Importance of Neem Wood
Neem Wood consists of sapwood and heartwood. The sapwood is grayish white and the heartwood is red, turning to reddish brown on exposure. The wood is dull to lustrous, aromatic but without any characteristic taste.
Neem Wood is hard, moderately heavy, narrowly interlocked with uneven grains, medium to coarse textured and beautifully mottled.
The wood seasons well in open stacks placed under cover. It is durable even in open situations and is not attacked by insects. The wood is like mahogany and the working quality is almost like that of teak, but takes poor polish. It possesses good nail-holding capacity.
The wood is used much for construction of cart-axles and cart-wheels, agricultural implements, furniture, bottom drawers, door panels, sash-frames and other building materials, yokes, naves and felloes, ornamental ceiling helms, oars, oil-mills, cigar-boxes, drums, carved images, toys, trunks and chest and in ship- and boat-building. To a limited extent, the wood is used for making shells of opium packing cases. The wood can be a source of plywood. It is a fair board wood.
In South India, a full-grown tree provides 400-500 kg fuel wood.
