Blue Ash

Fraxinus quadrangulata · Hardwood · North America

≈36 lb/ft³ dried (est.)

Properties

Average dried weight (est.)	36 lb/ft³ (580 kg/m³)
Specific gravity	0.58
Modulus of rupture	13,800 psi (95.2 MPa)
Modulus of elasticity	1.40 million psi (9.65 GPa)
Crushing strength	6,980 psi (48.1 MPa)
Shrinkage — radial	3.9%
Shrinkage — tangential	6.5%
Shrinkage — volumetric	11.7%
Shrinkage T/R ratio	1.7

Values at 12% moisture content, clear-wood averages. Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 (2021), Table 5–3b p. 5–9; shrinkage Table 4–3 p. 4–8.

Blue ash is marketed as part of the white ash group (specific gravity 0.58, bending strength 13,800 psi) — heavy, hard, strong wood used for flooring, cabinets, and furniture. The species itself is now listed as Critically Endangered, one of several North American ashes devastated by the emerald ash borer.

Appearance & grain

Blue ash is sold within the white ash group: brown heartwood with light-colored to nearly white sapwood. The group is heavy, hard, and stiff, with high resistance to shock.

Workability

The Handbook treats blue ash within the white ash group and gives no species-specific machining statement; as a group the white ashes are heavy, hard, and stiff, so cutting edges meet real resistance. The group's high shock resistance is what the wood is bought for.