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Frake (Terminalia superba)
Overview
Frake wood, also known as Limba, is a hardwood from West Africa, known for its attractive appearance and versatility. It has a yellowish-brown to brown heartwood with distinct grey and black streaks in the figured version (Black Frake/Limba). The sapwood is pale grey and light brown, not clearly defined from the heartwood. Frake is moderately hard, with a Janka rating of 670 lbf, and is known for its straight to slightly interlocked grain and somewhat coarse texture. It's often used in interior applications like furniture, joinery, and decorative pieces, and is also popular for exterior cladding after thermal modification.
The wood is light yellow and does not have demarcated sapwood. The grain is straight or interlocked and the texture is medium. Sometimes it has brittleheart. Some logs have black greyish heartwood, more or less veined. Density at 12 % moisture content: 0.54 g/cm3.
The blunting effect is normal (sometimes quite high) and peeling and slicing is reported to be good. Internal stresses in some logs (usually timbers from plantation). Nailing is good and gluing is correct. Fraké dries rapid to normal. Sawdust may cause allergic reactions during machining. Fraké is poorly durable to fungi and is susceptible to dry wood borers; sapwood not or slightly demarcated (risk in all the wood). Preservative treatment is sometimes difficult due to a variable permeability (low to good).
Fraké can be used for several applications such as:
Interior: e.g. furniture, seats, paneling, boxes and crates, veneer, wood-ware, joinery, moulding, light carpentry, fiber and particle boards, sliced veneer
Exterior: e.g. wood frame house.
| Species | Frake (*Terminalia superba) |
| Origin | Africa |
| Grade | AIC |
| Thickness | 18mm to 300mm |
| Width | 40mm to 300mm |
| Length | 4m to 8m |
| Drying | KD, AD |
| Prominent Uses |  |
Description & Distribution
Frake, also known as Limba is grown in Tropical Western Africa and has a yellowish to golden heartwood, with distinct grey and blacks streaks. The darker figured wood refers to the Black Frake or Limba, While the unfigured refers to White Limba. Limba is found in the West African rain forests on the Guinea coast. The tree is distributed most frequently in the Congo.
Physical Characteristics
Crushing Strength: 47MPa (+/- 8)
Specific Gravity (at 12% MC): 0.54 g/cm3 (+/- 0.07)
Stability : Moderately stable
Static bending strength: 80MPa ( +/- 16)
Durability and resistance
Dry Wood Borers : Class S - Susceptible
Fungi: Class 4 - Poorly durable
Termites: Class S - Susceptible
Treatability: Class 2 - Moderately permeable
Typical Applications
● Veneer for interior of plywood
● Blockboard
● Seats
● Interior panelling
● Light carpentry
● Wood frame house
● Fiber or paticle boards
● Sliced veneer
● Veneer for back or face of plywood
● Current furniture or furniture components
● Interior joinery
● Moulding
● Glued laminated
● Boxes and crates
● Wood-ware
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