Machiche, Caribbean cherry

Names and distribution:

Botanically, machiche(Lonchocarpus castilloi) belongs to the legume family and is closely related to jatobá, merbau and rosewood. The name “Caribbean cherry” is commonly used in North America because of its strong, brown-red color. The species is well distributed in the Caribbean, in the humid forest of Yucatan (Mexico) and in Guatemala.

Wooden picture:

Sapwood: pale yellow to ochre, heartwood: reddish brown to coffee brown. The grain is simple and homogeneous, sometimes interspersed with black to golden-brown stripes. The pores are medium sized, the fibers are predominantly straight to intertwined. The storage cells are conspicuously broad and wavy around the pores, resulting in a light-colored pattern in longitudinal section, comparable to the appearance of wenge. Decorative overall.

Properties:

The spec. Weight is specified at 12% wood moisture with approx. 0.85 ^t/m3. The solid wood is easy to dry and has good dimensional stability. Machiche is best machined with carbide-tipped tools. Smooth and attractive surfaces can then be created.
The bending stiffness is high (modulus of elasticity 19,000 N/mm²), as is the shear strength. Machiche is weather-resistant (15-20 years in contact with the ground, class 2). High hardness, significantly harder than mahogany of the same color.

Note / Recommendation:

Nothing is known about the excretion of ingredients. In the case of direct installation on metal and porous masonry, appropriate measures must be taken (e.g. wet brushing and oiling).

Use: