Rubber Wood
Normal productive life of Rubber tree is about 20 to 29 years. The latex production becomes uneconomic and the trees cut and replaced. Rubber plantation is a sustainable source of rubber as well as timber, contributing positively to the environment.
Rubber wood is a light hardwood. The wood is whitish yellow or pale cream when freshly cut and seasons to light straw or light brown. It is a moderately hard and ‘light to moderately heavy’ timber with density ranging from 435 to 626 kg/m3 at 12% moisture content. It is a diffuse porous wood with medium texture and straight grain. Sapwood and heartwood are not distinct. Occurrence of tension wood seen as white lustrous zones when freshly cut is a characteristic feature of rubber wood.
The wood is susceptible to the attack of fungi and insects. Hence to improve the durability of the wood chemical preservation is carried out. The structure of the vessels in rubber wood permits easy and effective preservative treatment. Processing of rubber wood essentially include sawing, preservative treatment, seasoning and wood working operations. As received from field the logs are about 270 cm long with girth ranging from 80 to 100cm. Rubber wood belongs to the treatability class ‘b’ and durability class III.
Processed Rubber wood – Attributes
- Light colour
- Attractive grain structure
- Good strength properties
- Good working, machining and finishing properties
- Good staining properties
- Good glaring properties
These make the rubber wood a versatile wood.