Samba wood is obtained from the tropical tree with the scientific name of Triplochiton scleroxylon, a species native to western and central Africa and with a height ranging between 30 and 65 meters. Depending on the country, the wood receives one or another name: abachi or obeche in Nigeria, wawa in Ghana, ayous in Cameroon and samba in Ivory Coast.
The colour of the samba wood varies from white to pale yellow in the whole cross section, so that the sapwood is hardly distinguishable from the heartwood.
The samba wood is a soft timber, so although its handwork is easy, the nails grip is weak. A pore covering is recommended before its finish, due to its grain of a medium-thick size, and its vein generally straight.
The samba wood has a very little retention to the temperatures, which makes it virtually immune to the putrefaction or wearing because of the weather. However, it is necessary to do a chemically treatment, because it is very vulnerable to be attacked by woodworms.
The trending trade name to denominate the samba wood is obeche, which is currently a very exploited species and at risk of exhausting their plantations. Its material it is especially wanted because of the absence of either splinters in its surface nor resins in their composite, and it can be worked very easily because its possibility of deformation is minimal. It is simple to work it in a mechanized way and although the gluing presents no problem, the grip of nails is weak.
The samba wood has its more specialized application in the construction of the interior parts of the saunas, especially where you can touch the skin. It is used to build interior moldings, friezes, light furniture, particle boards, vein and edges. In addition, samba timber is a good material for quality frames for oil paintings, drawings and watercolors.