So here’s how my little wood experiment went down yesterday. Woke up thinking about rubber trees after watching some jungle documentary, and it hit me: is hevea actually hardwood? Always thought anything called “wood” must be hard, right? Grabbed my keys and drove straight to the lumber yard.
Phase One: The Confusion
Asked the guy at the counter for hevea wood. He just stared at me blankly. “You mean… rubberwood?” Felt like an idiot. Turns out hevea is the tree, rubberwood’s what we call the lumber. Got two planks – one oak (actual hardwood), one rubberwood – to compare.
Phase Two: Hands-On Testing
Took both samples to my garage workshop. Started simple:
- Pressed my thumbnail into the rubberwood piece – left a dent immediately.
- Tried same pressure on oak – nothing, not even a scratch.
Then got my handsaw:
- Rubberwood cut like butter – smooth stroke, fluffy sawdust.
- Oak fought back – needed serious elbow grease, sawdust like fine powder.
Dropped each plank corner-first onto concrete:
- Rubberwood went thud with visible bruising
- Oak went clack without damage
Phase Three: The Weight Test
Thought maybe heaviness = hardness? Wrong.
Weighed both planks same size:
- Oak: 7 pounds
- Rubberwood: just 3.8 pounds – felt like plywood!
Phase Four: Expert Backup
Still doubting myself so called Paul – my furniture-making buddy. He laughed through the phone: “Rubberwood’s like the training wheels of woodworking! We call it ‘furniture-grade pine but weaker’. Gets dings if you glare at it too hard.”
Final Conclusion
Nope, not even close to hardwood. That rubberwood? Softer than my kids’ playdough table. Clearest giveaway? Could peel fibers off the saw cut with my fingernails. Try that on oak and you’ll break your nail clean off. Mystery solved through good ol’ garage science.
