Species data
American Hornbeam
Carpinus caroliniana - a hardwood from eastern North America. Also sold as blue beech.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,780 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,693,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.79 |
| Density | 49.3 lb/ft3 (790 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 4.11 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 11.4% tangential / 5.7% radial |
| Indicative price | $6.00 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 Hornbeam compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 75% of them, heavier than 73%, and stiffer than 57%.
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 Hornbeam it weighs about 21.9 lb. A stack of ten is 219 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, American Hornbeam is about 1.5x as hard and 1.13x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 11.4% tangential against 5.7% radial, a ratio of 2.0 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 sits in that range.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to American Hornbeam on hardness in this database: Yellowheart (1,790 lbf), Pecan (1,820 lbf), Zebrawood (1,830 lbf), African Padauk (1,710 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Dense and tough enough to be hard to cut, but it turns superbly and finishes cleanly
Durability. Non-durable and insect-prone, yet remarkably tough against abrasion and surface wear
Typical uses. fuelwood, wheels, tool handles, shafts, small turned parts.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (which cites the USDA FPL Wood Handbook). American Hornbeam is not individually listed in the printed FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient chart, so CT/CR are omitted. Uses, region, durability and 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.