White Ash
Fraxinus americana
Also known as American ash, American white ash · Botanical Fraxinus americana
Revision history
- — Data re-verified in site-wide audit (formulas, sources, durability classes)
- — Working properties and comparable-species data cross-checked against listed sources
About White Ash
White Ash (Fraxinus americana) is a mid-range timber, hard enough for everyday wear and still easy to work, with a Janka hardness of 1,320 lbf (5,871 N) and a density of about 0.6 g/cm³. It grows in North America.
Radial 4.9% against tangential 7.8% is an unusually even T/R ratio of 1.59 — White Ash shrinks close to uniformly, which is why it holds a flat panel in interior joinery and furniture. Its fibre saturation point is near 28%. Below it this timber moves a great deal — 7.8% tangential — but evenly, at a T/R ratio of 1.59. Wide boards need genuine expansion room; they are less likely to cup than to simply change width. — wide boards need real expansion room, not a token gap.
At 600 kg/m³ a cubic metre of White Ash weighs about 600 kg air-dry — that figure, the 7.8% tangential and 4.9% radial movement and the 1,320 lbf hardness are the three inputs the calculators below actually consume. Select White Ash in any of them to get species-specific results for weight, moisture, shrinkage and hardness.
Working properties
How White Ash behaves at the bench and on the machine, drawn from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory and the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC).
Durability & use classification
White Ash is rated non-durable (EN 350 Class 5): it has little resistance to decay and is susceptible to insects in damp or ground-contact conditions. Treat it strictly as an interior timber unless it has been thermally modified.
Typical applications & suitability
Indoor — Indoor use. What ash offers instead of weather resistance is outstanding shock resistance and toughness — fibers that flex before they fail, which is why it dominates striking-tool handles and sports goods.
Documented end-uses: furniture and flooring, doors, architectural millwork and mouldings, kitchen cabinets, tool handles, baseball bats, oars and sporting equipment, turned parts and guitar bodies. Odour- and taste-free, so it also suits food and liquid containers.
Comparable species
Species closest to White Ash by density, hardness, stiffness and bending strength, computed directly from the Vriksai species dataset rather than hand-picked.
Trade alternatives. For a similar pale, straight-grained look the trade substitutes European Beech or Yellow Birch; where shock resistance is the point, hickory is the classic partner and, for bends, the two are interchangeable with ash.
Alternatives to White Ash
White Ash measures 1,320 lbf Janka at 0.60 g/cm³, EN 350 durability Class 5, movement rated Excellent. White Ash is rated Excellent for movement, which is usually why it was specified — so nothing below trades that stability down. Read the numbers against the Janka scale and EN 350 durability classes.
For furniture and interior joinery that needs to survive handling as well as humidity. Harder resists denting; check the movement figures have not worsened with it.
Easier to machine and to hand-finish, for interior work where the surface is not taking abuse.
Already well behaved — these are the few in our library that are measurably steadier still. Size the gaps with the shrinkage predictor and EMC calculator.
If White Ash is unavailable and the specification cannot change, these are the nearest substitutes across hardness, density, movement, stiffness, bending strength and durability class together — not on any single property. Lower distance means a closer match.
White Ash is EN 350 Class 5, so untreated exterior service is not advisable. These reach Class 1–2 at comparable hardness.
Computed from measured properties only — hardness, density, movement, stiffness, bending strength and EN 350 class. Price, availability and appearance are never inputs. Figures are representative values, not consignment absolutes: two species within a few percent are equivalent until verified on the material. Full method and the rules the engine cannot break.
Substitution is a match on durability class, movement and strength — not on colour or grain. Where two candidates are close, compare them directly before specifying.
Compare White Ash side by side
These comparisons turn on movement and finish quality more than on raw strength. Every pairing shows the measured figures side by side; full matrix in the comparison index.
Calculators relevant to White Ash
Weighted towards joinery and finishing, where White Ash is normally used. Full set in the tool index.
Understand the figures
Strength properties — MOR, MOE and what they govern · Durability & fire — EN 350 classes and E84 ratings · Thermal conductivity — k-value and insulation behaviour · ThermoWood species guide — Thermo-D/Thermo-S treatment classes.
Further reading. What is ThermoWood? · Wood moisture content explained · How to calculate board feet.
Common questions about White Ash
unverified no published source for this figure · FPL USDA FPL Wood Handbook GTR-190 · WD The Wood Database (Eric Meier) · calc derived from the figures above