American beech
Fagus grandifolia
General Description
The sapwood of American beech is white with a red tinge, while the heartwood is light to dark reddish brown. American beech tends to be slightly darker and less consistent than European beech. The wood is generally straight grained.
Other Common names
Distribution & Availability
Grows throughout Eastern USA, although commercial concentration is in the Central and MiddleAtlantic States. Production volumes of higher lumber grades and thicker stock may be limited.
Physical & Mechanical Properties
American beech wood is classed as heavy, hard, and reasonably strong, high in resistance to shock and very suitable for steam bending.
American beech - Physical & Mechanical Properties
| Specific Gravity (12% M.C.): | 0.64 |
| Average Weight (12% M.C.): | 721 kg/m3 |
| Average Volume Shrinkage (Green to 6% M.C.): | 13.00% |
| Modulus of Rupture: | 102.736 MPa |
| Modulus of Elasticity: | 11,859 MPa |
| Compressive strength (parallel to grain): | 50.334 MPa |
| Hardness: | 5782 N |
Working Properties
American beech works readily with most hand and machine tools. It has good nailing and gluing properties and can be stained and polished to a good finish. The wood dries fairly rapidly but with a strong tendency to warp, split and surface check. It is subject to a large shrinkage and moderate movement in performance.
American beech - Working Properties
| Sawing | Good |
| Planing | Good |
| Drilling | Good |
| Boring | Good |
| Turning | Good |
| Carving | Good |
| Moulding | Good |
| Nailing | Good |
| Screwing | Good |
| Gluing | Good |
| Finishing | Good |
Main Uses
Furniture, doors, flooring, internal joinery, panelling, brush handles and turning. It is particularly suitable for food containers as there is no odour or taste.
American beech - Main Uses
| Doors | ✓ |
| Flooring | ✓ |
| Furniture | ✓ |
| Joinery | ✓ |
| Kitchen cabinets | ✓ |
| Mouldings and turnings | ✓ |
| Veneered panels | ✓ |
| Sports goods | |
| Tool handles | ✓ |
Other Information
Occasional brown streaks of mineral can be found in the heartwood and are not considered a defect. Commercially, production of beech is not on the scale of European production but there are U.S. Companies specialising in steaming and export.
Select your species
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American alder
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American ash
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American aspen
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American basswood
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American beech
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American yellow birch
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American cherry
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American cottonwood
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American elm
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American gum
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American hackberry
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American hickory & pecan
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American hard maple
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American soft maple
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American red oak
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American white oak
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American sycamore
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American tulipwood
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American walnut
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American willow
