Species data
American Basswood
Tilia americana - a hardwood from eastern North America. Also sold as basswood, american linden.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 410 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,460,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.42 |
| Density | 26.2 lb/ft3 (420 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 2.18 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 9.3% tangential / 6.6% radial |
| Indicative price | $3.50 per board foot (estimated) |
Values are at about 12% moisture content. Density is specific gravity times 62.4; a board foot is one twelfth of a cubic foot, so weight per board foot is that density divided by twelve. Anything marked estimated is our own figure, not a measured one.
How American Basswood compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 7% of them, heavier than 12%, and stiffer than 35%. Soft enough to dent in service - worth knowing before using it for a worktop or a floor.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in American Basswood it weighs about 11.6 lb. A stack of ten is 116 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, American Basswood is about 34% as hard and 60% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 9.3% tangential against 6.6% radial, a ratio of 1.4 to 1. The wider that ratio, the more unevenly a flatsawn board moves across its width as humidity changes, and the more it wants to cup; anything near or above 2 to 1 is worth quartersawing or restraining for panels and wide tops. This one moves comparatively evenly.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to American Basswood on hardness in this database: Noble Fir (410 lbf), Balsam Fir (400 lbf), Bigtooth Aspen (420 lbf), Black Willow (430 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Soft and effortless to cut; superb for hand carving, but holds nails and steam-bends poorly
Durability. Non-durable, with heartwood that readily succumbs to decay
Typical uses. carving, musical instruments, veneer, plywood, lumber.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). American basswood is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional-change table, so CT/CR are omitted. Uses, region, durability, workability summarized from The Wood Database. Price indicative.
These calculators are for planning and estimation. Engineering results (shelf sag, wood movement) use published average material properties; real boards vary by grade, grain, moisture and defects. Verify load-bearing designs with a professional.