Nato wood comes from tropical trees that are widespread in Indonesia. This type of wood is also called Nyatoh or nagasari tree. This tree is most commonly found growing in the Sulawesi region. The tree’s height is up to 40 meters with a trunk diameter of 120 cm, and the tree trunk is straight and looks reddish brown with a beautiful grain pattern.

Wood Color
Nyatoh wood looks lighter than teak wood color. The terrace looks pink to brownish red. The sapwood is lighter in color. These characteristics make nato wood similar to young teak wood.

Wood Texture
The overall texture of Nato wood feels smooth touched. But several parts of this wood feel rough. The surface of this wood also feels a bit slippery.

Wood Grain Pattern
Overall, this wood has a grain pattern that looks straight. Almost similar to teak wood, this wood has a beautiful grain pattern. Many people use this wood as an alternative to teak wood with the same beautiful grain pattern.

Wood Durability
Different from teak wood which has good resistance and is classified as durable wood. Nyatoh wood belongs to class III-IV wood and is not a very durable type of wood. Termites and fungi easily attack this wood. This makes it easily weathered and damaged. And, this wood also cracks easily, so you should take care of it carefully.

Preservation Process
The wood preservation process begins with drying. This wood is easy to dry. The next preservation process is applying an anti-disease coat and painting.

These are some of the characteristics and traits of nato or nyatoh wood. This wood has many names. In the Philippines it is called nato wood, in Sarawak it is called riam, in the Netherlands it is called balam, while in Indonesia it is more often called nyatoh.

Nyatoh wood is usually used to make windows and building frames. Sometimes this wood is also widely used by furniture manufacturers to produce furniture products and is often used to make plywood and parquet floors.

Several well-known guitar brand manufacturers use this wood as their guitar body material. The guitar body made from nyatoh wood has maximum sound resonance because of its hard texture even though it is lighter.

The price of nyatoh wood on the Indonesian market is about 3.5 million to 4.5 million rupiah, which is cheaper than teak wood. While in the international market, it is usually sold for USD 800 to USD 1000 for plank-sized wood.

Although nyatoh wood suppliers in Indonesia are dominated by the Sulawesi region, this wood is the identity of Bangka Belitung province. If you want to use this type of wood, know its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is the wood has a beautiful look that resembles young teak wood. Meanwhile, the downside is that Nyatoh wood is not very durable. So extra care is needed.

–sh