Species data
Paper Birch
Betula papyrifera - a hardwood from northern and central North America. Also sold as white birch.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 910 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,590,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.61 |
| Density | 38.1 lb/ft3 (610 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 3.17 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 8.6% tangential / 6.3% 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 Paper Birch compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 46% of them, heavier than 50%, and stiffer than 46%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Paper Birch it weighs about 16.9 lb. A stack of ten is 169 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Paper Birch is about 75% as hard and 87% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 8.6% tangential against 6.3% 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 Paper Birch on hardness in this database: Eastern Redcedar (900 lbf), Honduran Mahogany (900 lbf), Monkeypod (900 lbf), Hackberry (880 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Mostly easy, though wild grain may tear; still turns, glues and finishes nicely
Durability. Perishable, decaying quickly and vulnerable to insect attack
Typical uses. plywood, interior trim, boxes, turned objects, specialty items.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Paper birch 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.