Species guide

American basswood

Latin name

Tilia americana

Other Common names

Linden, American whitewood, American linn

Distribution

Eastern USA, principally the Northern and Lake States.

General Description

The sapwood of basswood is usually quite large and creamy white in colour, merging into the heartwood which is pale to reddish brown, sometimes with darker streaks. The wood has a fine uniform texture and indistinct grain that is straight.

Working Properties

Basswood machines well and is easy to work with hand tools making it a premier carving wood. It nails, screws, and glues fairly well and can be sanded, stained, and polished to a good smooth finish. It dries fairly rapidly with little distortion or degrade. It has a fairly large shrinkage but good dimensional stability when dry.

Physical Properties

The wood is light and soft with generally low strength properties and a poor steam bending classification.

Durability

Non-resistant to heartwood decay, sapwood is liable to attack by common furniture beetle. The wood is permeable for preservation treatment.

Availability

USA:
Reasonable availability both for lumber and veneer, particularly from the Northern States.

Export:
Available in a full range of thicknesses and specifications, although volumes
can be limited, this may change as demand increases.

Main Uses

Carving, turning, furniture, pattern-making, mouldings, interior joinery and musical instruments. An important specialised use is Venetian blinds.

Grading

Often produced in 9/4 (57.15mm) thickness for venetian blinds. Pin knots and light brown mineral streaks are a natural characteristic and not considered a defect.

Technical statistics

Specific Gravity (12% M.C.):	0.37
Average Weight (12% M.C.):	417 kg/m3
Average Volume Shrinkage (Green to 6% M.C.):	12.60%
Modulus of Elasticity:	10,067 MPa
Hardness:	1824 N