Seasoning and Shrinkage 
With careful seasoning, albarco does not warp, check, or shrink excessively. 
It has good dimensional stability when manufactured, as indicated by its 
tendency to low absorption of moisture (2, £, 10, 11) . 
Durability 
Deeply colored specimens of albarco are reported to be resistant to decay (9), 
and, locally, engineers report the wood to be termite resistant. 
Workability 
Apparently, wood grown in different localities shows considerable variability 
(1, 9), since there are conflicting statements on the workability of albarco 
While there are reports of considerable difficulty in sawing and machining 
albarco (U, 5) > there are also statements (1) that no trouble was experienced 
and that the wood works well, takes a filler readily, finishes smoothly, and 
takes a high polish (1, 3, £, 10). 
The principal difficulty with albarco occurs when power machinery is used 
instead of hand tools in cutting lumber or machining it. Some albarco appar- 
ently contains considerable mineral matter (3> h } 5) that dulls tools. 
Suggested remedies for overcoming difficulty in manufacture are the use of 
special saws (for example, saw teeth tipped with tungsten carbide or "Stellite") 
and the use of slower speeds ("heavier" feed rate) than usual in cutting. 
Veneers are said to be cut without difficulty by both the rotary and slicing 
methods (9), and workers using hand tools are said to find the wood easy to 
work. 
Uses 
Albarco is used locally to some extent for heavy planking and general con- 
struction (3 > ]_ } 8). Because it has a superficial resemblance in texture 
and color to mahogany, it has been marketed as a cabinet and finishing wood. 
Use of albarco for shipbuilding is also reported (12) . 
Availability 
Albarco is reported to occur in considerable quantity {9), so that means 
for overcoming recognized drawbacks might well lead to profitable utilization 
of the species. 
Rept. No. R1921 -3- 
