Acacia wood is one of the hardest hardwoods used in woodworking and furniture making. It is characterized by its high density and flexibility apart from its gorgeous grain and color. Their multidirectional wood structure makes them unique, which means the grains face each other. The sapwood could be light brown or yellow shade, while the core has dark veins with a reddish-brown hue.
What Is Acacia Wood?
Acacia is a polyphyletic genus of trees and shrubs in Fabaceae with the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its common names are wattle, thorn tree, mimosa, and acacia. Acacia is native to Australia but has a wide distribution in Asia, Oceania, Pacific islands, some parts of America, and Africa.
Acacia produces pods containing sap. The leaves contain tannins that are useful in making preservatives, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. It is the second largest genus in the Fabaceae family, with about 1,300 species.
More than 950 acacia species are endemic to Australia, while the remaining species grow in many parts of Europe, the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Acacia wood is popular in making home wares, furniture, and building materials.
Benefits of Using Acacia Wood
Acacia has a lot of uses in carpentry, woodworking, and the construction industry. However, despite its many benefits, it is not a perfect wood type; it has advantages and disadvantages. Learn more about the benefits of acacia wood.
Sustainability
The acacia species have more than 1350 varieties, with over 950 native to Australia. The remaining species of acacia trees grow in some parts of the world. These trees grow so fast, making them available for various uses.
The seeds of acacia sprout and grow by themselves without the need for human intervention. Birds carry the seeds wherever they go, which is why the tree may even grow in your backyard.
Acacia wood is available worldwide as it can grow in almost any soil type and are a fast-growing tree. The tree produces sap for making gum Arabic, which can be a good source of income for farmers.
Enduring Quality
Using acacia wood for furniture, flooring, beams, and walling is popular due to its enduring quality. This wood has a high density on the Janka hardness scale rating, but it depends on the specie. It is resilient to scratches, rotting, warping, weather, and environmental conditions, given the proper maintenance.
The Babul Acacia has a hardness rating of 2300 pounds of force, which means it is 55 percent harder than the European white oak, 90 percent harder than carbonized bamboo, and 23 percent harder than hickory.
A small-leaf acacia has a hardness rating of 2220, while a large-leaf acacia has a rating of 1700. The wood flooring species of acacia called Acacia mangium has a hardness rating of 1750.
Whatever the species of acacia, its hardness makes it less prone to dents, deformation, and scratches. It makes acacia a good choice for flooring, decking, and outdoor applications due to its durability.
Investing in acacia wood furniture also saves dollars as it can withstand the test of time. Properly maintained acacia furniture can even last for 100 years or more. It can stay up to more than thirty years even with less care.
Moisture Resistant
Acacia wood is moisture resistant, which makes it resilient against rotting and water damage. The wood contains certain oils that serve as sealants to remain dry and resist decay and rot.
Unvarnished or unpainted acacia wood can last for several decades, even if exposed to high moisture content. Unlike some hardwood, acacia wood does not warp when exposed to flooded floors.
Antibacterial & Medicinal Properties
Acacia contains antibacterial properties that make it safe when using wooden kitchen utensils like spoons and cutting boards when preparing food. Acacia wood is a popular material in making dinnerware and cutleries as they are safe to use when serving food.
The Acacia species’ barks, leaves, and fruits contain tannins and natural polyphenols as raw materials for sustainable and eco-friendly industries.
Tannins help make beverages, fisheries, animal feed, leather, medicines, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.
The fruits of Acacia nilotica contain more than 22 percent tannin. The leaves of Acacia seyal and Acacia nilotica contain 6.30 percent and 11.80 percent tannin, respectively.
Aesthetic Appeal
Acacia wood comes in a wide range of colors and grain patterns. Many species of acacia produce naturally rich colors in shades of dark brown and reddish brown. The heartwood could be dark red or light brown, while the sapwood could be yellow or white.
It has an irregular wood pattern, is almost wavy or straight, and has a smooth texture in a warm color. The natural veins are in a dark or reddish tone. A newly harvested acacia tree produces white to yellow sapwood. A mature tree has dark heartwood and narrow sapwood.
When exposed to light, the heartwood changes its color from light brown to golden brown. The latewood has smaller pores than the early wood when looking at the wood cross-section.
Acacia wood is an excellent wood that fits well in any home décor and architectural design. It produces a beautiful appearance, even if it is unvarnished or unpolished.
Inexpensive
Acacia wood is affordable compared to oak and maple wood because it is available in any market worldwide. Since acacia consists of more than a thousand species and is fast growing, industries can source them everywhere. Oak and maple are in high demand due to their rarity.
Farmers benefit from harvesting acacia trees because they can also sell the gum Arabic. Acacia is much cheaper during harvesting, even if they produce the same volume as teak. Coating the tree with wax can lengthen its lifespan due to its less oil content.
It pays to be vigilant when sourcing acacia wood as scrupulous vendors sells acacia as teak to gain hefty profit. The best method to detect authentic acacia wood is to inspect it using a black light. A genuine acacia wood glows in the dark.
Drawbacks of Using Acacia Wood
Acacia is an exotic hardwood that contains more than a thousand species. While they are excellent for outdoor and indoor furniture, acacia wood has disadvantages. Please take a peek at our list below.
Poor Workability
Acacia wood has a higher density, making it difficult to work and manipulate with your carpentry tools. The wood is also heavy, making it difficult to cut, dust, plane, and finish using hand or power tools.
The wavy or straight grains make the wood hard, robust, and less porous than most hardwoods. The wood’s fiber increases its density, making it an ideal wood for making cutting boards.
