Wood material will never decline in popularity when it comes to building buildings. Usually, wood is needed as support, construction and furniture material. This material is also suitable for various building styles. In Indonesia itself, there are many types of wood that are commonly used. One of them is mahogany wood.
5 Facts About Mahogany Wood, One of Indonesia’s Best Wood
The popularity of mahogany wood is no less than teak wood. Apart from that, the harvest time is also relatively fast with its large diameter. Do you still feel unfamiliar with mahogany wood? In this article, we will discuss facts about mahogany wood for you.
Origin of Mahogany Wood
As the name suggests, mahogany wood is obtained from mahogany trees. This tree has very unique flowers. At a young age, the fruit of this mahogany tree is shaped like a rugby ball. When ripe, the fruit begins to bloom and displays neatly arranged seeds. These seeds can also be used as herbal medicine, but they taste bitter.
Mahogany trees that are 10 years old can be harvested and taken as mahogany wood for furniture. At that time, the diameter of mahogany wood was 1.5 cm. If you want to make it into building material, you have to wait up to 15 years.
Mahogany Trees Can Reduce Air Pollution
Mahogany trees, which are the main source of mahogany wood, have been proven to be able to reduce air pollution. If you look at the percentage, at least the ability of mahogany trees to reduce air pollution reaches 70%. This is because the leaves can absorb dirty air, then process it into oxygen so the air feels fresher.
Meanwhile, when it rains, this embryo of mahogany wood is able to absorb a lot of water as a reserve. Thus, if you plant this mahogany tree, it is guaranteed that water will not stagnate for a long time around your home garden area.
Characteristics of Mahogany Wood
In general, mahogany wood has a characteristic pale pink color. However, some other mahogany wood is also dark red, indicating that it is more than 25 years old. Meanwhile, the edges of this mahogany wood are always white.
Mahogany wood grain is straight and integrated. This makes mahogany wood easier to cut to the desired shape. The texture is smooth because the pores of mahogany wood are very small.
Advantages of Mahogany Wood
Mahogany wood has become popular not without reason, but because mahogany wood has many advantages. The fine grain makes mahogany look very attractive when coated with natural or classic color paint. The oil content of mahogany wood is also low. This allows mahogany wood to be coated with duco paint without causing yellow stains like teak wood.
If you want to leave the mahogany appearance with its original color, that’s not a problem. The reason is, mahogany wood has an exotic and unique red color. Thus, almost no other wood can match its uniqueness.
The surface of this mahogany wood is also very stable so it does not shrink or change shape easily. It’s natural that mahogany wood is popular for making musical instruments and window frames.
Turning to the price issue, this mahogany wood is priced cheaper than the price of agarwood and teak wood. Even so, the quality of this mahogany wood is still guaranteed. The raw materials themselves are very easy to find on the island of Java.
Disadvantages of Mahogany Wood
It is very unfortunate that mahogany wood is easily attacked by pests as long as it is still a raw material. It is not uncommon for mahogany farmers to experience losses because the wood becomes hollow. Therefore, as long as it is still raw material, the mahogany storage area must always be paid attention to and checked regularly. Don’t worry about the shortcomings of mahogany wood because after going through a perfect oven process and applying medication, mahogany wood actually becomes stronger against pest attacks.
Apart from that, mahogany wood material is also not suitable for outdoor furniture. Apart from being prone to pest attacks, erratic air conditions can also cause mold to appear on mahogany wood materials.