Ramin

Ramin is an imported straw-coloured hardwood used for mouldings, flooring, plywood, picture frames. Other applications include dowels, handles, turnery and carving.

Other Names

Gaharu Buaja, Mavota, Melawis, Ramin Telur, Nununa, Ainunura, Lanutan, Bagyo, Gonystylus spp., Gonystylus bancanus, Gonystylus punctatus

Botanical Name

Gonystylus macrophyllus

Common Form
Sawn
Species Type
Hardwood
  • Overview

    • The timber sold under the name ramin comes from a mixture of species originating in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

    Ramin is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Imports into Australia are required to be sourced only from sources approved by the Australian Government. You can find more information here.

    Ramin is used for flooring, plywood, mouldings, dowels, handles, turnery and carving, and it is very popular for picture framings.

    The heartwood is straw-coloured and the sapwood is similarly coloured and up to 60mm. The texture of ramin is medium and even and its grain is straight or shallowly interlocked, with very little figure. The green timber has an unpleasant odour but this disappears when it is dry.

    Ramin is easy to work to a smooth finish. Pre-drilling may be needed when nailing near ends. It peels well, although the veneer is inclined to be brittle, and it is unsuitable for steam bending because of excessive buckling. If any inner bark is present on material being processed, the fine splinters from it can cause skin irritation. It glues well, and takes polish, paint and stains easily.

    The untreated sapwood is susceptible to lyctid borer attack and is not resistant to termites. It takes preservatives easily. 

    Shrinkage

    Very Low Low Medium High Very High
    Check mark Check mark Check mark

    Tangential : Provides a simplified rating for tangential shrinkage. This is the measure of the percentage reduction in dimension from the unseasoned to 12% moisture content condition.
    4.80%

    Radial : Radial shrinkage is perpendicular to the growth rings. It is shrinkage in the direction towards the centre of the tree. Measurement is % value
    1.80%

    Unit Movement Tangential: This is the percentage of dimensional change for each 1% moisture content change between about 3% moisture content and the fibre saturation point for the particular species.
    0.31%

    Unit Movement Radial: This is the percentage of dimensional change for each 1% moisture content change between about 3% moisture content and the fibre saturation point for the particular species.
    0.13%

    Strength Group Strength groups are given for unseasoned (S1-S7) and seasoned (SD1-SD8) timber in accordance with AS 2878. S1 and SD1 yield the highest strength and stiffness whereas S7 and SD8 yield the lowest.

    Very High

    High

    Reasonably High

    Medium High

    Medium

    Reasonably Low

    Low

    Very Low

    Unseasoned:

    S1

    S2

    S3

    S4

    S5

    S6

    S7

    S8
    Check mark

    Seasoned:

    SD1

    SD2

    SD3

    SD4

    SD5

    SD6

    SD7

    SD8
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    Stress Grade A stress grade is defined in AS 1720 as the classification of timber for structural purposes by means of either visual or machine grading. The stress grade indicates the basic working stresses and stiffnesses to be used for structural design purposes. Measured in MPa.

    Structural
    No. 1    		 Structural
    No. 2    		 Structural
    No. 3    		 Structural
    No. 4    		 Structural
    No. 5

    Unseasoned:

    F14

    F11

    F8

    F7

    F5

    Seasoned:

    F22

    F17

    F14

    F11

    F8

    Density per Standard Seasoned density is based on moisture content of 12%. Unseasoned density is an approximation as it depends on the moisture content at the time of measurement. Measured kg/m3.

    Seasoned:

    625kg/m3

    Unseasoned:

    Joint Group The joint group is a classification of the strength of a species in joint design. The values are from 1 (very high strength) to 6 (very low strength).

    Very High

    High

    Reasonably High

    Medium

    Low

    Very Low

    Unseasoned:

    J1

    J2

    J3

    J4

    J5

    J6

    Seasoned:

    JD1

    JD2

    JD3

    JD4

    JD5

    JD6
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    Colour The colour of seasoned heartwood can vary between species and often within a species. The information provided should be used as a general guide only. In most cases, the colour of sapwood is either a lighter shade of the heartwood or a white/cream colour.

      White, yellow, pale straw to light brown Pink to pink brown Light to dark red Brown, chocolate, mottled or streaky
       
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    Mechanical Properties

    Modulus of Rupture - Unseasoned: This property is a measure of maximum stress which timber can momentarily sustain when loaded slowly and continuously as a beam. Measured in MPa.
    67

    Modulus of Rupture - Seasoned: This property is a measure of maximum stress which timber can momentarily sustain when loaded slowly and continuously as a beam. Measured in MPa.
    128

    Modulus of Elasticity - Unseasoned: This property is of importance in determining the deflection of a beam under load — the greater the stiffness, the less the deflection. Measured in GPa.
    11

    Modulus of Elasticity - Seasoned: This property is of importance in determining the deflection of a beam under load — the greater the stiffness, the less the deflection. Measured in GPa.
    15

    Maximum Crushing Strength - Unseasoned:

    Also referred to as compression strength. This property measures the ability of the timber to withstand loads applied on the end grain. Measured in MPa.
    37

    Maximum Crushing Strength - Seasoned: Also referred to as compression strength. This property measures the ability of the timber to withstand loads applied on the end grain. Measured in MPa.
    70

    Impact - Unseasoned: Provides the Izod value, which is the energy taken in joules (J) to fracture the timber.

