Species data
Balsam Fir
Abies balsamea - a softwood from northeastern North America. Also sold as canadian balsam, eastern fir.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 400 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,387,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.40 |
| Density | 25.0 lb/ft3 (400 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 2.08 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 6.9% tangential / 2.9% radial |
| Indicative price | $3.00 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 Balsam Fir compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 5% of them, heavier than 5%, and stiffer than 27%. 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 Balsam Fir it weighs about 11.1 lb. A stack of ten is 111 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Balsam Fir is about 33% as hard and 57% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 6.9% tangential against 2.9% radial, a ratio of 2.4 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 sits in that range.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Balsam Fir on hardness in this database: American Basswood (410 lbf), Engelmann Spruce (390 lbf), Noble Fir (410 lbf), Bigtooth Aspen (420 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Hand and power tools both handle it readily; stains, finishes and glues well
Durability. Non-durable to perishable, with scant defense against insects
Typical uses. construction lumber, plywood, paper pulpwood, utility wood.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Balsam Fir is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient table, 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.