What Is Ash Hardwood Used For

Since the late 1990s ash has been under attack from an invasive insect from asia.

What is ash hardwood used for.

Ash has a hardness rating of 1200 most scales generally agree but sometimes they may be slightly different in number. It dries fairly easily with minimal degrade and there is little movement in performance. The emerald ash borer has been decimating the species. Frequently ash is used as a substitute for red oak.

Blue ash has a janka rating of 2 030. 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. That s way too much for any single use so we ve had to find creative ways to use what would otherwise be a waste product. This goes back a very long time in american furniture making.

White ash is rated at 1 320 and green ash at 1 200. For example since ash is a hardwood it is important not to sand it with too fine a grit of sandpaper before staining. Ash wood has a similar density and grain to oak. Ash machines well is good in nailing screwing and gluing and can be stained to a very good finish.

It just doesn t get any respect. Working with ash wood is not necessarily difficult but there are some specific characteristics that should be addressed. White ash is used extensively in sporting goods bats oars pool cues tool handles cabinet work high class joinery plywood paneling and veneer. The lowest janka rating for an ash wood is black ash at 850.

The specific gravity of ash woods ranges from 0 60 for white ash to 0 49 for black ash. The seeds branches and leaves are used as food by a number of birds and animals. Green ash and black ash trees are preferentially attacked by the insects followed by white ash and blue ash. It is used traditionally by gardeners as a good source of potash.

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. Black ash trees are also a big part of the natural ecosystem. Oregon ash has a janka rating of 1 160 and pumpkin ash rates 990. Wood ash is the residue powder left after the combustion of wood such as burning wood in a home fireplace or an industrial power plant.

I ve always had the impression that ash is the rodney dangerfield of the hardwood lumber world.