    Impact - Seasoned: Provides the Izod value, which is the energy taken in joules (J) to fracture the timber.

    Toughness - Unseasoned: This is a measure of timber’s ability to resist shocks and blows, and is synonymous with impact strength. It is measured in Nm.
    Low - up to 15 Nm

    Toughness - Seasoned: This is a measure of timber’s ability to resist shocks and blows, and is synonymous with impact strength. It is measured in Nm.
    Medium - 15 - 24 Nm

    Hardness - Unseasoned: Refers to the Janka hardness test and is a measure of timber’s resistance to indentation.
    2.8

    Hardness - Seasoned: Refers to the Janka hardness test and is a measure of timber’s resistance to indentation.
    5.8

    Durability

    Low Moderate Reasonably High High
    (0 - 5 yrs) (5 - 15 yrs) (15 - 25 yrs) (more than 25 yrs)

    In-Ground: Durability is defined as the inherent resistance of a timber species to decay, or to insect or marine borer attack. All references to durability refer to the heartwood only. A scale of low to high (durability class 4 = low; 1 = high) has been adapted for above and in-ground durability.

    		 Check mark
    (0 - 7 yrs) (7 - 15 yrs) (15 - 40 yrs) (More than 40 yrs)

    Above ground: Durability is defined as the inherent resistance of a timber species to decay, or to insect or marine borer attack. All references to durability refer to the heartwood only. A scale of low to high (durability class 4 = low; 1 = high) has been adapted for above and in-ground durability.

    		 Check mark
    (0 - 20 yrs, usually < 5) (21 - 40 yrs) (41 - 64 yrs) (More than 60 yrs)

    Marine Borer Resistance: Indicates whether a species is resistant (R) or not resistant (NR) to marine borer attack.

    		 Check mark

    Lyctid Borer Susceptibility: Indicates whether a species is susceptible (S) or not susceptible (NS) to lyctid borer attack.

    Susceptible

    Lyctid Borer Susceptibility - Other:

    Termite Resistance: Indicates whether a species is resistant (R) or not resistant (NR) to termites.

    Not Resistant

    Fire Properties

    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

    EFH Ignitibility: A measure of the tendency of a material to ignite measured on a scale of 0 – 20. An index of 0 indicates that the material did not ignite during the 20 minutes that the test takes. An index of 20 indicates that the material ignited in the first minute.
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

    EFH Spread-of-Flame Index: This is a material's propensity to burn rapidly and spread flames based on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 means that the materials will not cause flames to reach the ceiling and 10 indicates that the material could be expected to cause flames to reach the ceiling of a room within 10 seconds of ignition.

    EFH Smoke-Developed Index:This is a measure of the concentration (measured by optical density) of smoke a material emits as it burns. It is based on an arbitrary scale of 0 to 10. The higher the index, the greater the hazard from smoke is likely to be.
    1 - non-combustible 2 - reasonably non-combustible 3 - slightly combustible 4 - combustible

    Fire Properties Group
    Number:

    Group Number - Other:
    3 if used on MDF or particleboard ≥12mm; veneer thickness 0.6 - 0.85mm

    Average Specific Extinction Area: This value is determined by the volume of smoke measured over the mass loss of the tested sample per test carried out in accordance with ‘Cone Calorimeter Test’ AS/NZS 3837. It is measured in units of m2/kg.
    <250

    Bushfire Resistance: Naturally bushfire-resisting timbers are those with inherent bushfire-resisting properties. Some species have been tested and a number are in the process of being tested and are measured by Bushfire Attack level (BAL). BAL -12.5: Ember attack, BAL – 19: Increasing levels of ember attack and burning debris ignited by windborne embers together with increasing heat flux between 12.5 and 19 kWm3, BAL – 29: Increasing levels of ember attack and burning debris ignited by windborne embers together with increasing heat flux between 19 and 29 kWm3.
    BAL 12.5 and 19 – Door and window Joinery only
    Appearance

    The grain of ramin is straight or shallowly interlocked, with very little figure, and the texture is medium and even. The heartwood is straw-coloured, with the sapwood being a similar colour and up to 60mm wide.

    Common Applications

    Ramin is used for mouldings, flooring, and plywood. It is very popular for picture frames and its other applications include dowels, handles, turnery and carving.

    Workability

    Ramin is easy to work to a smooth finish. Pre-drilling may be needed when nailing near ends. It peels well, although the veneer is inclined to be brittle, and it is unsuitable for steam bending because of excessive buckling. If any inner bark is present on material being processed, the fine splinters from it can cause skin irritation. It glues well, and takes polish, paint and stains easily.

    The untreated sapwood is susceptible to lyctid borer attack and is not resistant to termites. It takes preservatives easily. It may be prone to end splits, particularly in thicker sections, and surface checking. It is prone to sap stain fungi attack.

    Origin of timber
    Asia
    Ramin is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Imports into Australia are required to be sourced only from sources approved by the Australian Government. See a link in the Overview description for more details.
    Ramin is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Imports into Australia are required to be sourced only from sources approved by the Australian Government. See a link in the Overview description for more details.

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