Ayous

AYOUS WOOD FEATURES

Ayous wood is a lightweight African wood appreciated for its clean appearance, smooth texture and excellent machining performance. Also known as Abachi, Obeche — and sometimes identified as Wawa or Samba — Ayous timber mainly originates from the dense tropical forests of Cameroon and the Congo Basin, areas renowned for producing high-quality tropical timber.

Thanks to its pale colour, stable structure and easy processing, Ayous timber is widely used for interior joinery, mouldings, blockboard, plywood, panelling, furniture components and sliced veneer production. Its straight grain and low density allow efficient cutting, peeling and finishing operations, making it particularly suitable for industrial woodworking applications requiring precision and consistency.

Ayous tropical hardwood is especially valued where light weight and refined surfaces are important, offering reliable performance across both decorative and technical applications.

When thermally modified, Ayous wood is also widely used for exterior cladding applications. Thermo-treated Ayous offers improved dimensional stability and durability, while maintaining its light weight and refined appearance, making it particularly suitable for architectural façades and decorative exterior solutions.

Vasto Legno supplies carefully selected Ayous wood for international markets, combining production expertise and material selection to support professional woodworking and industrial manufacturing needs.

Discover all our wood species available for industrial and commercial applications

END USES

Moulding / Furniture, components / Veneer for plywood / Interior joinery / Boxes and crates / Fiber or particle boards / Interior panelling / Sliced veneer / Blockboard

WOOD DESCRIPTION

Color: Light yellow
Sapwood: Not demarcated
Texture: Medium
Grain: Straight or interlocked

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

	Mean	Std dev
Specific gravity	0,38	0,05
Coeff. of volumetric shrinkage	0,36%	0,11%
Total tangential shrinkage (TS)	5%	0,5%
(normal moisture, at 12%)

NATURAL DURABILITY

Fungi: Not durable
Dry wood borers: Susceptible
Termites: Susceptible
Use class: Class 1 – Inside (No dampness)

DRYING

Drying rate: Rapid
Risk of distortion: No risk or very sligth risk
Risk of casehardening: No
Risk of cracking: No risk or very sligth risk
Risk of collapse: No

SAWING AND MACHINING

Sawing: Easy
Peeling: Good
Slicing: Good

ASSEMBLING

Nailing/Screwing: Poor
Gluing: Correct