Strathmore Music Centre
American yellow birch was specified at The Strathmore Music Centre in Baltimore for its resiliency and warm sound.
American yellow birch
Betula alleghaniensis
Ickworth House, UK
General Description
Yellow birch has a white sapwood and light reddish brown heartwood. The wood is generally straight grained with a fine uniform texture.
Other Common names
Distribution & Availability
Eastern USA, principally Northern and Lake States. Reasonable availability, but more limited ifselected for colour, i.e. red birch (heartwood) or white birch (sapwood). Increasingly found in export markets, although volumes produced may limit sizes and grades available.
Case Studies
View Physical & Mechanical Properties
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Physical & Mechanical Properties
The wood of yellow birch is heavy, hard and strong. It has very good wood bending properties, with good crushing strength and shock resistance.
American yellow birch - Physical & Mechanical Properties
| Specific Gravity (12% M.C.): | 0.62 |
| Average Weight (12% M.C.): | 689 kg/m3 |
| Average Volume Shrinkage (Green to 6% M.C.): | 13.40% |
| Modulus of Rupture: | 114.457 MPa |
| Modulus of Elasticity: | 13,859 MPa |
| Compressive strength (parallel to grain): | 56.332 MPa |
| Hardness: | 5604 N |
View Working Properties
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Working Properties
The wood works fairly easily, glues well with care, takes stain and polish extremely well, and nails and screws satisfactorily where pre-boring is advised. It dries rather slowly with little degrade, but it has moderately high shrinkage, so can be susceptible to movement in performance.
American yellow birch - Working Properties
| Sawing | Good |
| Planing | Good |
| Drilling | Good |
| Boring | Good |
| Turning | Good |
| Carving | Good |
| Moulding | Good |
| Nailing | Fair |
| Screwing | Fair |
| Gluing | Good |
| Finishing | Excellent |
View Main Uses
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Main Uses
Furniture, internal joinery and panelling, doors, flooring, kitchen cabinets, turning and toys.
American yellow birch - Main Uses
| Doors | ✓ |
| Flooring | ✓ |
| Furniture | ✓ |
| Joinery | ✓ |
| Kitchen cabinets | ✓ |
| Mouldings and turnings | ✓ |
| Veneered panels | |
| Sports goods | |
| Tool handles |
Other Information
Often sorted for sap (sapwood) or red (heartwood). When sorted for colour, the FAS grade will allow a 5 inch minimum width. Refer to the NHLA’s Rules for the Measurement & Inspection of Hardwood & Cypress for colour sorting specifications. Paper birch is a much softer textured birch species, which is lighter in colour, with scattered brown flecks and should not be confused with yellow birch.
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
