Scientific Name: Caesalpinia platyloba
Also known as: Mexican Pernambuco, Paela
Status: UNCOMMON
Origin: Southern Mexico
Traditional Uses: Fine Furniture, Inlays, Pens, Turnery, Flooring, Cabinetry
Chakte Viga is an esteemed wood and is sought for the unrivaled orange color tone that the heartwood is renowned for. Ranging in shades from light apricot to burnt orange with hints of red, Chakte Viga’s color will deepen with age and exposure. Sapwood ranges from yellow to pale white.
Chakte Viga is a joy to work with. Valued by jewelers for inlays, it also turns well and can be shaped to fine detail and buffed to a glassy polish. Very fine texture with a closed grain, it sometimes displays an interlocked grain that creates figuring. Chakte Viga is known to plane very well and also readily accepts wood glues. Also known to be termite resistant, it is used in some remote areas of Mexico for wood posts. Some of these posts are said to be over 100 years old.
Tone Qualities: Reported to have good tone qualities
Specific Gravity: 0.93
Hardness: 2250 Janka
Durability: Excellent
Fine Examples of Chakte Viga Creations: Note: links may take you to 3rd party Websites
