Keruing

Keruing is the name given to the timber yielded from more than 70 species of the genus Dipterocarpus. This group of large hardwoods is indigenous to South East Asia, where the species are harvested from managed forests with regeneration programs.

Across the entire species, a wide variety of heartwood hues are available, including deep-pink, orange-pink and purple-red. The most common heartwood is red-brown. Sapwood is usually lighter, sometimes with yellow or grey tinges. The wood darkens with age and features a generally straight, or shallowly interlocked grain, sometimes with a stripe figure on the radial surface. Texture varies between species from fine to coarse but is always uniform.

Keruing timber is low maintenance, hardwearing and ideal for outdoor furniture use. The wood is strong and classified as durable, making it useful for construction purposes. Other common uses include internal flooring, protected framing and boards, internal joinery and mouldings, lining, paneling and framework. Preservative-treated material is used for poles, piles, sleepers and cross-arms.  It is often used as a cheaper alternative to oak for heavy construction, decking, vehicle building and sleepers, and it is also in plywood.

Where other timbers may require curing, keruing is completely cured and ready for immediate use with no risk of leaching, bleeding or leach sap. It contains oleo-resins and will exude it onto surfaces during drying or when exposed to heat or sunshine when in use; gums may also cause problems in machining.