Ash A Hardwood

Ash wears well and scratches and dents are less noticeable than in other species.

Ash a hardwood.

White ash has excellent shock resistance and along with hickory carya spp it is one of the most commonly used hardwoods for tool handles in north america particularly in shovels and hammers where toughness and impact resistance. Ash is a light colored smooth grained hardwood that grows throughout the east coast and parts of canada. There is a lot of natural colour variation from a pale straw colour to a dark brown which gives it a livelier. It really is a genuine allrounder as a hardwood.

Frequently ash is used as a substitute for red oak. There is a strong grain pattern in the ash and this hides natural imperfections well. Oregon ash has a janka rating of 1 160 and pumpkin ash rates 990. Ash wood has a similar density and grain to oak.

Ash is a hardwood and is hard dense within 20 of 670 kg m 3 for fraxinus americana and higher at 710 kg m 3 for fraxinus excelsior tough and very strong but elastic extensively used for making bows tool handles baseball bats hurleys and other uses demanding high strength and resilience. White ash is rated at 1 320 and green ash at 1 200. Ash machines well is good in nailing screwing and gluing and can be stained to a very good finish. Green ash and black ash trees are preferentially attacked by the insects followed by white ash and blue ash.

The texture and density of the wood a tree produces puts it in either the hardwood or softwood category. Softwood comes from a conifer cone bearing or evergreen trees such as pine or spruce. With its typical straight grain and beige to light brown hue ash wood is a very attractive option for fine furniture. It s only drawback is ash doesn t have a natural durability for use outside unless it has been modified heat treated or chemically treated.

Working with ash wood is not necessarily difficult but there are some specific characteristics that should be addressed. About ash the ash tree grows rapidly adapts to almost any conditions and is low maintenance. Ash has a hardness rating of 1200 most scales generally agree but sometimes they may be slightly different in number. The specific gravity of ash woods ranges from 0 60 for white ash to 0 49 for black ash.

Most hardwood trees are deciduous trees which lose their leaves annually like elm or maple. The lowest janka rating for an ash wood is black ash at 850. In fact it s often used as a replacement for oak and is sometimes called golden oak like oak cherry and maple tree wood ash is considered a hardwood tree. For example since ash is a hardwood it is important not to sand it with too fine a grit of sandpaper before staining.

This process is available so if you feel drawn to ash for exterior joinery work just say the word and we ll try to find you a suitable solution.