When it comes to choosing the perfect wooden table for your home and lifestyle, there are many factors to take into consideration. . Each wooden table has different characteristics and no two pieces are the same. In the end it comes down to personal choice and style.
We take a look at the different types of wood used by Joubert en Seuns to make our beautiful custom made wooden tables:
Matumi
Matumi or Mingerhout is known as the “woodworkers friend”. This hard wood is heavy and has yellow-light brown colours. It is a very popular choice when it comes to making furniture.
Pros: Matumi is very popular for manufacturing purposes and Matumi wood furniture is regarded as ‘fine furniture’. It is quite heavy and hard and is excellent for making solid wood furniture like coffee tables, dining room tables and floors.
Cons: The Matumi tree is a protected tree species in South Africa. For this reason, Joubert & Seuns takes care to source wood that would otherwise have been destroyed due to construction and developement.
Leadwood
Leadwood or Hardekool is one of the largest trees in Africa. It is known to be very dense and heavy. If immersed in water, Leadwood will sink. It is one of the only wood species that sinks due to the fact that it is a heartwood and extremely dense. Leadwood is reddish brown to dark brown in colour.
Pros: Leadwood is resistant to termites and one does not need to treat a Leadwood table for example, for termites. It is extremely durable with weathering characteristics. Leadwood furniture is not offered for sale very often.
Cons: In terms of workability, it is quite difficult to work with due to its density.
Teak
Joubert & Seuns offers two types of Teak wood tables – Sand Kiaat and Dopper Kiaat. Teak in general is a worldwide favourite. A piece of Teak furniture can stand the test of time. Known as a heartwood, it is golden or light brown but darkens with age.
Pros: Teak makes for superb furniture with stability and good strength. It is resistant to decay, rot and termites.
Cons: Teak furniture tends to have a coarse and uneven texture. Raw teak wood furniture can feel greasy due to its natural oils.
African Ebony
Ebony wood is in high demand especially for ornamental pieces. It is very popular for making carvings, parts for musical instruments such as piano keys and of course wooden furniture. The heartwood is jet-black with slight dark brown streaks. It has no visible grain.
Pros: Ebony furniture tends to have a fine texture which makes for truly exquisite furniture. It is very durable and resistant to termites and other insects.
Cons: Even though African Ebony is quite dense, stiff and strong, it is known to have poor stability.
