SIPO - Entandrophragma utile

​Common Name(s): Sipo, Utile, Sipo Mhogany
Scientific Name: Entandropharma utile
Distribution:  West and Central Africa
Tree Size: 150-200 ft (45-60 m) tall, 3-5 ft (1-1.5 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 40 lbs/ft3 (635 kg/m3)
Crushing Strength: 8,280 lbf/in2 (57.1 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial: 4.9%, Tangential: 6.9%, Volumetric: 11.8%, T/R Ratio: 1.4

Sipo is a wood that’s worth using as an alternative for mahogany when the price is right. It is somewhere between the African Mahogany and the Genuine Mahogany. Sipo sapwood is light brown in color. The heartwood is pinkish-brown when first cut, and darkens overtime. Sipo works fairly easy with hand and machine tools, and can be planned to a perfect finish.

Common Uses: ​​​​Furniture, veneer, flooring, cabinets, boat-building, turned objects.

Color/Appearance: ​​​Heartwood is a uniform to dark reddish brown. Well-defined sapwood is paler yellow. Generally lacks dramatic figuring of gran that is common is the closely related Sapele.

Grain/Texture: ​​​​​​Grain is interlocked, with medium uniform texture. Moderate natural luster.

​​Rot Resistance: ​​Rated as moderately durable to durable.