Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) 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 | Sassafras |
|---|---|
| Janka side hardness, 12% moisture | not reported |
| Janka side hardness, green | not reported |
| Density at 12% moisture | 32.2 lb/ft³ (515 kg/m³) |
| Weight per board foot (12%) | 2.68 lb |
| Specific gravity (ovendry weight, green volume) | 0.42 |
| Specific gravity at 12% moisture | 0.46 |
| Bending strength (modulus of rupture), 12% | 9,000 psi |
| Stiffness (modulus of elasticity), 12% | 1.12 million psi |
| Crushing strength (compression parallel to grain), 12% | 4,760 psi |
| Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial / tangential / volumetric | 4.0% / 6.2% / 10.3% |
| Tangential / radial shrinkage ratio | 1.55 |
| Dimensional change per 1% moisture (radial / tangential) | 0.00137 / 0.00216 |
| Heartwood decay resistance | resistant |
What it is
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) ranges from southeastern Iowa and eastern Texas eastward. It is easily confused with black ash, which it resembles in color, grain and texture.
The sapwood is light yellow, and the heartwood varies from dull grayish brown to dark brown, sometimes with a reddish tinge. Freshly cut surfaces have a characteristic odor.
Working properties
The wood is moderately heavy, moderately hard, moderately weak in bending and endwise compression, and quite high in shock resistance. Its heartwood is resistant to decay and is in the resistant class of the Handbook’s durability table, with white oak, black walnut and chestnut. The Handbook’s strength tables give no hardness value for sassafras, so the key facts table shows hardness as not reported. Its tangential shrinkage from green to ovendry is 6.2%.
Weight and density
At 12% moisture content sassafras weighs about 32.2 lb per cubic foot, so one board foot (144 cubic inches) weighs about 2.68 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 7.4 lb; an 8 ft piece 1-1/2 × 3-1/2 in. (a 2×4 size) weighs about 9.4 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 sassafras they are 0.00216 across a flatsawn face (tangential) and 0.00137 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 × 0.00216 × 6 = 0.094 in. (about 3/32 in.). The same board quartersawn moves 0.06 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sassafras | — | 32.2 | 9,000 | 1.12 | 6.2 | resistant |
| Black ash | 850 | 34.3 | 12,600 | 1.6 | 7.8 | slightly or nonresistant |
| American chestnut | 540 | 30.1 | 8,600 | 1.23 | 6.7 | resistant |
| Black cherry | 950 | 35.0 | 12,300 | 1.49 | 7.1 | moderately resistant |
| Black walnut | 1,010 | 38.5 | 14,600 | 1.68 | 7.8 | resistant |
| White oak | 1,360 | 47.5 | 15,200 | 1.78 | 10.5 | resistant |
Uses
Sassafras was highly prized by Native Americans for dugout canoes, and some sassafras lumber is still used for small boats. Locally it is used for fence posts and rails and for general millwork.
Frequently asked questions
How hard is sassafras?
The Wood Handbook strength tables do not give a Janka hardness value for sassafras. Its species description rates the wood moderately hard.
Is sassafras rot resistant?
Yes. Sassafras heartwood is in the resistant class of Wood Handbook Table 14-1, which generally gives satisfactory service above ground. For ground contact, the Handbook points to the very resistant class or preservative-treated wood.
Is sassafras the same as black ash?
No, but the Handbook warns that the two are easily confused, because sassafras resembles black ash in color, grain and texture. Freshly cut sassafras surfaces have a characteristic odor, and sassafras heartwood is rated resistant to decay, while the ashes are slightly or nonresistant.
How much does sassafras weigh?
About 32.2 lb per cubic foot at 12% moisture content, or 2.68 lb per board foot.
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: 24 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.