rubberwood cribs

[june]

While shopping for cribs, I've noticed that a lot seem to be made of rubberwood. For instance, some of Bonavita cribs are made from rubberwood. While I am pretty sure this is considered a hardwood, I was wondering if anyone knows if this is a good quality hardwood, or if this is more like the ramin wood that the book warns against. I don't recall the book mentioning rubberwood at all. Thanks for your help.

[neeleymartin]

we bought a table that is rubberwood. it is considered a hardwood. best part in my eyes was the fact that it is a renewable source. when they cut one down, they immediately replace it with a new tree.

the table has stood up well. it was affordable. hth

here is info that i remember reading ( i pasted) before we purchased:
What is Rubberwood?

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Rubberwood is a hardwood from the maple family of woods
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Rubberwood has very little tendancy to warp or crack
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Rubberwood-Eco Friendly !

Rubberwood is often the most misunderstood species of wood in the furniture industry. The name rubberwood invokes a variety of misconceptions as to it's features and to it's durability. Rubberwood (also called Parawood in Thailand) is the standard common name for the timber of Hevea brasiliensis.

In fact, rubberwood is one of the more durable lumbers used in the manufacturing of today's home furnishings. As a member of the maple family, rubberwood has a dense grain character that is easily controlled in the kiln drying process. Rubberwood has very little shrinkage making it one of the more stable construction materials availabe for furniture manufacturing.

Like maple, rubberwood is a sap producing species. In the case of maple, it is sap; in the case of rubberwood, it is latex. Rubberwood produces all the latex used in the world for all rubber based products.

There is one more important feature of rubberwood that is very important in today's world. Rubberwood is the most ecologically "friendly" lumber used in today's furniture industry. After the economic life of the rubber tree, which is generally 26-30 years, the latex yields become extremely low and the planters then fell the rubber trees and plant new ones. So, unlike other woods that are cut down for the sole purpose of producing furniture, rubberwood is used only after it completes it's latex producing cycle and dies. This wood is therefore eco-friendly in the sense that we are now using what was going as waste.

Do not mistake the name rubberwood when it comes to its quality features.

[newg]

We have a Bonavita crib and absolutely love it; we've had it just over a year now.

[crimscrem]

Others have already mentioned that rubberwood is listed as a part of the maple family. as best as I can tell, a lot of cribs/furniture pieces are rubberwood because that's easier to get in asia and southeast asia where a lot of furniture is made now. doesn't make a whole lot of sense transporting north american wood overseas.

[june]

Thanks for all your help. The reason I was asking about rubberwood was that when I was in a store once, one of the salesmen said that rubberwood is the same thing as Ramin Wood, which the book advised strongly against. I think the salesperson just didn't know what he was talking about. However, I did look it up online on Wikipedia and the only thing that got me a little worried, was the line "As the wood is rather soft, it is mostly used in cheap products, such as toys and cutting boards, but it can be used in furniture."

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubberwood"

But I doubt brands like Bonavita and Pali would be using a cheap wood.

[hellokitty]

One, if not both of the cribs we have are made out of rubberwood and were very durable. I wouldn't sweat it, if that is the only thing stopping you from getting a particular crib.