ASSESSMENT OF KILN DRIED <em>ACACIA</em> <em>MANGIUM</em> FOR PRODUCTION OF QUALITY VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS

Abstract

The current study was aimed at exploring ways to improve the drying performance and treatment procedures of acacia timber that would boost the local timber industry through production of value–added products. In the experiment, selected mechanical properties of acacia sawn timber were determined after it was subjected to kiln drying. The mean values of modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity of kiln dried acacia sawn were 137.48 and 13842.30 N mm–² respectively, while its mean value of hardness and mean shear stress value was 5.80 kN of 17.14 N mm–² respectively. Delamination and bending tests were also conducted on finger joints for truck flooring. All test pieces met the criteria for delamination of finger-joint specified in JASO M 901-85: wooden parts for cargo bed of motor trucks. The acacia finger-joint test pieces also met the criteria for Young’s modulus for bending with an average bending strength value of 74 MPa. The finding indicates that A. mangium finger-joints produced in this study can be a potential laminating feedstock for downstream processing of value added products, such as laminated truck flooring.