ASH HARDWOOD IDENTIFICATION GUIDE

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ASH HARDWOOD IDENTIFICATION GUIDE

An In-Depth Look at Ash's Characteristics, Color, Grain & More

Ash

OTHER COMMON NAMES

Ash hardwood is also referred to as white ash, American ash, green ash, black ash, and red ash. Green ash and white ash have very similar properties and are often combined and sold without distinguishing between the two types.

LATIN NAME

The scientific name Fraxinus americana refers to both white ash or American ash. The scientific name Fraxinus pennsylvanica refers to both green ash and red ash. You may also find Fraxinus nigra, referred to as black ash. European ash grows in mainland Europe and has the scientific name Fraxinus excelsior. Despite their common names, ash’s heartwood color profile may not match the name.

CHARACTERISTICS - ASH

While ash heartwood may have a cream appearance, it is commonly light brown or dark tan with reddish tint. However, ash sapwood is white in color. With a prominent grain, each wood product may include various color gradients.

Typically, ash wood has a straight grain pattern with an occasional slight wave pattern. Any type of ash wood will have a rough, coarse texture, and even though ash has good bending properties, it is also quite stiff, strong, and maintains excellent shock resistance.

MAIN USES - ASH

Ash has a wide range of uses, including furniture, cabinetry, decorative plywood or veneer, chairs, tool handles, and more. It is also used for sporting goods like baseball bats and hockey sticks. With an appealing look, ash also provides crucial durability to any kind of woodworking project.

Its aesthetic makes it a popular choice for veneer coverings while its durability makes it a staple for practical uses like flooring, doors, dining tables, architectural moulding, millwork, tool handles, and oars. Ash wood also notably has no distinct odor or overpowering smell, making it a common use for food containers (as it will not alter taste). [3]

FLOORING
TOOL HANDLES
SPORTS EQUIPTMENT
LADDER RUNGS
SMOKING MEATS

MILLING PROPERTIES - ASH

Ash wood is known for its great machining, with an above average strength for nailing and screw holding. [1] Ash is also known for its gluing ability. It has little cutting resistance, making for easy cutting and it is not as likely to blunt tools (as compared to other hardwoods like hickory). Ash is easy to bore and works well with hand tools. Because it is easy to bend and cut, ash wood is widely renowned for its workability

HARDWOOD PROPERTIES - ASH

Ash wood is easy to work with thanks to its bending properties. While it has a rough texture, ash can easily be sanded down to smooth finish. It shrinks moderately, less than other woods, but dries well in the kiln. Ash heartwood also has a low resistance to decay from fungi and other organisms that destroy wood.

Ash lumber also paints and stains well, and is often finished in a black color. It responds well to both polishing and sanding. Ash is known to have good steam bending qualities and is easy to plane. Ash wood timber dries rapidly and shows little degradation or shrinkage. White ash has also been proven to have better dimensional stability than red oak.

Janka Hardness Scale

ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE - ASH

Ash trees grow across North America in 36 different states as well as parts of Canada. The trees prefer to grow in moist soil and can be found in deep valleys and slopes. They usually grow in combination with many other hardwood trees in mixed forests. They vary in height, growing taller in the mountains and lower on flat and coastal land. [2]

Ash trees can grow in different conditions of latitude, climate, and soil. This causes the variations in species of ash trees.

Volume of live trees on forest land, 1000 m3

All data derives from Forest Inventory Data Online (FIDO), a component of the U.S. Forest Service Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA). Data was compiled by AHEC in January 2016 using the most recent state inventory available (2014 for most states). "Forest volume" refers to "net volume of live trees on forest land," as defined by FIA (see glossary). FIA forest volume data is available for 49 U.S. states (Hawaii and Washington D.C. are omitted) with total hardwood forest volume of 18.1 billion m3 of which 13.5 billion m3are commercially significant.

ASH PRODUCTS AT BAIRD BROTHERS

Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods is happy to assist with any questions you have about our ash wood products, which include S4S Lumber, hardwood plywood, rough lumber, mouldings, hardwood flooring, stair parts, and mantel shelves.

 

Please call 1-800-732-1697 or Contact Us if you need help with our extensive inventory.

COMPARISON TO OTHER WOOD SPECIES

Source: The Department of Agriculture's Wood Handbook

LumberSpecific GravityJanka HardnessModulus of Elasticity (MPa)Impact Bending (mm)Grain
African Mahogany --- 830 lb 9,700 --- Medium/Coarse
Alder 0.41 590 lb 9,500 510 Fine
Ash 0.6 1,320 lb 12,000 1,090 Fine
Basswood 0.37 410 lb 10,100 410 Fine
Beech 0.64 1,300 lb 11,900 1,040 Fine/Medium
Birch, Yellow 0.62 1,260 lb 13,900 1,400 Fine
Cedar, Western Red 0.32 350 lb 7,700 430 Fine
Cherry, Brazilian 0.91 2,350 lb 22,510 --- Medium
Cherry 0.5 950 lb 10,300 740 Fine
Cypress 0.51 510 lb 6,300 --- Medium
Douglas Fir 0.48 710 lb 12,300 660 Medium/Coarse
Hemlock 0.4 540 lb 8,300 530 Coarse
Hickory 0.66 1,820 lb 11,900 1,120 Medium
Maple, Hard 0.63 1,450 lb 12,600 990 Fine
Maple, Soft 0.47 700 lb 7,900 640 Fine
Oak, Red 0.63 1,290 lb 12,500 1,090 Coarse
Oak, White 0.68 1,360 lb 12,300 940 Coarse
Pine, Eastern White 0.35 380 lb 8,500 460 Medium
Pine, Ponderosa 0.4 460 lb 8,900 480 Medium
Pine, Yellow (Shortleaf) 0.51 690 lb 12,100 840 Fine/Medium
Poplar 0.42 540 lb 10,900 610 Medium
Sapele 0.67 1,410 lb 15,930 --- Fine
Teak 0.66 1,070 lb 10,700 --- Coarse
Walnut (Black) 0.55 1,010 lb 11,600 860 Medium

*Data is based on a moisture content of 12%.

GLOSSARY

Impact Bending — In the impact bending test, a hammer of given weight is dropped upon a beam from successively increased heights until rupture occurs or the beam deflects 152 mm (6 in.) or more. The height of the maximum drop, or the drop that causes failure, is a comparative value that represents the ability of wood to absorb s hocks that cause stresses beyond the proportional limit.

Janka Hardness — Defined as resistance to indentation using a modified Janka hardness test, measured by the load required to embed a 11.28-mm (0.444-in) ball to one-half its diameter. Values presented are the average of radial and tangential penetrations.

Modulus of Elasticity — Elasticity implies that deformations produced by low stress are completely recoverable after loads are removed. When loaded to higher stress levels, plastic deformation or failure occurs.

Specific Gravity - A measure of the ratio of a wood's density as compared to water. If a wood species had the same density as water, the specific gravity would be 1.00.

SOURCES

  1. “Ash: The North Country’s Alluring Blonde”. WoodMagazine.com. Accessed Aug. 2021.
  2. R. S. Boone. "Wood Species Guide". Furniture Design & Manufacturing. Dec. 1988. Accessed Jan. 2020.
  3. “American Yellow Ash”. American Hardwood Export Council. Americanhardwood.org. Accessed Aug. 2021.
  4. “What is the Strongest Wood: Maple, Ash, Poplar, or Ash?”. Hunker.com. Accessed Aug 2021
  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betula_alleghaniensis. Accessed Aug 2021.
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