Appalachian Species & Grades

Beech

Other Common Names: Carolina Beech, Gray Beech, Red Beech, Ridge Beech, Stone Beech, White Beech, and Winter Beech. Now confined to the eastern United States, American Beech is sometimes underrated and under-appreciated: which may be due to its somewhat bland appearance. With straight grain and medium to fine uniform texture, the sapwood of American Beech is white with a red tinge, while the heartwood is light to dark reddish brown. Beech wood is used to make flooring, furniture, veneer plywood, and railroad ties. It is especially favored as fuel wood because of its high density and good burning qualities.
Grades Available:

Properties

  • Machining8
  • Nailing8
  • Screwing8
  • Gluing8
  • Finishing10

Properties of Beech

With overall good workability, Beech responds superbly to steam-bending. It does, however, have a large amount of movement in service, so movement and wood stability must be taken into account.

How does it compare

Lumber
(12 % moisture content)
MachiningSandingFinishingGluingFastening/
Nailing/
Screwing
Weight
per bdft
Specific
Gravity
(Density)
Hardness
(Janka)
Bending
Strength
(MOR)
Bending
Stiffness
(MOE)
Dimensional
Movement
(Shrinkage)
R (%)
Dimensional
Movement
(Shrinkage)
T (%)
Alder101010972.45.415909,8001,3804.47.3
Ash9109863.56.611,32015,0001,7404.97.8
Basswood10109882.50.374108,7001,4606.69.3
Beech8810883.69.641,26014,9001,7205.511.9
Birch10810823.53.621,26016,6002,0107.39.5
Cherry10910973.07.5295012,3001,4903.77.1
Hickory377334.14.671,82013,7001,7304.98.9
Hard Maple9810943.73.641,45015,8001,8304.89.9
PC Maple9910952.74.5085010,7001,4503.77.1
Soft Maple8910953.19.5595013,4001,6404.08.2
Red Oak (Northern)10109973.64.631,22014,3801,7614.08.6
Oregon White Oak999884.34.721,64010,2001,0904.29.0
White Oak (Eastern)9109773.94.681,35014,3801,7624.48.8
Poplar9810962.81.4354010,1001,5804.68.2
Walnut989773.36.561,01014,6001,6805.57.8

GRADES