Beech (American)
Dense, fine-grained hardwood that wears evenly without splintering. The traditional material for workbench tops and butcher blocks, and widely used for flooring and bent furniture parts.
Properties
- Family
- Wood
- Category
- wood
- Species
- Fagus grandifolia
- Density
- 0.72 g/cm³ · 720 kg/m³
Densityhow beech (american) compares
Wood propertiesUSDA clear-wood values at 12% moisture content
- Species measured
- American beech (Fagus grandifolia)
- Specific gravity
- 0.64
- Janka side hardness
- 1,300 lbf · 5,783 N
- Modulus of rupture
- 14,900 psi · 102.7 MPa
- Modulus of elasticity
- 1.72 ×10⁶ psi · 11.86 GPa
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 5.5% radial · 11.9% tangential · 17.2% volumetric
Source: USDA Forest Service, Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-190, 2010), Table 5–3b, for clear straight-grained specimens at 12% moisture content. The grey figures are converted at 1 lbf = 4.448 N, 1 psi = 6.895 kPa and 1 GPa = 145,038 psi; the inch-pound numbers are the published ones. Specific gravity is oven-dry mass over volume at 12% moisture content, so it sits about 12% below the working density at the top of this page (0.64 × 1.12 ≈ 0.72 g/cm³). The two come from different sampling programmes, so a few species differ by more than that.
Applicationswhere beech (american) is normally specified
Appearance & workabilitytrade experience, not measured values
- Origin
- Eastern North America; the European beech is a separate but similar species
- Appearance
- Pale cream to light brown with small dark flecks; fine, even texture
- Working
- Machines and turns cleanly, but moves noticeably with moisture, so it is used in thin sections or as steamed stock.
Unlike the USDA figures above, these lines are not measurements: they carry no units and no single source. They describe how the timber is generally found to behave rather than what it is guaranteed to do — read them as the consensus of the trade, not as a specification.
Practical notes
- Density is for air-dried stock at about 12% moisture content
- Moves significantly with humidity — allow for movement in wide panels
- Not durable in ground contact or damp conditions
Lumber sizeswhat beech (american) weighs in each nominal size
Lumber size databaseDressed sizes are the same for every species — a 2x4 is 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 in in oak as much as in spruce. What changes is the weight, and that is derived here from beech (american)'s density of 0.72 g/cm³.
Tools used on itmatched on the wood family, not on this page
All toolsWhich tools work a material is a property of the family (Wood), not of the individual species — so this list is the same on every wood page, and changes when the tool data changes rather than when this paragraph does.
Used in these projectsbuilds whose bill of materials calls for it
All projectsFrequently asked questionsthe questions this page answers about Beech (American)
How hard is Beech (American)?
Janka hardness is 1,300 lbf — the force needed to push a steel ball halfway into the wood. Higher is harder; this is the number quoted when a wood is specified for floors, worktops or butcher blocks.
How dense is Beech (American)?
Density is 0.72 g/cm³, and the USDA table gives a specific gravity of 0.64.
How much does Beech (American) move when it dries?
Green to oven-dry it shrinks 17.2% by volume — 5.5% radially and 11.9% tangentially. Movement across the grain is what opens joints, so a species that moves a lot wants room to move.
What is Beech (American) used for?
Typical uses are Workbench tops, Butcher blocks, Flooring and Furniture.
How does Beech (American) work with hand and machine tools?
Machines and turns cleanly, but moves noticeably with moisture, so it is used in thin sections or as steamed stock.