Southeast Asia boasts a magnificent tree that has captured the attention of many with its beauty and versatility – the rain tree. The wood from the rain tree is commonly referred to as suar wood and has become a popular material for dining and large coffee tales
If you travel in Java or other Indonesian islands , you will see that Albizia saman or rain trees are ubiquitous as natural shade providers due to the branches’ umbrella-like shape that shields pedestrians from the rain.
Her we are giving the most suitable informations about suar dining tables . we’ll delve deeper into the fascinating world of the rain tree and suar wood. Read on to uncover their origins and their unique properties:
What Are Rain Trees?
Origin of the Rain Tree
What is Suar Wood?
Properties of Suar Wood
- Colour
- Live edge
- Hardness
Uses of Suar Wood
Advantages of Suar Wood Furniture:
- Affordable
- Minimal maintenance
- Moderately Durable
- Resistant to Termites
- Sustainable
How to Maintain your Suar Wood Furniture
- Do Not Place it Outdoors
- Clean Spills Immediately
How to Select Premium Suar Wood
- Ask About Its Origin
- Ask about the drying process before it leave Indonesia
- Look At The Finish
- Where to Buy Suar Wood Table
- Suar Wood vs Other Wood Types for dining tables : Teak, Mahogany And Walnut
FAQs about Suar Wood
What are the uses of suar wood?
What is the cost of suar wood?
What Are Rain Trees?
This beloved and iconic tree has many names. Known as Samanea saman, Albizia saman , suar wood tree, cacathe monkey pod, the five o’clock tree and “Pukul Lima” in Malay, the rain tree is medium-sized and grows up to 30m in cities but can grow up to 60m in its natural habitat, South America.
What’s magical about this tree is that its leaves fold in rainy weather in the evening, hence the nickname, “five o’clock tree” or “rain tree”
Its flowers are pink and have red or white stamens (the long stems that produce pollen) — there’s usually an abundance of them and they cover the whole tree. Their seed pods contain sticks and edible flesh.
The Suar tree isn’t just valued for its wood; its natural beauty and utility are evident in its vibrant flowers and edible seed pods, making it a unique and cherished resource. Discover the timeless beauty of Suar wood tables.
Origin of the Rain Tree
One may think that the rain tree is native to Southeast Asia, but actually, it’s from Central and South America. It’s seen from Mexico to Peru, and even all the way in Brazil.
What is Suar Wood?
The wood harvested from rain trees is commonly known as suar wood, though it also goes by many names including rain tree wood and Acacia. The properties of suar wood make it an excellent material for dining tables or coffee tables.
Properties of Suar Wood
What makes suar wood distinct from other types of wood? Here are some properties to look out for including colour, grain and hardness.
Colour
Suar wood ranges from a golden colour to a dark brown, and sometimes has darker streaks in it. Its sapwood (soft outer layers of the trunk) are usually between thin and yellowish white, and there’s a distinct line that separates it from the heartwood (the wood from the centre of the tree trunk).
Live Edge
Rain tree wood, or suar wood, is most often not use straight, but as live edge top tables making for unique patterns. It shows up well on dining and coffee tables.
Hardness
On the Janka scale, suar wood has a rating of 900. It’s slightly stronger or about the same as African mahogany, but not as strong as teak.
Uses of Suar Wood
It’s cool to have a piece from one of Indonesia iconic trees. After all, a statement piece made from suar wood is the focal spot of a dining room or a living room.
Suar wood’s unique and attractive grain makes for great and unique furniture, such as dining tables and coffee tables.
Advantages of Suar Wood Furniture
Among suar wood’s positive qualities are affordability, minimal maintenance and its moderate durability. Read on to find out more about them.
Affordable
Suar wood is much more affordable than many types of furniture wood as it grows in many types of environment with ease and matures quickly.
This means that it can be farmed and harvested quicker than other types of wood, such as teak or mahogany, accounting for its larger supply and lower price point.
Minimal Maintenance
Suar wood tables require minimal maintenance. All you need to do is to use soap and water to wipe it down. All suar dining table are finished either in natural quite clear color with melamine and oil and can be finished a darker color than the natural color.
Moderately Durable
Suar wood is moderately high on hardness and hence, can be quite resistant to wear and tear.
In addition, the interlocking grain of suar wood ensures that it’s durable and does not warp. The crisscrosses present in the grain prevent the wood from cracking with the changes in weather.
Resistant to Termites
If you worry that drywood termites or wood borers will get at your wood furniture, you can rest easy knowing that this does not happen often with suar wood pieces due to its high resin content.