There is no question about the reliability of acacia as a complex and heavy wood; its excessive hardness makes it difficult to manipulate with hand tools. It needs heavy-duty power tools to cut the wood. It also requires extra energy to lift and carry the wood to your workshop.
Some applications that might be difficult to execute when using acacia wood include cutting, sawing, trimming, joining, planing, and smoothing. Painting and staining are not challenging as the wood readily accepts them.
Woodworkers discourage beginners from using acacia wood in their DIY projects; instead, choose a smoother wood.
Costly than Other Wood Species
Acacia is still expensive if you compare it with other regular wood species. It is cheaper than teak but more expensive than maple and oak (even if harvesting acacia is cheaper than maple and oak).
The price of acacia wood continues to increase due to its beautiful wood grain features and unique color.
Australian Blackwood acacia costs $7.90 per foot and 10.50 dollars per foot. The soft maple wood costs $5 per foot, while the hard maple per foot costs $6. Red oak has a cheaper cost at only $3 per foot.
High Maintenance
Acacia wood needs high maintenance to keep its natural luster and aesthetic appeal. Unlike some wood furniture, you need to give it a regular cleaning to remove the dust and mildew.
Caring for your acacia furniture makes its lifespan last for several decades. Acacia wood can last for years, even with less care. You only need to use a damp cloth on the wood surface to keep it clean. Even if it is waterproof, you don’t need to pour water over your furniture.
Your furniture feels comfortable at a constant temperature, neither too cold nor too hot. Among the things you must not do to your furniture is never place wet or hot objects on its surface.
Avoid placing the furniture near the fireplace, heater, stove, or oven. Housecleaning products with ammonia and silicon solutions can cause dryness to your acacia furniture.
Make an organic solution of warm water and mild soap to wipe the furniture. Apply pigmented finishing oil to the surface to prevent warping and protect it from ultraviolet rays.
Acacia wood requires yearly oiling to prevent dullness and dryness. It also protects the wood from sun damage, improves its color variation, restores its luster, and protects it from graying and staining.
Sensitive to Extreme Temperature
Extreme temperature is the worst enemy of acacia wood. Although durable and robust, they are prone to degradation when exposed to hot and freezing winters. They can get cracked when you place them in direct sunlight.
When the temperature changes abruptly, your acacia furniture swells. The best way to protect it from extreme temperature changes is not to bring it outside your house. If you want to use it as outdoor furniture, rotate or rearrange the acacia furniture so as not to expose them to draft or sunlight.
Uneven Grain Features
Although acacia wood’s uneven or irregular grain structure looks appealing to some people, some may not appreciate it. If you don’t have interior designing skills, it is better not to have acacia furniture in your home as they are challenging to integrate into your décor. Professionals still prefer a consistent and regular grain feature.
Acacia wood contains knots in various forms and sizes that disrupt the wood fiber consistency, which may cause breakage. The knots cause destabilization to the wood, which is unsuitable for several applications in furniture making and woodworking.
Uses & Applications of Acacia Wood
Acacia is an in-demand wood due to its aesthetic appeal, durability, and cheaper alternative to teak wood. Given the proper care and maintenance, acacia enhances the beauty of your home interior. Take a look at its uses:
- Flooring (engineered & solid)
- Indoor & Outdoor Furniture
- Decorative & Artistic Wood Pieces
- Wall Decors
- Kitchen Utensils
- Dinnerware & Serving Utensils
- Musical Instruments (violins, flutes, & ukuleles)
- Boat Building
- Cabinetry
- Support Beams
- Handicrafts
- Firewood
Acacia wood is almost similar to teak wood. You must use a black light; the wood is acacia if it emits fluorescent light. Vendors take advantage of customers by selling teak as acacia at a higher price.
FAQs
Is Acacia Wood Easy to Source?
To use acacia wood for your project, you must source it online or from a specialty lumberyard. It is easy to source if you live in Australia, southern Asia, Oceania, and Africa. However, outsourcing could not be easy if you live in the United States and Europe, as they do not grow in these regions.
Can I Stain Acacia Wood?
Staining acacia wood is not at all difficult as it readily accepts it. It can still look good if you wish to apply stains on the wood. This wood may still look aesthetically appealing without stains.
To get the best staining result, you must apply light sanding on the surface with fine-grit sandpaper.
Clean the surface after sanding using a wet cloth until there is no dust left on the surface. Let the wood dry for an hour before staining using a dry cloth.
Can I Apply Paint on Acacia Wood?
Acacia readily accepts paint well. Painting the wood serves as proofing against water and heat. Although it is unnecessary to paint acacia wood, it can help extend its life if you use it for outdoor use.
It forms a layer on the wood surface to protect the wood from harsh environmental elements. Prepare the wood by applying a wood primer before painting to achieve a smooth and fine finish.
Is Acacia Wood Strong?
Acacia is a strong wood type, which makes it resistant to wear and tear. It has 10,142 psi compressive strength and 18,263 psi bending strength, making its dimensional stability reliable. Acacia wood is excellent for making support beams in houses as it can withstand pressure even during a strong quake and wind.
Conclusion
Acacia is a popular hardwood with multiple uses due to its resilience against extreme elements and water damage. It is an excellent wood for making furniture, wood carvings, and as a building material. Learning the advantages and disadvantages of acacia is essential before buying wooden furniture.
Like some hardwood, you must take care of it to extend its longevity by giving your furniture a regular cleaning. This wood is moderately more costly than maple and oak, but the price you pay is worth every penny as the acacia furniture enhances your home interior.