Wood Species

Name	Wood	Janka Rating
Ash		1320

Ash, White
Fraxinus americana

Also known as: American ash, Biltmore ash, Canadian ash, Fresno

White Ash should not be confused with Mountain Ash from the Victoria and Tasmanian region.

Origin: North American

Appearance:

The sapwood of white ash is creamy white, while the heartwood ranges from light tan to dark brown. The grain is bold and straight, with an occasional wavy pattern; and in plain-sawn boards it can have a strong contrast. The wood has a lustrous appearance, and the texture is coarse.

Resistance, Durability:

White ash is elastic and hard, and it has excellent shock-resistance. The wood remains smooth under friction.

Janka Hardness: 1320

White ash is thirty-two percent harder than teak, about two percent harder than red oak, two percent softer than white oak, eight percent softer than hard maple, roughly seventy-two percent as hard as hickory or pecan, and sixty percent as hard as santos mahogany's ranking of 2200.

Workability:

White ash has good machining qualities, and it sands very nicely. It resists splitting when nailed and it has good holding ability. The wood takes well to staining and preservative treatment.

Main Uses:

As ash wood is so hard, strong, and flexible, it is among the most valuable hardwood species. It is best known for baseball bats (e.g., the legendary "Louisville Slugger"). It is also used for fine flooring, furniture, tool handles, and sports equipment.

What is a Janka Rating?

"It is one of the best measures of the ability of a wood species to withstand denting and wear. It is also a good indicator of how hard a species is to saw or nail.

The hardness of wood usually varies with the direction of the wood grain.

A common use of Janka hardness ratings is to determine whether a species is suitable for use as flooring."

Colored Bamboo

Some species have different janka ratings depending on how they have been treated.

Bamboo is one example of this. If left with a natural finish, Bamboo falls at 1380 on the hardness scale. If you carbonize it to get a darker color, the rank falls to 1180.