Merbau Veneer
Mainly
found in Malaysia and Indonesia, Merbau is also called Ipil, Kwila & Mirabow, and is generally
better known as a hard and heavy that is used for flooring, although it is also
sliced into veneer.
Merbau is distributed throughout the Indo–Malaysian region, Indonesia, Philippines, and many western Pacific islands, as well as Australia.
Freshly cut Merbau heartwood is yellowish to orange–brown, turning orange brown or dark red–brown on exposure to air, while lighter-coloured parenchymatous markings often give the wood an ornamental figure on crown cut surfaces. This is sharply demarcated fom the sapwood, which is usually less than 75mm wide, and whitish to pale yellow.
The texture of Merbau veneer is fairly coarse but even, and the grain is straight to interlocked and often wavy.
Sulphur-yellow and dark-coloured deposits are characteristic of the species, and can commonly be seen in the vessel cavities. However, the wood dresses smoothly in most operations and finishes well.
