SPECIFIC GRAVITY:   1.03

DENSITY:   63 pcf

TANGENTIAL MOVEMENT:   6.50%

RADIAL MOVEMENT:   5.50%

VOLUMETRIC SHRINKAGE:  

DURABILITY:   Very good

SOURCE:   Gaboon, Southern Nigeria, Cameroon, and Zaire

DESCRIPTION:   Color is jet black, sometimes with uneven gray to black stripes. This is believed to be the blackest wood grown. Sapwood is pale in color. Grain is straight to slightly interlocked. Texture is very fine. Very hard to work with hand or machine tools. A reduced angle of 20 degrees is needed when planing if irregular grain is present. Pre-boring is necessary. Excellent finish when polished. Used for piano and organ keys, organ stops, violin finger boards and pegs, parts of bagpipes and other instruments, handles on tools and knives, door knobs, butt ends of billiard cues, facing of tee squares, turnery, inlaid work,