Imbuia — wood data
- Janka
- —
- Density
- —
- T/R ratio
- 2.2
- Spec. gravity
- —
Imbuia (Phoebe porosa) is an imported species. The Wood Handbook strength tables list no matched specific gravity or hardness for it, so those fields are shown as “—”. It shrinks 6% tangentially and 2.7% radially from green to oven-dry (T/R ratio 2.2), so a 12-inch flatsawn board moves about 0.14 in (≈ 5/32 in) across a 6-point moisture swing (about 6%→12% MC).
Properties
| Specific gravity | — |
|---|---|
| Janka hardness (side) | — |
| Density (air-dry, 12% MC) | — |
| Weight per board foot (air-dry) | — |
| Radial shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 2.7% |
| Tangential shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 6% |
| Volumetric shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 9% |
| T/R ratio (stability indicator) | 2.2 |
Shrinkage is total green-to-oven-dry (Table 4-4). Values shown as “—” have no matched entry in the Wood Handbook strength tables (5-3b/5-5b).
Data: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 (2021), public domain.
Estimated movement by board width
| Board width | Flatsawn (tangential) | Quartersawn (radial) |
|---|---|---|
| 4″ | 0.048″ (≈ 1/16 in) | 0.022″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 6″ | 0.072″ (≈ 1/16 in) | 0.032″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 8″ | 0.096″ (≈ 3/32 in) | 0.043″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 12″ | 0.144″ (≈ 5/32 in) | 0.065″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
Need a different width or moisture swing? Run the movement calculator preloaded with Imbuia. A T/R ratio near 1 means the wood moves evenly in both directions and tends to stay flat; higher ratios cup and distort more as moisture changes.
Seasonal movement by city
| City | Driest month (EMC) | Most-humid month (EMC) | EMC swing | 12″ board movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix, AZ | Jun · 4.4% | Dec · 9% | 4.6 pts | 0.11″ (≈ 1/8 in) |
| Chicago, IL | May · 12.3% | Dec · 15.1% | 2.8 pts | 0.067″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| Miami, FL | Apr · 12.2% | Sep · 14.4% | 2.2 pts | 0.053″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
Computed with ΔD = D × (S ÷ 30 ÷ 100) × ΔEMC, where S is Imbuia's total green-to-oven-dry tangential shrinkage (6%) and 30% is the fiber-saturation-point convention. The EMC figures are USDA Table 13-1 monthly equilibrium moisture content for outdoor exposure (through 2010); a climate-controlled interior swings less, so treat these as an upper-bound seasonal range for each location.
Sources & method
Shrinkage, specific gravity, and hardness values follow the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook (FPL-GTR-282, 2021); derived figures (movement, weight per board foot, T/R ratio, kg/m³, density from specific gravity) are computed with the formulas documented on the methodology page.