many ways instead of oak.
Afata wood for veneer
Thin sheets of wood called afata wood veneers have a thickness that ranges from 0.24 millimeters to 3 millimeters. They are fashioned from solid wood planks sliced or rotary cut.
The veneer used to construct the vast majority of doors and furniture has a thickness of 0.6 millimeters.
Cordia Trichotoma Related Species
Although it is similar to the more well-known Bocote, Afata does not have the remarkable grain patterning of its cousin.
Despite being one of the species in the genus Cordia that are the lightest in weight, afata is one of the mechanically strongest species. It also has a great strength-to-weight ratio, particularly in its modulus of rupture and elasticity.
Freijo (Cordia Alliodora)
Cordia alliodora is a 30-meter tall, semi-evergreen tree with a long, narrow, and dense crown.
One of the most important trees for wood where it grows. It gives shade to fields of coffee, cocoa, and fruit.
It is a street tree because it looks nice and smells good. Cordia alliodora is common and won’t go extinct any time soon.
Cordia alliodora makes good wood. It is used to make furniture, cabinets, plywood, and joints. Most of the species in this genus have hardwood, which can be used to make wood and charcoal when the plants get big enough.
Tropical Black Sage (Cordia Curassavica)
Varronia curassavica is a branching shrub that grows to be three meters tall.
Both medicine and fiber can be made from the wild plant.
This natural cure is sold in stores near you. From sea level to 1,360 meters, there are wet or dry thickets, slopes, secondary growth zones, and oak woodlands.
Ziricote (Cordia Dodecandra)
Cordia dodecandra is a beautiful flowering tree with a small trunk and a crown that is 16 meters tall.
Fruit that is picked from the wild is popular in the area. Some of the tree’s fruit can be eaten in its natural area. Likely since the time of the Mayan Empire.
Black, dense heartwood. Needs to be polished. It is used to make furniture and build things.
In ship stuffing boxes, where the propeller shaft comes out of the hull, and a seal must be kept, self-lubricating wood is used.
Bocote (Cordia elaeagnoides)
Cordia elaeagnoides can grow 6 to 15 meters or even 20 meters tall.
Up to 1,200m, there are dry forests.
Most species in this genus have hardwood that can be used to build things or make charcoal when the plants get big enough.
Louro Preto (Cordia Megalantha)
Cordia megalantha is a short-lived, 60-meter-tall tree that loses its leaves.
People use wildwood. It can be grown, especially in wet places, because it is big and has good wood.
Cordia megalantha is found in many places, has a large population, and doesn’t cause any major problems.
The mesocarp of this species is made of fibers, not flesh.
West African Cordia (Cordia Platythyrsa)
Cordia platythyrsa is a tree that can grow more than 30 meters tall.
The heartwood is light golden brown to medium brown with a pinkish tint. The sapwood is white but can turn green when cut with iron or steel tools.
The wood is light, soft to very soft, and pretty durable. It can stand up to attacks from both fungi and insects.
Kou (Cordia Subcordata)
Cordia subcordata is a small evergreen tree or shrub that can grow from 4 to 15 meters tall and has a thick, wide crown.
Boles without buttresses are often twisted and can be up to 8 meters long and 60 cm in diameter without any branches. Even though the plant is found in many places, it can only grow near the coast.
