Uses: Veneer for plywood, furniture, sounding boards for stringed instruments (including guitar tops), piano keys, interior paneling, blockboard, sliced veneer, moulding, turnery, interior joinery and cabinetry; doors, windows and frames, toys and boxes.
Marupa
Scientific name: Simarouba glauca
Description: Heartwood is creamy yellow to whitish with a sandy and uniform texture and a straight grain and occasionally figured with narrow vessel lines. Occasionally it has oily streaks. Lustre is rather high. The wood has a bitter, quinine-like taste. It is said to be a substitute for yellow poplar similar in color, strength, hardness and compression properties.
Properties: Marupa is very workable and stable with properties similar to mahogany. It planes and sands very well, achieving smooth, clean surfaces. It molds and turns well. It paints and varnishes well; peels, slices and glues well. May split when screwing. Filling is recommended to obtain a good finish. Working properties have been compared to white pine, black gum and basswood.