Species data
Pecan
Carya illinoinensis - a hardwood from south-central United States and Mexico. Also sold as pecan hickory.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,820 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,730,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.74 |
| Density | 46.2 lb/ft3 (740 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 3.85 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 8.9% tangential / 4.9% radial |
| Indicative price | $5.00 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 Pecan compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 77% of them, heavier than 66%, and stiffer than 60%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Pecan it weighs about 20.5 lb. A stack of ten is 205 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Pecan is about 1.5x as hard and 1.06x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 8.9% tangential against 4.9% radial, a ratio of 1.8 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 Pecan on hardness in this database: Zebrawood (1,830 lbf), Yellowheart (1,790 lbf), American Hornbeam (1,780 lbf), Shagbark Hickory (1,880 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Tough to machine and dulls edges, but glues, stains, finishes and steam-bends well
Durability. Non-durable to perishable, with high vulnerability to insect attack
Typical uses. tool handles, ladder rungs, wheel spokes, flooring.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Pecan (a pecan hickory) is not the "Hickory, true" entry in the FPL/Hoadley table and is not separately listed, 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.