Is gmelina wood good for furniture

If you are thinking about having wood furniture at home or for kitchen cabinets, you should definitely look for wood that can live for years and decades. Your chosen wood should have the ability to bear a good amount of pressure, withstand extreme weather conditions, and can be furnished or painted in an easy manner.

Most people in the world, especially those living in tropical areas, may think about Gmelina wood but the question is, is Gmelina wood good for furniture?

Is gmelina wood good for furniture

This guide will help you to get information about each aspect of this wood and to analyze whether it is good for your intended furniture or not.

What is Gmelina wood

Gmelina Arborea comes from a widely used tree family known as Lamiaceae. It is one of the most fast-growing trees in tropical areas and is usually known as Gamhar at local places. Because of its fast-growing properties, it requires a fertile place with huge moisture. This is the reason that it is widely found in moist fertile valleys and places where 700 to 5000 mm of rain is recorded on an annual basis.

Depending on the age and some other conditions, gmelina wood can be yellowish-brown, pale yellow, pinkish, or cream-colored as well. As compared to its weight, gmelina wood is extremely strong and is being used in various activities such as construction, musical instruments, furniture, sports equipment, carriages, etc.

Is Gmelina wood durable

Is Gmelina a hardwood?

Gmelina wood falls in the category of medium-range durability. It can resist termite attacks to some extent as well but not in the best manner. Talking about different parts staying at a place, gmelina will never disappoint you as it has one of the strongest gluing properties which allows it to keep different parts of furniture intact.

Because of its strength and a good level of durability, it is widely demanded in countries like Malaysia for the manufacturing of drawers, wardrobes, kitchen furniture, cupboards, musical instruments, doors, windows panels, and many other forms of furniture that require durability and stability for a long time.

Is Gmelina wood termite resistant

It can withstand the attacks of termites, molds, and other insects to a great extent. Even if it can stop some termite attacks, it is still considered to be susceptible and should be taken good care of. Its resistance can be increased by pre-treating the wood, the process is usually known as pressure treating.

There are various factors to prove that treated gmelina wood has greater termite and decay resistance as compared to untreated wood. You can increase its termite resistance through external factors as well such as keeping the furniture indoor while cleaning the dust and dirt on a regular basis.

Gmelina wood pros and cons:

Pros of Gmelina woord:

  • Gmelina wood comes from fast-growing trees which means that you may not face the unavailability of the wood in almost all seasons.
  • Gmelina wood has varying colors and shades which allow users to create more attractive and comprehensive furniture while using a single type of wood in different colors such as yellowish brown, pale yellow, pink, or creamy.
  • The texture of gmelina is in a form that can keep glue and paint firmly in one place. This factor protects users from frequent maintenance and refinishing processes.
  • It is durable enough to live flawlessly for at least a decade. This could be a great choice for people who keep on changing furniture every few years.
  • Versatility allows users to make furniture of different types from making closets for rooms to doors, windows, and kitchen cabinets as well.

Cons of Gmelina woord:

  • Durability is not to a greater extent like many other kinds of wood in the market.
  • Termite resistance is there but with relatively less strength.

Is Gmelina wood good for bed frames

Is Gmelina wood good for furniture?

Gmelina wood is definitely good for bed frames and related furniture because of its strength and stability. Where it includes various factors that make it a good option for manufacturing bed frames, its size, color, texture, and style are probably the most prominent.

Gmelina wood comes in a class and attractive design which includes eye-catching patterns in the wood. The side panels or visible parts of the bed frames will provide efficient designs after finishing them with paint.

The only drawback is that bed frames may only live for about 10 years because of their relatively less durability. Also, bed frames have to bear a lot of weight for at least 8 to 12 hours a day which also affects their life.

Is Gmelina wood good for dining tables

Gmelina wood is good for dining tables because all you need in a dining table is strength and stability which can be efficiently provided by Gmelina wood. The patterns and design of wood also make your dining table look more attractive and pleasant to eat on it.

Although it can stay for years, experts recommend only creating small-sized dining tables while using gmelina wood for such purposes. This practice will increase its strength at one place while making it more durable and allowing it to live for a few extra years on the other.

Gmelina wood vs Mahogany furniture

Gmelina Wood:

  • Gmelina wood is extremely efficient when it comes to creating various kinds of furniture ranging from simple room furniture to kitchen cabinets and musical instruments.
  • It is extremely lightweight and has a soft texture.
  • It can easily be found in most tropical regions and is an extremely fast-growing tree.
  • As compared to mahogany wood furniture, gmelina is a little less durable and is more prone to the attacks of termites and related insects.
  • It is relatively inexpensive as compared to mahogany and many other kinds of wood used for furniture.

Mahogany Furniture:

  • Mahogany is one of the most durable and long-lasting woods in the whole world.
  • An experiment was conducted on the furniture of mahogany wood which showed that this wood furniture can live for decades even if it is in contact with bare ground.
  • You can get an idea by the fact that mahogany wood can live at least for 20 years in average conditions while 40 to 50 years if given proper maintenance and care.
  • It is good in terms of water resistance which makes it a good option for manufacturing decks and boats. This is probably the best wood to be used in outdoor furniture.
  • It can perform efficiently in all kinds of weather conditions as it does not show any signs of wrapping or shrinking.

How to identify Gmelina wood furniture

Many factors can allow you to identify gmelina wood furniture in no time. This is extremely essential to look for at least two to three factors instead of just one, this will give you more proven clearance.

  1. First thing is to look for its color which could be pinkish, yellowish-brown, cream-colored, pale yellow.
  2. In terms of hardness, gmelina wood furniture will fall in between the soft to moderate hard categories.
  3. Gmelina furniture will be lightweight or at a maximum of medium level weight. This is one of the best ways to identify gmelina wood furniture.
  4. Even if it is not painted or finished, gmelina wood has some kind of shine or lustrous properties when it is cut fresh.
  5. It has a good, stylish, and classy medium coarse texture and design.
  6. It has a straight or irregular grain structure that is usually in good form.
  7. In some cases, grains can also be in wavy patterns but such patterns are not very common in gmelina wood furniture.
  8. Furniture will have a great finish that will look like the actual color of the wood. 

How to protect Gmelina wood furniture

There are some things that can badly affect Gmelina wood furniture and taking care of such factors will allow you to protect Gmelina wood furniture in an efficient manner.

  1. Moisture is extremely harmful to gmelina wood and you should protect your furniture from this in the first place.
  2. Gmelina wood furniture is prone to termite attacks and it cannot repel such attacks in an efficient manner.
  3. Gmelina wood furniture can easily be protected by exposing it to direct sunlight for about 2 to 3 days once in a while. Sunlight has the ability to take out moisture even from the core of furniture while killing termites and molds as well.
  4. Apply aloe vera gel as it will form a protective layer over your wood furniture.
  5. Spray boric acids or other related sprays that can keep molds and other insects away from gmelina wood furniture.
  6. Get help from some professionals and experts when it comes to painting or refining your furniture, this will increase its life to a greater extent. 
  7. Remove dust, dirt, and debris from your wood furniture on a regular basis.
  8. Apply oil treatment or related products especially on the parts of your furniture that come in contact with the ground.
  9. One of the most common and effective things is to keep your furniture away from the soil. This will protect your Gmelina wood furniture from most of its problems.
  10. Do common maintenance on a periodic basis such as checking nails, glue, and doing chemical treatments as well.

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