Species data
Lignum Vitae
Guaiacum officinale - a hardwood from central America and northern South America. Also sold as palo santo, guayacan, holywood.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 4,390 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 2,481,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 1.26 |
| Density | 78.6 lb/ft3 (1,260 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 6.55 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 8.7% tangential / 5.3% radial |
| Indicative price | $45.00 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 Lignum Vitae compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 100% of them, heavier than 99%, and stiffer than 90%. Hard enough to be tough on edges and on machinery. At this density a full sheet or a long board gets heavy fast; check the shelf-sag and weight tools before you size anything.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Lignum Vitae it weighs about 34.9 lb. A stack of ten is 349 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Lignum Vitae is about 3.6x as hard and 1.80x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 8.7% tangential against 5.3% radial, a ratio of 1.6 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 Lignum Vitae on hardness in this database: African Blackwood (3,670 lbf), Ipe (3,490 lbf), Cumaru (3,330 lbf), Pink Ivory (3,230 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Extreme density and natural oils make machining hard, though it lends itself beautifully to turning
Durability. Exceptionally durable outdoors and strongly resistant to insects; famed for lasting while submerged in water
Typical uses. tool handles, mallet heads, bearings, bushings, pulley wheels, turned objects.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (citing USDA FPL and related sources). This imported species is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient table, so CT/CR and movement source 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.