Makore for outdoor use?

[Larry Edgerton]

I have a job to do making some Glass railings, some on the third floor. It will be 1/2" tempered safety glass with no top and bottom rail, and so the posts need to be strong. I have done this before and used Teak, but I have a boatload of Makore, and although I hate the stuff, this job would not require a lot of machining, so it may be a good place to burn some of it up.

My question is...... How does this stuff hold up outside? It is so expensive that it may not get used much this way, but if you have any experiance with this I would love to hear from you. The conditions it will have to survive in are a bit extreme, it is on a bluff overlooking the Straits of Mackinaw and so will see some of the worst weather you can throw at anything short of Antartica. Extreme winds, fog, rain, snow, temps from 100 to -50 and all other lousy kind of weather you can imagine. Comments..........

Thanks, Larry

[Andrew Joiner]

Larry, I have no time tested experience with Makore, but searching around for Makore and rot I found this:

Typical Uses
Marine plywood
Bridges
Ship building (ribs, planking and deck)
Vehicle or container flooring
Note: Makore is well known for its high durability and natural resistance to rot and insects.

Here: http://timberwolfusa.com/makore


You could call the USDA Forest Products Laboratory for more info.

[Larry Edgerton]

Thanks Andrew.

I called Rare Earth Hardwoods and talked to the owner there for a bit as well. He thought it would be just fine and last a lot longer than the deck itself.

I am going to move ahead with the project. Ordered 213' of glass yesterday.