Hawaiian koa is an exotic domestic wood. (Wood of the Month).The Hawaiian Islands are home to many varieties of trees, but the large koa tree is the only acacia that grows naturally in Hawaii. Koa grows widely in all of Hawaii's eight main islands. As a naturally occurring forest tree, it offers an important wildlife habitat. Koa is also grown as a plantation tree and is part of a land reclamation Land reclamation is either of two distinct practices. One involves creating new land from sea- or riverbeds, the other refers to restoring an area to a more natural state (such as after pollution or salination have made it unusable). project designed to provide cover on areas that were damaged by grazing. Logging with Care Ben Clift, sales manager sales manager n → gerente m/f de ventas sales manager n → directeur commercial sales manager sale n → for Danzer Specialty Veneers Inc., of Edinburgh, IN, described the unique way that koa is logged by his company and others. "Koa is one of several woods that is logged by helicopter, a method of logging used to protect the environment," says Clift. "It preserves the logging site and surrounding area as much as possible. Access roads, for example, are not needed when the logs are removed in this way." Koa is prized for its warm tones, which vary from a golden to reddish brown with a contrasting stripe. It can have an interlocked grain that will produce interesting figures, among them wavy, curly and fiddleback figures. The Fine Hardwoods Selectorama describes koa as being naturally lustrous lus·trous adj. 1. Having a sheen or glow. 2. Gleaming with or as if with brilliant light; radiant. See Synonyms at bright. lus with a "walnut-like texture but not as hard." "Our customers like the material with more contrast as well as a figured or curly grain," says Clift. The wood is available in limited quantities in lumber and veneer. Clift said koa is a popular wood with a long and colorful history in the state where it grows. Hawaiian songbirds nest in koa trees. Palaces from an age when Hawaii was ruled by kings feature woodwork entirely done in koa. On the mainland, koa is used primarily for high-end furniture, wall panels and musical instruments, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Clift. In Hawaii, koa is used to make a wide range of specialty items as mementos of the islands. Bowls, candle holders, clocks, coasters, flower stands and vases, frames, lamps, lazy Susans, letter openers, mirrors, oil lamps, pens, trivets, specialty boxes, cribbage cribbage (krĭb`ĭj), card game played by two persons with a deck of 52 cards and a scoring (pegging) device known as a cribbage board. boards, chess boards, chess pieces, Hawaiian game boards, whistles, jewelry, religious articles, photo albums, rockers, tables, and chests are among the specialty gift items made from the wood. You can even buy a backscratcher Noun 1. backscratcher - someone who is willing to trade favors or services for mutual advantage opportunist, self-seeker - a person who places expediency above principle 2. made of solid koa wood or chopsticks, gunstocks, hair ornaments, or woodenware. Musical Fame Probably the most well-known end use of koa is for musical instruments, specifically the world-famous Hawaiian ukulele ukulele (y  kəlā`lē), Hawaiian musical instrument developed from the Portuguese guitar. It has a fretted fingerboard and four strings that are plucked or strummed. . Legend has
it that ukuleles were patterned after a small guitar that was brought to
Hawaii by Portuguese settlers in the late 1800s.
Other uses for koa include architectural paneling, decorative veneers, interior joinery joinery, craft of assembling exposed woodwork in the interiors of buildings. Where carpentry refers to the rougher, simpler, and primarily structural elements of wood assembling, joinery has to do with difficult surfaces and curvatures, such as those of spiral , shop and bank fittings, and bent work in boat building and coachwork coachwork Noun the body of a car . The beauty of the wood as well as its innate properties explains koa's wide range of uses. Koa is very durable and is resistant to insect and fungal attack. It also has medium bending strength and stiffness, with high crushing strength and good resistance to shock loads. Editor's note Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : 90 Wood of the Month articles are now online, with more coming soon. Visit the Wood of the Month archive at www.iswonline.com. RELATED ARTICLE: FAMILY NAME Acacia koa of the Family Leguminosae COMMON NAMES Koa HEIGHT/WEIGHT Average height is 80 to 85 feet. Average weight is 41 pounds per cubic Foot with a specific gravity specific gravity, ratio of the weight of a given volume of a substance to the weight of an equal volume of some reference substance, or, equivalently, the ratio of the masses of equal volumes of the two substances. of 0.67. PROPERTIES Koa seasons well. Experts report the wood dries easily, usually without problems; however, any tendency to cup can be corrected by last stage kiln drying. Wood works easily with hand and machine tools, however experts recommend a reduced cutting angle of 20 degrees when planing or moulding material with a curly grain. Wood is easy to nail and takes screws well and finishes very well. Care needed for gluing. Wood has medium bending strength and stiffness, with high crushing strength and good resistance to shock loads. Small movement in service. |
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