Pradoo
Scientific name:
Pterocarpus macrocarpus
Other Common Names:
Burma Padauk
Mai Pradoo
Pterocarpus
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The origin of this wood is Southeast Asia. As a flooring option, pradoo is a very hard and durable wood. It is nearly identical in hardness to santos mahogany’s ranking of 2200, is just under fifty percent harder than hard maple, and a little bit more than two thirds harder than red oak.
Weight:
Specific Gravity:0.586 green and 0.568 air dry. Moderately heavy,40 lb/ft3 (640 KG/m3 ) air dry and 55 lb/ft3 (880 KG/m3 ) green.
Uses:
flooring, chests, rustic furniture, mine timbers, and bedroom suites.
General Characteristics:
The sapwood of pradoo is grayish-white while the heartwood is yellowish-red to golden brown in color after exposure. The species has an interlocked, ribbon-like grain and is moderately coarse in texture. Pradoo has a medium to high luster.
Working Properties:
Pradoo can be moderately difficult to saw properly. Nailing can be difficult in this species, and as such should be pre-bored beforehand. Glue holds somewhat well with pradoo flooring. This wood sands very well and yields a naturally high polish.
Drying and Shrinkage:
Pradoo is easily dried with little resulting degrade in the wood. Shrinkage from green to oven-dry is approximately1.5% radially and 2.5% tangentially.
Durability:
As a flooring option, pradoo is a very hard and durable wood.Pradoo is very resistant to termite attack. The wood is reported to have a faint spice-like odor.

