Wood is an all-time favorite for adorning homes and offices. As a woodworker, you will find no shortage of projects available. The endless varieties of wood make it essential to understand more about the various types that we can get. Wooden furniture adds class to your home, and you can customize it as required.
As a woodworker, you need to know about different wood types, the advantages, disadvantages, and how to distinguish one wood from the other. In this post, we take a close look at two popular types of wood in our discussion of sheesham vs. mango. So, let’s jump right in!
Sheesham Wood vs. Mango Wood
Sheesham displays a wide variety of colors and a great contrast between the darker heartwood and the lighter sapwood. The wood exhibits adequate resistance to moisture, warping, and shrinkage. Mango wood also has a unique grain and comes in different colors and shades. The wood doesn’t need much finishing and is highly durable. It is also easy to work with, and you will not have issues in cleaning this wood.
Sheesham wood
The other name for sheesham wood is Indian rosewood, and it grows abundantly in all countries of the Indian subcontinent. Sheesham comes from a deciduous tree, and the color of the wood ranges from golden brown to dark brown. It is a highly durable wood that lasts long and is resistant to fungus, pests, and wood rot. The surface of sheesham wood has a natural luster that adds to its aesthetic value.
Mango Wood
Mango wood is native to India, but it grows in neighboring countries on the subcontinent as well. You can also find this wood in Mexico, Brazil, and even Australia. It has a fine grain, and you can use it without applying a finish. A lot of mango wood furniture gets sold without any finish, only to be painted later on.
It is one of the softer hardwoods that you may come across. Mango wood is an environmental-friendly, sustainable wood. You will find it easy to work with due to its softness, and it combines well with other materials like wrought iron. You can create a vintage look on mango wood furniture if you polish and buff it.
Sheesham Wood Vs. Mango Wood: Appearance
Spalting creates a variety of colors in mango wood. Usually, the heartwood is golden brown but can also display yellow, pink, or black streaks. The sapwood is paler and may not appear as distinct in contrast to the heartwood. The grains are smooth or may interlock occasionally. Sheesham, on the other hand, tends to be golden or reddish-brown interspersed with dark streaks. The interlocking grains of this wood adds to its durability.
Sheesham Wood Vs. Mango Wood: Durability
Mango wood, although fairly durable, needs to be treated against bugs. Even if there are no bugs when you buy the lumber, there is a possibility of eggs being present already inside the wood. Hence, if you want your mango wood furniture to last longer, treating it with insecticide is a good idea.
Sheesham, on the other hand, is naturally resistant to termites and will not warp quickly, making it a bit more durable than mango wood. It also keeps rot and decay at bay, but it will not withstand the effect of woodboring beetles. So, you need some form of insecticide treatment for this wood as well.
Sheesham Wood Vs. Mango Wood: Maintenance
Mango wood has a natural finish to it, so if you sand the surface properly, you can even leave it as it is. Although you may not apply a finish, oil, or paint to mango wood, you need to treat it with insecticide before using it and later on as well. Sheesham demands less maintenance, but you won’t be able to paint sheesham wood as well as mango wood.
Although sheesham is relatively resistant to fungus and wood rot, it cannot hold out against woodboring beetles, so part of your maintenance schedule should include using an appropriate pesticide. If you want your sheesham wood’s surface to look glossy, you will find that it responds well to most varieties of furniture wax.
Sheesham Wood Vs. Mango Wood: Price
Mango wood is slightly more durable and pliable than sheesham wood, making it a bit more costly. However, if you compare these two types of wood with other standard hardwoods like teak, oak, walnut, or maple, you will find mango and sheesham significantly cheaper.
Sheesham Wood Vs. Mango Wood: Sustainability
Mango is a fast-growing tree, and it only takes up to 15 years for trees to grow to heights of 100 feet. It is in striking contrast to other hardwood trees like oak and teak that take up to 100 years to mature.
The fact that mangoes form a vital cash crop contributes towards making mango wood sustainable. Once it can no longer bear fruit, these trees are necessarily cut to make way for new trees, providing a regular timber source. Hence, we can consider mango wood as one of the most sustainable wood types in the world.
Sheesham also grows abundantly across the Indian subcontinent, although perhaps not as abundantly as mango. It grows in poor soil, extreme temperatures, and drought conditions. Sheesham is more or less like a weed and grows almost anywhere in the world.
All this makes this species of wood one of the most sustainable types of wood in the world. Hence, if you want highly-sustainable lumber for your woodworking projects, you can go for sheesham or mango.
Sheesham Wood Vs. Mango Wood: Comparison Table
| Parameter | Sheesham | Mango |
| Botanical details | Dalbergia sissoo | Mangifera indica |
| Appearance | Golden to reddish-brown | Multicolored due to spalting |
| Durability | Medium durability | Highly durable |
| Hardness (Janka Scale) | 1,660 | 1,070 |
| Maintenance | Moderate maintenance | Low maintenance |
| Price | Cheaper than most hardwoods | Cheaper than most hardwoods |
| Suitability for outdoors | Yes | Yes |
| Suitability for wood carving | Yes | Yes |
| Workability | Yes | Yes |
| Smell | Odorless wood | Faint mango odor when cut |
Conclusion
As you may have deduced by now, there is a thin line between both of these woods. Each one can be suitable in a given set of circumstances. If you want to make durable furniture, sheesham will serve your purpose. You can also use sheesham if the natural shine and luster of the wood are on the top of your list of priorities.
On the other hand, if you want furniture that weighs less, mango wood could be your preference. You also get a darker shader from mango wood; hence, you can get more of a classic look from furniture made from that wood.
Now that you are aware of the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of sheesham Vs. mango, you will be able to make a suitable selection according to the requirements of your project.
