Species data
White Ash
Fraxinus americana - a hardwood from eastern North America. Also sold as american white ash.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,320 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,740,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.67 |
| Density | 41.8 lb/ft3 (670 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 3.48 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 7.8% tangential / 4.9% radial |
| Movement coefficient (CT / CR) | 0.00274 / 0.00169 |
| 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 White Ash compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 60% of them, heavier than 57%, and stiffer than 61%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in White Ash it weighs about 18.6 lb. A stack of ten is 186 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, White Ash is about 1.1x as hard and 96% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 7.8% tangential against 4.9% 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 White Ash on hardness in this database: American Beech (1,300 lbf), White Oak (1,350 lbf), Bur Oak (1,360 lbf), Sapele (1,360 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Handles well under hand and power tools; steam-bends, glues and finishes well
Durability. Perishable, offering no real durability against decay
Typical uses. flooring, millwork, baseball bats, tool handles, turned objects.
Related calculators
Sources
- The Wood Database - White Ash
- Dimensional change coefficient table (Hoadley / FPL Wood Handbook), reproduced by Popular Woodworking
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). CT/CR from the FPL/Hoadley table where listed. 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.