Physical properties of veneer from coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) / Mohd Amirfarhan Mohd Azmi

Coconut palm (coco nucifera) becomes the most popular, especially in Southeast Asia. A new material from coconut tree expected to develop as chairs or table, that has slightly different with palm oil. The wood specimens were cut from into three (3) portion top, middle, and bottom. Each portion is about 10 feet and diameter 25 cm. Average age of the tree is about 40-60 years old. Number of wood specimen for physical properties (moisture content, density) was 72 specimens. The sizes of specimens tested are 10 x 10 cm for each veneer .Specimens is being put under condition room before testing. All the testing and specimen size and shape were done referring to the ASTM standard. According to the wood zoning determination, the distribution of vascular bundles was increased from central point of the trunk toward the bark. Two different woods zoning were defined, i.e. inner zone and outer zone. Based on the physical tests, the moisture content at outer zone is higher than inner zone for untreated wood. For veneer shrinkage test, 3 perimeters were used. The thicknesses of veneer were 3mm. From the results, it showed that inner zone were shrinkage more than outer zone. Based on portion, the bottom level more shrinks as compared to the other two portions .It means moisture content high at the top level compare to the bottom and middle level.