About the wood
Jatoba (Brazilian Cherry)
Hymenaea courbaril
Not a cherry: the Brazilian Cherry of a million floors is a tropical legume about twice as hard as white oak, orange-brown going red with age, and inexpensive for an import.
- Janka
- 2690 lbf
- Density
- 57.0 lb/ft³
- Origin
- Central America, southern Mexico, northern South America and the West Indies
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern
Working & finishing
Difficult to work on account of its density and hardness, with a moderate blunting effect on cutters, and hard to plane without tearout because of the interlocked grain: carbide, shallow passes, and a sander for the final surface. Glues, stains, turns and finishes well and responds to steam bending. Pre-drill and countersink every screw. Oil or hardwax deepens the red, which keeps darkening in daylight. Reported to cause skin irritation.
Care
Wipe spills and clean with a damp cloth; at 2,690 lbf it will not dent under ordinary use. Expect the color to darken and redden in light over the first year. Very durable against decay and termites, but its shrinkage is in the oak range, so an outdoor top moves with the seasons and grays without an annual oil.