Basswood

Scientific Name: Tilia Americana

Other Common Names: American Lime, Linden, American Whitewood

Basswood is a lightweight, easily worked hardwood from the Glacial region, renowned for its smooth texture and even grain, which make it excellent for carving and detail work. Its pale, consistent coloring ensures a uniform appearance across a variety of specialized applications.

With its fine texture and stability, Basswood is suited for hand-carved items and precision models, resisting splitting while offering a neutral canvas for high-quality finishes. This versatile wood is widely used for musical instruments, blinds, shutters, and ornamental mouldings.

Download Basswood Technical Bulletin

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Machining

Sanding

Finishing

Gluing

Fastening

Screwing/Nailing

Machining

Sanding

Finishing

Gluing

Fastening

Screwing/Nailing

Quick Fact:

Basswood’s softness enables easy chopping, ripping, and shaping, making it a popular choice for detailed woodworking.

What’s Basswood Used For?

Furniture
Mouldings
Shutters Blinds
Boxes/Crates
Packing Material
Musical
Instruments
Toys
Drawer sides

Why Basswood?

Workable and very lightweight
Carving, turnings and detail-friendly
Consistent smooth texture
Reliable for paint and staining
Economical to ship due to light weight

NWH Appalachian is available as PEFC certified, FSC Mix Credit, FSC Controlled Wood or PEFC Controlled Sources.

How Does Basswood Compare To Other North American Hardwood Species?

Lumber (12 % moisture content)	Machining	Sanding	Finishing	Gluing	Fastening/ Nailing/ Screwing	Weight per bdft	Specific Gravity (Density)	Hardness (Janka)	Bending Strength (MOR)	Bending Stiffness (MOE)	Dimensional Movement (Shrinkage) R (%)	Dimensional Movement (Shrinkage) T (%)
Alder	10	10	10	9	7	2.45	.41	590	9,800	1,380	4.4	7.3
Ash	9	10	9	8	6	3.56	.61	1,320	15,000	1,740	4.9	7.8
Basswood	10	10	9	8	8	2.50	.37	410	8,700	1,460	6.6	9.3
Beech	8	8	10	8	8	3.69	.64	1,260	14,900	1,720	5.5	11.9
Cherry	10	9	10	9	7	3.07	.52	950	12,300	1,490	3.7	7.1
Hickory	3	7	7	3	3	4.14	.67	1,820	13,700	1,730	4.9	8.9
Hard Maple	9	8	10	9	4	3.73	.64	1,450	15,800	1,830	4.8	9.9
PC Maple	9	9	10	9	5	2.74	.50	850	10,700	1,450	3.7	7.1
Soft Maple	8	9	10	9	5	3.19	.55	950	13,400	1,640	4.0	8.2
Red Oak (Northern)	10	10	9	9	7	3.64	.63	1,220	14,380	1,761	4.0	8.6
Oregon White Oak	9	9	9	8	8	4.34	.72	1,640	10,200	1,090	4.2	9.0
White Oak (Eastern)	9	10	9	7	7	3.94	.68	1,350	14,380	1,762	4.4	8.8
Poplar	9	8	10	9	6	2.81	.43	540	10,100	1,580	4.6	8.2
Walnut	9	8	9	7	7	3.36	.56	1,010	14,600	1,680	5.5	7.8
Yellow Birch	10	8	10	8	2	3.53	.62	1,260	16,600	2,010	7.3	9.5

Grades Available

Tailored for Appalachian hardwoods, NWH’s proprietary grades focus on structural integrity and dimensional consistency—helping you optimize yield, cutting efficiency, and overall value.

3 Grades Available