Species data
Black Tupelo
Nyssa sylvatica - a hardwood from eastern North America. Also sold as blackgum.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 800 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,188,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.55 |
| Density | 34.3 lb/ft3 (550 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 2.86 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 8.7% tangential / 5.1% radial |
| Indicative price | $4.00 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 Black Tupelo compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 35% of them, heavier than 36%, and stiffer than 11%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Black Tupelo it weighs about 15.3 lb. A stack of ten is 153 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Black Tupelo is about 66% as hard and 79% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 8.7% tangential against 5.1% radial, a ratio of 1.7 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 Black Tupelo on hardness in this database: American Elm (830 lbf), American Sycamore (770 lbf), Western Larch (830 lbf), African Mahogany (850 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Carves and machines easily but tends to warp while drying and moves a lot in service
Durability. Non-durable to perishable and vulnerable to insects, with no meaningful weather resistance
Typical uses. carving, furniture, crates, utility wood.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (which cites the USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Black Tupelo 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.