Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum)

Characteristics Light Heavy Weight: Soft Hard Hardness: Fine Coarse Texture: Easy Difficult Working: Easy Difficult Finishing: Chart Help

Sapele Characteristics

Gorgeous mahogany look-alike with a slightly finer texture than Honduras Mahogany, and a typically interlocked grain. Sapele is also a lustrous wood that works fairly well in all operations - planing, sawing, routing, sanding, etc.

Color Range

Dark red brown, very similar to mahogany

Other Names

Aboudikroe, Penkwa, Assi, Sapele, Assie sapelli, Sapele mahogany, Lifari, Sapeli

Some Typical Uses

Boat building, Decorative plywood, Decorative veneer, Domestic flooring, Furniture , Joinery, Paneling , Building materials, Canoes, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), Desks, Dining-room furniture, Dowell pins, Dowells, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Floor lamps, Flooring, Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Interior construction, Kitchen cabinets, Lifeboats, Living-room suites, Office furniture, Parquet flooring, Plywood, Radio, stereo, TV cabinets, Rustic furniture, Shipbuilding, Stools, Sub-flooring, Tables , Utility furniture, Veneer, Wainscotting, Wardrobes

What's the Tree Like?

May reach a height of 150-200 feet; bole straight and cylindrical, clear to 100 feet; trunk diameters to 6' over broad, low buttresses, sometimes not buttressed.

Sapele grows in

Africa; Ivory Coast and Nigeria