# balau is it any good



## africanmeat (Apr 20, 2011)

my Friend finish building  a tortilla press from a vary hard wood called BALAU and gave me the the left overs

can i usu it for smoking, is it any good, can you advise me

thanks

ahron


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## alelover (Apr 20, 2011)

Don't know if you can smoke it or not. I would think not because of the oils and resins in it. I don't think you can smoke with teak which is similar. Below I found on the net.

[font=arial, Arial, Helvetica][font=arial, Arial, Helvetica]Balau is a tropical hardwood of the family Dipterocarpaceae. Balau is a very dense tightly grained wood that is heavily laden with rich tropical oils and resins. Balau’s texture is very fine and even. Our Yellow Balau looks very much like teak in color.  Although, very similar in characteristics to Teak, we enjoy working with Balau for its durability, strength, seasoning and mechanical properties. For centuries Balau has been used for shipbuilding, heavy-duty furniture, heavy construction and coveted for it’s excellent strength and weather resistant qualities. [/font][/font]


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## justpassingthru (Apr 20, 2011)

Hey ahron,

Welcome to SMF, may I suggest you check out a local's fruit stand, the trees that produce their fruit should be good for smoking, you might ask them if they have any dead branches they could give you.

Here is a link to the plants in your area, the fruit bearing trees should be good for smoking.

http://www.indigro.co.za/html/stock.htm

Have fun and don't forget the Q-view.

Gene


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