White ash (Fraxinus americana) in numbers: hardness, weight, strength, shrinkage, movement and decay resistance, taken from the tables of the USDA Forest Products Laboratory’s Wood Handbook, followed by what the wood is like to work and what it is used for. The values are averages from small, clear, straight-grained test specimens; real boards with knots, sloping grain or a different moisture content will differ.
| Property | White ash |
|---|---|
| Janka side hardness, 12% moisture | 1,320 lbf (5,872 N) |
| Janka side hardness, green | 960 lbf |
| Hardness rank | harder than 115 of the 168 woods with a 12% hardness value in our database |
| Density at 12% moisture | 42.0 lb/ft³ (672 kg/m³) |
| Weight per board foot (12%) | 3.50 lb |
| Specific gravity (ovendry weight, green volume) | 0.55 |
| Specific gravity at 12% moisture | 0.60 |
| Bending strength (modulus of rupture), 12% | 15,000 psi |
| Stiffness (modulus of elasticity), 12% | 1.74 million psi |
| Crushing strength (compression parallel to grain), 12% | 7,410 psi |
| Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial / tangential / volumetric | 4.9% / 7.8% / 13.3% |
| Tangential / radial shrinkage ratio | 1.59 |
| Dimensional change per 1% moisture (radial / tangential) | 0.00169 / 0.00274 |
| Impact bending (drop height to failure), 12% | 43 in. |
| Heartwood decay resistance | slightly or nonresistant |
The species in this group
Lumber is often sold under a group name. These are the species the Wood Handbook reports for this group, with the same properties side by side.
| Species | Janka (lbf) | Density (lb/ft³) | Bending (psi) | Stiffness (Mpsi) | Crushing (psi) | Shrink T/R (%) | Decay resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White ash Fraxinus americana | 1,320 | 42.0 | 15,000 | 1.74 | 7,410 | 7.8 / 4.9 | slightly or nonresistant |
| Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica | 1,200 | 39.2 | 14,100 | 1.66 | 7,080 | 7.1 / 4.6 | slightly or nonresistant |
| Oregon ash Fraxinus latifolia | 1,160 | 38.5 | 12,700 | 1.36 | 6,040 | 8.1 / 4.1 | slightly or nonresistant |
| Black ash Fraxinus nigra | 850 | 34.3 | 12,600 | 1.6 | 5,970 | 7.8 / 5.0 | slightly or nonresistant |
| Blue ash Fraxinus quadrangulata | — | 40.6 | 13,800 | 1.4 | 6,980 | 6.5 / 3.9 | slightly or nonresistant |
What it is
The white ash group is American white ash (Fraxinus americana), green ash (F. pennsylvanica), blue ash (F. quadrangulata) and, on the Pacific Coast, Oregon ash (F. latifolia). Black ash belongs to a separate, lighter group. The heartwood is brown and the sapwood light colored or nearly white.
Working properties
Second-growth white ash is especially sought after: it is heavy, strong, hard and stiff and has high resistance to shock. The Handbook notes that some handle specifications call for 5 to 17 growth rings per inch and a weight of at least 43 lb/ft³ at 12% moisture content. Ash bends well with steam. Its heartwood is not decay resistant.
Weight and density
At 12% moisture content white ash weighs about 42.0 lb per cubic foot, so one board foot (144 cubic inches) weighs about 3.50 lb. An 8 ft board of actual size 3/4 × 5-1/2 in. (a 1×6) holds 0.229 cubic feet and weighs about 9.6 lb; an 8 ft piece 1-1/2 × 3-1/2 in. (a 2×4 size) weighs about 12.2 lb. Green wood is much heavier because of the water it holds.
Density here is ovendry weight plus 12% water, divided by volume at 12% moisture content (Wood Handbook Eq. 4-12: density = specific gravity at 12% × 62.43 lb/ft³ × 1.12).
Wood movement
The Wood Handbook gives dimensional change coefficients for each species: the fraction of its width a board gains or loses for every 1% change in moisture content, between about 6% and 14%. For white ash they are 0.00274 across a flatsawn face (tangential) and 0.00169 across a quartersawn face (radial).
Worked example: a flatsawn board 7-1/4 in. wide (a nominal 1×8) that goes from 6% moisture content in a heated winter house to 12% in a humid summer changes width by 7.25 × 0.00274 × 6 = 0.119 in. (about 1/8 in.). The same board quartersawn moves 0.074 in. (about 1/16 in.). Allow for this in panels, tabletops and floors; the wood movement calculator works it out for any size and moisture range.
How it compares
| Species | Janka (lbf) | Density (lb/ft³) | Bending (psi) | Stiffness (Mpsi) | Tangential shrink (%) | Decay resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White ash | 1,320 | 42.0 | 15,000 | 1.74 | 7.8 | slightly or nonresistant |
| Northern red oak | 1,290 | 44.1 | 14,300 | 1.82 | 8.6 | slightly or nonresistant |
| White oak | 1,360 | 47.5 | 15,200 | 1.78 | 10.5 | resistant |
| Shagbark hickory | 1,880 | 50.3 | 20,200 | 2.16 | 10.5 | slightly or nonresistant |
| Sugar maple | 1,450 | 44.1 | 15,800 | 1.83 | 9.9 | slightly or nonresistant |
| Black cherry | 950 | 35.0 | 12,300 | 1.49 | 7.1 | moderately resistant |
Uses
Non-striking tool handles, oars, baseball bats and other sporting goods; decorative veneer, cabinets, furniture, flooring, millwork and crates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Janka hardness of white ash?
White ash averages 1,320 lbf (5,872 N) at 12% moisture content, a little harder than northern red oak at 1,290 lbf.
Why is ash used for bats and handles?
It combines high stiffness (1.74 million psi) and bending strength (15,000 psi at 12%) with good shock resistance for its weight.
Is black ash as strong as white ash?
No. Black ash is lighter (34.3 lb/ft³ against 42.0) and softer (850 lbf), and it belongs to a separate group.
Sources
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-190, 2010. Chapter 2 (species descriptions), Chapter 4 (Tables 4-3, 4-4 shrinkage; Eq. 4-7, 4-9, 4-12 density), Chapter 5 (Tables 5-3b, 5-5b strength and hardness), Chapter 13 (Table 13-5 dimensional change coefficients), Chapter 14 (Table 14-1 decay resistance)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook, 2021 edition (FPL-GTR-282)
Last reviewed: 22 October 2026. Numbers are generated from our parsed copy of the Handbook tables, so every page uses the same data. Values marked * are estimates computed with the Handbook’s own equations. Spotted an error? Please let us know.