Makoré and Douka

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Makoré (also Baku) and Douka are woods of two African tree species from the genus Tieghemella in the sapote family . Makoré comes from the species Tieghemella heckelii , which is also known by its synonyms Mimusops heckelii and Dumoria heckelii and occurs in tropical West Africa ; Douka comes from Tieghemella africana , which was also earlier assigned to the genera Mimusops and Dumoria and is distributed from Central to West Africa.

The woods Makoré and Douka are botanically very closely related and are so similar in appearance and properties that both species are often used for the same purpose and can therefore be described together.

Makoré is also euphemistically referred to as the African pear tree. The abbreviations according to DIN 4076 sheet 1 are MAC or DUK.

Description of the trees

Makoré is a deciduous tree that grows to over 50 meters high and whose trunk can reach a diameter of two meters. The core of the wood is mahogany to reddish brown and the sapwood is light reddish. The drawing is indistinct.

distribution

Makoré occurs in the states of Ivory Coast , Ghana , Guinea , Liberia and Nigeria . Douka can be found in Gabon , Cameroon , Congo and Sierra Leone .

Use of the wood

Both types are used as veneer , especially for furniture and paneling. Due to the evenness of the veneer pattern, it was often used in undemanding interior design in the 1960s and 1970s. It is also used for veneer panels, plywood , concrete formwork, frame structures in exterior construction such as windows, doors and gates. In interior construction it is used for stairs, tables and furniture parts.

Wood properties

Weight undried (round wood) approx. 850 kg / m 3 , kiln-dry approx. 620 kg / m 3
Compressive strength (air dry) approx. 53 N / mm 2
Flexural strength (air dry) approx. 103 N / mm 2
Moderately hard, evenly dense and elastic wood, which allows good utilization due to a mostly cylindrical trunk shape and large dimensions. Both types are easy to knife, peel and glue. Fresh plaster, alkaline glue and iron lead to discolouration on damp wood. The dry heartwoods are highly resistant to fungal and insect attack. Untreated woods turn brownish-gray when exposed to weathering.

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