Sustainable
Since the rain tree grows where it’s planted and naturalises itself to many different types of environments, it’s easy enough to harvest and replant, making this wood sustainable.
How to Maintain Your Suar Wood Furniture
Even though suar wood is highly decay- and pest-resistant, it’s still best to put some measures in place to ensure that your furniture lasts as long as possible. Here’s how to maintain your furniture.
Do Not Place it Outdoors
Ideally, your suar wood furniture piece should be on level ground and away from the outdoors so that it will last longer. The sellers which are trying to sell you a suar tablfor outdoor us are not trustable people.
Clean Spills Immediately
Woman wiping the suar wood table with a cloth
Spills and stains if they are clean immediately will not rub andseep through the wood because of the finishing.
Coffee and wine stains need to be cleaned straightaway to avoid any risk. Use a wet cloth to blot them to retain the finish. Wiping will cause the stain to rub and seep into the wood, making it more difficult to get rid of.
Note: Avoid cleaning your wood piece with harsh chemicals such as dishwasher liquid, alcohol wipes and hand sanitisers as they could damage the finishing
How to Select Premium Suar Wood
It’s challenging to find a piece of suar wood that has been treated properly with no defects. Here are some things you can check to protect yourself from buying a piece that’s of poor quality.
Ask About Its Origin
Suar wood is usually cultivated in Thailand and Indonesia. When shopping for suar wood furniture, ask the seller about its origin. If you’re unable to get an answer, you may not be looking at an authentic piece.
Ask about the drying process before it leave Indonesia
The suar top have to dry slowly about 24 hours in special purpose kiln to reach a degree of humidity of less than 10%.
Sellers which are offering cheapest suar dining tables don’t do this process because it is expensive because the kilns run on gas . This process represents 30% of the cost itself of the wood.
This is the unique guarantee that your dining table could not crack with the variation of the degrees of hygrometry for example with the heating in a house compared to the usual humidity of the room.
Beyond its beauty, Suar wood tables are known for their resilience, offering a durability that adapts to environmental changes like humidity or indoor heating. Explore our stunning Suar tables to bring this unmatched quality into your home.
Look At The Finish
Beware of pieces that have not finished with a lot of lacquer . This may mean that the wood has not been dried properly. In fact, some manufacturers may use lacquer to hide the moisture that should be gotten rid of earlier on in the woodworking process.
Reputable suppliers usually display their wood pieces in its raw form so you can see what they look and feel like. If you prefer a glossy or more darker finish, you can check whether the supplier is able to add to do it.
Where to Buy Suar Wood Tables
Quite few European companies are importing directly from Indonesia full containers of suar tops. Most of the sellers are buying their pieces to a wholesaler.
Suar Wood vs Other Wood Types: Teak, Mahogany And Walnut
With so many different types of wood, it can be overwhelming to weigh out the different pros and cons. Apart from suar wood, some of the more popular options on the market include teak, mahogany and walnut.
In the table below, we evaluate these woods based on grain, colour, hardness, durability and water and rot resistance.
| Suar Wood | Teak Wood | Mahogany Wood | Walnut Wood | |
| Grain | Mostly straight grain, sometimes with interlocking grain | Close grains | Straight to interlocked grain | Tight grained |
| Colour | Golden brown to dark brown | Uniform golden brown colour | Reddish brown | Ranges from light brown to dark brown |
| Hardness | 900 lbf | 1000 – 1155 lbf | 800 lbf | 1010 lbf |
| Durability | Moderately durable | Extremely durable | Extremely durable | Strong |
| Water and Rot Resistance | Not as resistant to water and rot as teak and walnut | Resistant to insects and moisture due to the high concentration of natural oils | Not as water resistant as teak but comparable to walnut | Comparable to that of teak |
FAQs about Suar Tables
What are the uses of suar wood?
Suar wood is usually made for dining tables or coffee tables but also into kitchen counters and beds with a head of suar wood, so decorative
What is the cost of suar wood?
In general, suar wood is priced in a range of 800 € to 1200 € the meter for a 8 cm thick plank and a minimum width of 100 cm
Price is increasing a lot with the width of the top because most the rain trees are high but rarely with an over 80 cm width. By instance top tables with 120 cm which are very rare are much more expensive; we can say that the prices are exponential with the width.
When investing in a Suar wood table, it’s essential to consider not only its quality but also the rarity and cost implications tied to the size of the wood top. Shop our premium Suar wood tables today.