Jacking timber materials at-a-glance:
- Ekki. This tropical hardwood is the proven, traditional choice that’s been used in the industry for decades.
- Dragonwood. This engineered bamboo composite is an alternative to hardwood. It is highly consistent, with minimal material variation.
Below, we’ll tell you what you need to know to choose between Ekki and Dragonwood for jacking and skidding, including a side-by-side comparison chart, as well as performance and sustainability considerations.
Choosing the Right Jacking Timbers for Heavy Rigging
Jacking timbers, also known as cribbing timbers or blocking, are a critical component in jack-and-slide and heavy lifting operations. Once a lifting or skidding method is selected, choosing the right timber material becomes one of the most important performance and safety decisions in the system.
Jacking timbers provide the stable, load-bearing foundation required to safely support massive structures during lifting, skidding, alignment, and installation. In heavy rigging applications, timbers must have exceptional compressive strength, crush resistance, dimensional stability, and durability. They must also withstand fire exposure, moisture, rot, and pests.
Critically, jacking timbers must be physically manageable for the crew, who will transport, handle, and stack them on active job sites. This includes both the dimensions and weight of the timbers, since both can become cumbersome and fatiguing over the duration of the job.
For engineered heavy lifts, material choice directly affects load control, predictable performance in the field, and service life of each timber.
What Are Jacking Timbers?
In technical terms, jacking timbers are high-strength blocking materials used to support loads from below during hydraulic lifting, skidding, and alignment operations. In practical terms, they are the mechanism that allows crews to safely build, adjust, and maintain support beneath a load as it moves. Groups of jacking timbers are stacked in specific configurations to distribute load evenly, maintain stability, and provide reliable support throughout an operation. Their performance characteristics directly influence how effectively a load can be lifted, held, or repositioned.Why Material Selection Matters in Heavy Rigging
In practice, not all timbers perform equally under extreme loads. In heavy rigging environments, jacking timbers must reliably handle:- Very high compressive forces
- Repeated loading and unloading cycles
- Uneven site conditions and long periods of time under load
- Environmental exposure throughout the project’s duration
Common Jacking Timber Materials
Two primary types of material are commonly used in modern heavy rigging applications:- Traditional tropical hardwoods, such as Ekki (i.e., Azobé / Red Ironwood)
- Engineered composite materials, including bamboo-based Engineered Bamboo Composites (EBCs)
Ekki Jacking Timbers
Ekki, also known as Azobé or Red Ironwood, is a tropical hardwood sourced from West African forests. It has been widely used in heavy rigging and lifting applications for decades and remains a long-standing industry benchmark. Ekki is known for:- Extremely high compressive and bending strength
- Natural resistance to fire, rot, moisture, and insects
- Proven long-term performance in demanding lifting environment
Sustainability Considerations with Ekki
Ekki is a slow-growing tropical hardwood. As global demand for it has increased, the material is more often harvested from younger trees, which can have lower density and be more susceptible to twisting and cracking compared to older-growth timber. This trend has raised legitimate concerns around long-term supply consistency and sustainability.Why Not Use Other Hardwoods?
A common question is whether other, more widely available hardwoods, such as white oak, can replace Ekki in heavy lifting operations. While oak is suitable for certain field applications, Ekki is approximately three times stronger than white oak in both bending and crushing tests. Significantly larger cross-sections of oak are often needed to achieve comparable load capacity, often 8 in. × 8 in. timbers weighing 80–100 lb. Not only are these more difficult to handle, they may still be insufficient for some heavy-lift scenarios.
Engineered Bamboo Composite Jacking Timbers
Engineered Bamboo Composite (EBC) timbers were developed to address many of the consistency, supply, and sustainability limitations associated with traditional hardwoods.
Dragonwood is a type of EBC specifically engineered for industrial jacking and blocking applications. It is a blend of approximately 80% bamboo fibers and 20% resin, which results in high uniformity and dimensional stability throughout the material.
Key performance characteristics include:
- Strength and durability comparable to Ekki
- High resistance to fire, moisture, rot, and insects
- Virtually no warping, shrinking, or cracking
- Exceptional dimensional consistency across timbers
Standard Dragonwood timbers are produced in 4 in. × 4 in. × 40 in. sizes and weigh approximately 26 lb., with custom dimensions also available.
Sustainability Advantages of Engineered Bamboo
Bamboo is one of the most sustainable construction materials available. It grows rapidly, regenerates without replanting, thrives in diverse climates, and actively sequesters carbon dioxide. These characteristics make engineered bamboo composites an environmentally responsible alternative to slow-growing tropical hardwoods.
Data-Driven Performance Testing
In heavy skidding and rigging, choosing timber material should be guided by evidence and data.
At this time, published performance data on jacking timbers is limited, and newer materials and younger-growth hardwoods may not perform comparably to materials used in older studies. For these reasons, Hydra-Slide partnered with the University of Waterloo’s engineering department to conduct comprehensive mechanical testing on both Ekki and Dragonwood timbers.
Preliminary results demonstrate Dragonwood’s excellent load-bearing capability and mechanical performance, which validates it as a suitably high-strength alternative to traditional hardwood.
Comparing Jacking Timber Options
The table below highlights the practical tradeoffs engineers and rigging crews typically evaluate when selecting jacking timbers for heavy lifting and jack-and-slide operations.
How Engineers Typically Select Jacking Timbers
Selecting the right jacking timbers ultimately comes down to matching material characteristics and performance to the project’s requirements. Top considerations include:
- Load magnitude and required safety margins
- Need for dimensional consistency across blocking stacks
- Environmental conditions (i.e., moisture, fire risk, or pest exposure)
- Handling weight and ergonomic impacts on crew
- Sustainability requirements or material availability
- Repeatability across long or multi-phase projects
Get Expert Guidance on Jacking Timbers and Heavy Lifting Systems
Every project presents unique constraints with regard to loading, site conditions, and operational requirements. Selecting the appropriate jacking timber material has a significant effect on safety, performance, and long-term reliability.
Hydra-Slide engineers work directly with clients to help them:
- Evaluate timber performance requirements
- Select the appropriate material for the application
- Integrate jacking timbers into complete lifting and skidding systems
Contact us today to talk about choosing the right jacking timber material for your next project.
FAQs
Is Dragonwood as strong as Ekki?
Preliminary results from testing by Hydra-Slide and the University of Waterloo demonstrate Dragonwood has comparable load-capacity performance to Ekki under similar conditions.
Which option is more sustainable?
Because it is made from fast-growing, regenerating bamboo, which grows easily in many climates, Dragonwood is a more sustainable choice compared to Ekki, which grows in a limited geographic area and at a slower rate.
How long does each type of timber last?
Both materials exhibit excellent resistance to fire, moisture, rot, and insects. Dragonwood may experience less warping, shrinking, or cracking over time than Ekki; however, the exact conditions and frequency of use affect the service life of jacking timbers.
Do I need a permit to import Ekki?
No permit is needed to purchase finished Ekki jacking timbers domestically. Commercial importers must have a Timber and Timber Products Import Permit to import raw or unmanufactured Ekki timber blocks, and according to the Lacey Act, they must also track and declare the exact scientific name and country of origin of the material.
Can Ekki and Dragonwood be used interchangeably?
It depends on the details of the application, including the weight and size of the load, how high the load will be raised, how long it will be supported, site conditions, and other critical factors. Hydra-Slide engineers are happy to discuss your project and provide additional insight.
