Yellow Meranti

Yellow Meranti Wood: Versatile for General Construction and Utility

Introduction
Yellow Meranti wood, sourced from the Richetia group of Shorea species, is widely used across Malaysia. Known for its light color, moderate durability, and ease of working, this wood goes by various local names, including damar hitam and meranti in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. It is particularly favored for light construction and utility purposes, offering a balance between strength and versatility.

Key Characteristics

• Density: Yellow Meranti is classified as a Light Hardwood, with a density ranging from 575-735 kg/m³ air dry.

• Natural Durability: Classified as not durable under Malaysian conditions due to susceptibility to termite attacks, Yellow Meranti is typically used where high durability isn't critical.

• Texture & Grain: The wood has a moderately coarse texture with interlocked or sometimes wavy grain, giving it a smooth and moderately aesthetic finish.

Strength Properties

Yellow Meranti wood belongs to Strength Group C, making it suitable for general construction and non-heavy-duty applications. It offers moderate strength and is ideal for indoor and sheltered uses.

Applications

Yellow Meranti wood is a versatile material, suitable for a range of general utility and light construction purposes:

• General Utility: Frequently used for posts, beams, joists, and rafters in both residential and commercial settings.

• Furniture: A popular choice for furniture due to its ease of workability and smooth finish.

• Plywood & Shipbuilding: The wood is prized for plywood and is often used in boat and shipbuilding due to its workability.

• Flooring & Decking: Suitable for light flooring and decking in residential spaces.

Drying & Machining Properties

• Air Drying: Yellow Meranti dries moderately slowly, with 13 mm thick boards taking about 3 months to air dry and 38 mm thick boards taking 5 months.

• Kiln-Drying: Kiln Schedule J is recommended, with the wood drying well without significant defects.

• Machining: The wood is easy to saw, plane, and cross-cut, both in green and air-dried conditions. Planed surfaces are generally smooth to moderately smooth.

Nailing & Shrinkage

• Nailing: The nailing properties of Yellow Meranti vary from good to poor, depending on the species.

• Shrinkage: The wood experiences moderate shrinkage, with tangential shrinkage ranging from 3.1% to 3.8%, ensuring some dimensional stability.

Defects

Yellow Meranti wood is prone to brittle-heart formation, though the extent varies by log. It is susceptible to powder-post beetles after felling, and the wood may stain when in contact with iron components.

Conclusion

Yellow Meranti wood is an ideal choice for light construction, general utility purposes, and furniture, offering ease of use and moderate strength. While not highly durable, it is prized for its versatility and workability, making it a valuable material for both indoor applications and areas where heavy-duty strength is not required.

INTRODUCTION

The Standard Malaysian Name for the timber of the Richetia group of Shorea (Dipterocarpaceae). Vernacular names applied include bam (Pahang), damar hitam (Peninsular Malaysia) with various epithets, meranti (Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak) with various epithets, seraya (Pahang), seraya kuning (Sabah) with various epithets and other localised names too numerous to list here. Major species include S. dolichocarpa, S. faguetiana, S. gibbosa, S. hopeifolia, S. longisperma, S. maxima and S. multiflora. The sapwood is lighter in colour and is clearly defined from the heartwood, which is lighter yellow-brown with a green tinge, darkening to deeper shades of yellow-brown or brown.

Also known as Yellow Meranti (Brunei); Dammar hitam, Dammar kelepek and Meranti kuning (Indonesia); Bam, Manggasinoro and Yellow Lauan (Philippines); and Kalo (Thailand).

DENSITY

The timber is a Light Hardwood with a density of 575-735 kg/m3 air dry.

NATURAL DURABILITY

The standard graveyard tests conducted at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) have shown that the average service life of S. multiflora and S. longisperma are 1.9 years and 1.1 years respectively. Out of the 45 tests stakes of S. multiflora, 15 stakes were destroyed within 6 months while the last two stakes were completely destroyed after three years. Similarly, tests on S. longisperma indicated that only about 8 percent of the test stakes were still serviceable at the end of the first year. The destruction of timber was caused almost exclusively by termites. Therefore, yellow meranti is classified as not durable under Malaysian conditions.

PRESERVATIVE TREATMENT

The timber is moderately difficult to treat with preservatives.

TEXTURE

Texture is moderately coarse but even, with usually interlocked and sometimes wavy grain.

STRENGTH PROPERTIES

The timber falls into Strength Group C (Engku, 1988b) or SG6 (MS 544: Part 2: 2001).

Strength Properties of Yellow Meranti

MACHINING PROPERTIES

It is easy to resaw and cross-cut in both green or air dry conditions. Planing is also easy and the planed surface is smooth to moderately smooth. 

Machining Properties of Yellow Meranti

NAILING PROPERTY

Nailing property ranges from good to poor depending on the species.

AIR DRYING

The timber dries moderately slowly, with very little degrade, except for some cupping, bowing and powder-post beetle attacks in the sapwood. 13 mm thick boards take approximately 3 months to air dry, while 38 mm thick boards take 5 months.

KILN-DRYING

Kiln Schedule J is recommended. The timber is reported to dry well without any defects.

Kiln Schedule J

SHRINKAGE

Shrinkage is rather high to high, especially in the tangential direction. Radial shrinkage ranges between 0.9% and 1.2% while tangential shrinkage ranges between 3.1% and 3.8%.

DEFECTS

Yellow meranti timbers are liable to brittle-heart formation. The extent of damage due to the brittle heart may be negligible in some logs but appreciable in others. The timber appears to be relatively free from shot-hole borer damage but they are subjected to attack by pin-hole borer (Desch, 1941). They are also reported to be highly susceptible to powder post beetle after felling (Menon, 1957). The timber stains when in contact with iron components ( Burgess, 1966).

USES

The timber is suitable for general utility purpose, light construction, planking for vehicle bodies as well as ship and boat building, panelling, mouldings, partitioning, shop and office fittings, furniture, joinery, flooring, decking, staircase (angle blocks, rough bracket, apron lining, baluster, balustrade and sprandrel framing), tool handles (non impact), pallets, railway sleepers, posts, beams, joists, rafters and pencil. This timber is highly prized as a plywood species.