How hard is that wood?

[LarryEA]

The Janka Hardness Scale is a measurement of the force necessary to embed a .444-inch (11.28 mm) steel ball to half its diameter in wood. It is the industry standard for gauging the ability of various species to tolerate denting and normal wear, as well as being a good indication of the effort required to work (nail, saw, carve, etc.) the particular wood.

The Red Oak, which has a Janka rating of 1290, is the industry benchmark for comparing the relative hardness of different wood species. Since the hardness of the wood varies with the direction of the grain, both side testing and end testing is performed on wood.

 

Kiln-dried) (in pounds) Hickory, Pecan 1,820 Hard Maple 1,450 White Oak 1,360 Beech 1,300 Red Oak 1,290 Yellow Birch 1,260 Green Ash 1,200 Black Walnut 1,010 Soft Maple 950 Cherry 950 Hackberry 880 Gum 850 Elm 830 Sycamore 770 Alder 590 Yellow Poplar 540 Cottonwood 430 Basswood 410 Aspen 350 Source: Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, USDA, Washington, D.C.

 

 

[heppnerguy]

wow  that is some interesting information.. I didn't even know this type of information was available.. You can see that I probably live in my own little world.

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[Fish]

That is interesting. Thanks

[Doug]

Attached is the actual Janka chart which I use.  I like it because for the woods it does list it goes both alphabetically and by hardness.  I have seen other charts which are supposedly Janka but will give different numbers and I have no idea why.

The Janka Hardness Test for Hardwoods.pdf

[amazingkevin]

yes you can learn something everyday.this is a new one for me !