Gmelina arborea (white teak) was introduced in large tropical areas due to the well known silvicultural techniques and wood quality produced by fast growth trees that were managed in short rotation systems.

Gmelina arborea wood is suitable for general utility purposes, especially light construction and structural work, general carpentry, packaging, carvings, utility furniture and decorative veneers with excellent woodworking properties. Additionally, the wood has been used in light flooring, for musical instruments, matches, particle board, as a mine timber, in vehicle bodies and ships. The usually poor form and tapering of the bole limit its use for sawn timber.

The wood of Gambar produces good quality pulp. Unmixed semi-chemical pulp is only suitable for carton board or low grade writing paper, but kraft pulp of yemane wood is suitable for higher grades of writing paper.

Gamari is used for a very wide variety of purposes where light structural timber is needed. It is suitable for all purposes mentioned for yemane and, additionally, it is used for canoe-making. Roots, bark, leaves, fruits and seeds of yemane are used in Hindu medicine.

Kiln drying of the wood is satisfactory; the recommended temperature is 71C for boards up to 38 mm. Higher temperatures are required for thicker boards and this may cause some darkening on the surface. It takes about 2 weeks to kiln dry boards of 25 mm thickness from green to 12% moisture content.

Working properties and durability. Sawdust may clog up sawteeth, and coated nails should be used because the wood has corrosive properties. The gluing properties are moderate due to a greasy surface. The heartwood is extremely difficult to treat with preservatives.

Gmelina arborea timber saws easily and has only slight blunting effects on tools. It planes to a smooth finish and polishes well. When knots are present in the wood, cutting angles should be reduced. The wood is too soft for satisfactory turning. Nailing is fairly easy, but pre-boring is recommended for screwing as the wood tends to split.

Rotary peeling is easy even without pretreatment, and the veneers are easy to handle without a tendency to tear; they remain flat after drying. The gluing properties are reported as good. Gmelina is in general very stable in service. Pulp of gambar is usually rather short-fibred, but the fibres are comparatively flexible. The quality of paper made from it can be improved by the addition of small amounts of long fibres.