Jatoba Lumber in Houston – Overview

Specifications

Thicknesses (Commonly Stocked at Houston Hardwoods in): 4/4 and 5/4. We also offer custom milling to your exact specifications (e.g., 1×2, 1×4, 1×6, or other custom dimensions), as well as various options including S4S, S2S, S2S1E, and SLR1E.
Species: Hymenaea courbaril (also known as Brazilian Cherry)
Hardness (Janka): 2,350 lbf
Color: Heartwood is typically a salmon orange to reddish-brown with subtle darker streaks. It darkens significantly over time to a deep reddish-brown or burgundy with exposure to light. Sapwood is pale gray to whitish.
Grain: Often interlocked, sometimes straight. Coarse texture with a medium to high natural luster.
Workability: Challenging due to its extreme hardness and interlocked grain, which can cause tearout during planing or routing. Requires sharp, durable tools. Glues well, but pre-boring is essential for screws. Finishes to an excellent polish.
Common Uses in Houston: High-end furniture, cabinetry, decorative millwork, turning, and musical instrument components.

What Makes Jatoba Unique

Jatoba, often marketed as “Brazilian Cherry,” is celebrated for its remarkable hardness and its striking, naturally vibrant color. When freshly cut, its heartwood boasts bright orange and reddish-brown tones, which progressively deepen into a rich, lustrous burgundy or reddish-brown over time, adding incredible warmth and character. This dense and durable hardwood features an often interlocked grain that creates beautiful figures, and it possesses a natural luster that truly shines when polished. Its combination of aesthetic beauty and exceptional strength makes it a premier choice for projects requiring a blend of elegance and long-lasting performance.

Why Choose Jatoba

Exceptional Hardness and Durability: With a Janka rating of 2,350 lbf, Jatoba is incredibly resistant to dents, scratches, and wear, ensuring longevity for demanding applications.
Stunning Color Evolution: Its initial bright reddish-orange deepens beautifully to a rich burgundy or deep reddish-brown over time, adding a classic, sophisticated aesthetic.
Natural Luster: The wood has a natural sheen that, when finished, brings out its depth of color and provides a luxurious appearance.
Good Stability: Once properly dried and acclimated, Jatoba is known for its good dimensional stability, resisting movement and warping.
Adds Value: Its exotic nature, beauty, and durability can significantly enhance the perceived value and aesthetic appeal of your projects.

Why You Might Not Choose Jatoba

Challenging to Work With: Its extreme hardness and often interlocked grain can make cutting, planing, and sanding difficult. It dulls tools quickly and tearout can occur, demanding sharp tools and careful technique from Houston woodworkers.
Significant Color Change: The dramatic color shift from light reddish-orange to deep burgundy might not be desired for projects where a consistent initial color is critical or where color matching is important with existing elements.
Heavy Weight: Its high density means Jatoba is a heavy wood, which can be a consideration for large furniture pieces or items that require frequent movement.
Potential for Allergic Reactions: The sawdust can cause skin irritation or respiratory issues in some sensitive individuals, so proper dust collection and personal protective equipment are recommended in Houston workshops.

Jatoba in the Houston Climate

Acclimation for Best Results

Jatoba, being a dense and robust hardwood, requires diligent acclimation, especially in Houston’s consistently humid climate. With our often high humidity (regularly 70-90%) and fluctuating temperatures, allowing this beautiful wood to thoroughly stabilize within your controlled indoor environment is paramount. This crucial step helps minimize the risk of movement, warping, or checking in your finished pieces, ensuring the exceptional beauty and performance of Jatoba endures in your projects.

Ideal for Durable Interior Applications

This wood is an excellent choice for interior projects across Houston homes, from high-end custom cabinetry in Memorial to custom-made dining tables gracing River Oaks estates. Its incredible hardness makes it suitable for items that will see heavy use or require significant durability. While remarkably tough, its most vibrant qualities are best preserved indoors, shielded from the intense Houston sun and outdoor elements that could accelerate its natural darkening process in a less controlled manner.

Color and Grain Stability

The characteristic color transformation of Jatoba, from a brighter reddish-orange to a deep, rich burgundy, is a natural and beautiful process that occurs with age and exposure to light. This evolution adds significant depth and warmth over time. The often interlocked grain is very stable once acclimated, making it reliable for intricate and precision work. Applying a high-quality finish will protect its surface and enhance its inherent luster, ensuring your Jatoba projects maintain their captivating beauty and strength for many years in your Houston home.

Popular Jatoba Applications in Houston

Jatoba’s striking color, extreme hardness, and robust nature make it a highly sought-after material among Houston’s custom furniture makers, cabinet manufacturers, and discerning homeowners. It’s particularly valued for applications where both aesthetic appeal and superior durability are essential.

Popular Applications Include:

High-End Furniture: Crafting durable and beautiful dining tables, chairs, entertainment centers, and bedroom sets that require exceptional resilience and a luxurious look, popular in custom homes across West University Place and Bellaire.
Custom Cabinetry: Used for striking kitchen island tops, cabinet doors, or complete custom kitchen and bath installations where its hardness and rich color are desired, especially in active family homes.
Decorative Millwork: Employed for robust stair treads (if not flooring product), handrails, and substantial trim where its density and appearance provide a high-end finish.
Turning Projects: Its hardness and fine grain make it excellent for creating durable turned items such as custom pens, bowls, and other artistic pieces that withstand frequent handling.
Musical Instrument Parts: Used for components like guitar fretboards or bridges where hardness, stability, and aesthetic appeal are critical, favored by local luthiers.

Current Design Trends Featuring Jatoba:

Warm Modern and Contemporary: Its rich, deepening red tones bring warmth and natural beauty to modern and minimalist interiors that still desire a luxurious feel.
Transitional Designs: Blends well with transitional styles, offering a bridge between classic warmth and clean, contemporary lines.
Durable Residential Interiors: A go-to for homeowners in busy areas like Katy and Pearland who need materials that can stand up to daily life while maintaining elegance.
Custom High-Value Projects: Chosen for bespoke pieces where the investment in superior material and craftsmanship is a key driver.

Looking for Jatoba for Your Next Project?

We stock this incredibly hard and beautiful wood in 4/4 and 5/4 thicknesses and can custom mill to your exact needs. Whether you’re building high-end furniture, crafting durable cabinetry, or creating unique turned pieces, our team is here to help you pick the right material.

Visit Houston Hardwoods or contact us to check availability, request a quote, or discuss your project plans.