Most people have heard of mahogany, oak, and walnut, but do you know about mango wood? In this blog, we’ll be talking about what mango wood is, and what properties it has that makes it such a great crafting material for furniture.
What is mango wood?
Mango wood is the timber harvested from the mango tree or Mangifera indica, the same type of tree that produces the mango fruit.
Mango trees are native to India, but they can now also be found in a number of tropical climates in places such as Southeast Asia, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, as well as southern Florida and California.
While mango trees are most commonly grown for their fruit, the timber harvested from the trees is a hardwood that can be used to craft some exceptional furniture.
What does mango wood look like?
Mango wood can vary in appearance, although it is usually light golden brown with darker tones, for a natural appearance that is usually a little darker than oak. Mango can also feature hints of pink, greens, yellows, and black streaks and gets darker with age.
Mango has a pronounced grain, a unique texture and diverse patterns because of a fungus that grows in the wood.
What are the properties of mango wood?
Like other hardwoods, mango has the benefits of being incredibly dense, hard-wearing, and durable, although an exterior finish is required to prevent the growth of fungus if used outdoors. However, compared to other hardwoods, mango is very easy to work with and doesn’t need special tools to be able to carve and is unlikely to crack or splinter when being worked.
Another benefit of mango wood that makes it appealing to manufacturers is that it doesn’t need drying, or extensive processing after being harvested. This means the wood can be
sent for final processing into furniture material more quickly, reducing the lead time of the entire process.
Mango wood is also extremely susceptible to wood staining, the process of colouring the wood while retaining the natural grain pattern. Mango sands easily and then an oil, resin or alkyd-based wood stain can be applied, which binds to the wood’s surface pigment, and then sinks into the wood, making the grain even darker and more pronounced.
Mango wood is a sustainable hardwood
Mango wood has many of the same qualities as other hardwoods, such as strength and durability, but the use of mango trees is also sustainable.
This is because mango trees are already grown in abundance for their fruit, but naturally reach a point where they stop producing fruit and their nutrients are instead used to grow and strengthen the wood. Once mango trees have stopped producing fruit, the trees are cut down and new ones are planted. Mango trees also mature at a quicker rate, in as little as 7-15 years.
While previously the old trees would either be burnt or left to naturally biodegrade, they are now being used for their fantastic furniture-making properties, providing manufacturers with a sustainable crafting material.
Now that you know what mango wood is and what makes it such a great material, why not take a look at our range of mango furniture, including sideboards, dining tables and television units?
