Black Chacate Wood for Sale - ProSono Hardwoods

High-quality black chacate for sale

Black chacate is an attractive, golden brown wood with darker streaks. Also known as chacate preto or small false mopane, it is one of nine precious hardwoods of Mozambique.

The wood is hard but machines well and polishes to a high shine.

It is a popular wood for bowls and other turned items, cabinetry and musical instruments. Its unusually large, straight logs enable the production of large bells, bass clarinets and flutes that are difficult to obtain with other hardwoods, such as African blackwood and mopane.

ProSono offers black chacate blocks and scales cut to required dimensions. This includes black chacate turning squares and black chacate bowl blanks.

Black chacate characteristics

Botanical name: Guibourtia conjugata
Alternative names: small fake mopane, chacate preto
Average dry weight: 71.8 lb/ft3 (imperial); 1,150 kg/m³ (metric)
Hard and dense, with fine grain

Applications

“We feel so fortunate to have a conversation with our wood supplier, knowing that you understand what we need, and you choose the best wood for our purposes. You are now our sole supplier for the three main woods we use. We know we could not have found a better partnership…”

~ Yola and Forbes Christie, Windward Flutes Ltd, Canada

Black chacate parts we endeavour to keep in stock

Black chacate turning squares
in inches	in mm
3/4 x 3/4 x 6	20 x 20 x 152
1 x 1 x 6	26 x 26 x 150
11/2 x 11/2 x 3	38 x 38 x 75
11/2 x 11/2 x 6	38 x 38 x 150
11/2 x 11/2 x 12	38 x 38 x 310
11/2 x 11/2 x 16	38 x 38 x 410
11/2 x 11/2 x 18	38 x 38 x 457
11/2 x 11/2 x 24	38 x 38 x 600
2 x 2 x 4	51 x 51 x 100
2 x 2 x 6	51 x 51 x 150
2 x 2 x 8	51 x 51 x 205
2 x 2 x 12	51 x 51 x 300
2 x 2 x 24	51 x 51 x 600
3 x 3 x 12	76 x 76 x 300
3 x 3 x 18	76 x 76 x 457
Black chacate bowl blanks
in inches	in mm
4 x 4 x 2	100 x 100 x 50
5 x 5 x 2	125 x 125 x 50
6 x 6 x 2	150 x 150 x 50
6 x 6 x 3	150 x 150 x 75
8 x 8 x 2	200 x 200 x 50
8 x 8 x 3	200 x 200 x 75
10 x 10 x 2	250 x 250 x 50
10 x 10 x 3	250 x 250 x 75

About black chacate

Botanical name	Guibourtia conjugata (The wood is sometimes confused with the common Guibourtia coleosperma).
Family	Fabacea
Local name	Chacate preto
English name	Small false mopane
Distribution	Lowlands of Mozambique, the bordering regions of Zambia and north-western Zimbabwe.
The tree	Evergreen tree, small to medium height. Found in sandy soil and close to rivers or open woodland. The bark is whitish grey and smooth. Flowers are creamy yellow. Leaves are shiny green with two ovate leaflets.
The wood	Black chacate sapwood is pale yellow. The wood is hard and heavy, with an air-dry density of 1.0 t / m3. It is attractive, with a blackish streak. The wood darkens to a distinctive greenish or brownish colour with age.
Seasoning	Black chacate wood dries slowly and requires protection against slits and cracks.
Workability	Black chacate works well on the lathe and with the chisel.
Uses	Black chacate is a popular wood for turning and carving. It has found acceptance for musical instruments like flutes and as guitar backs and sides. The distinctive greenish appearance of the wood reminds artisans of the South American wood, lignum vitae.