TimberLedger

Compare woods side by side

Set up to three of the 155 woods against each other on eight laboratory measures, drawn as bars on one scale, or find the woods that fall inside the hardness, density and shrinkage limits you set.

Compare up to threeFind by propertyWhat the numbers mean

Compare up to three woods

Type a name and pick it from the list. The third wood is optional.

Bars run from zero to the highest value among all 155 woods. The thin dark mark on each track is the median of all 155.

Sugar maple is the hardest here at 1,450 lbf, 44% harder than black walnut. Black walnut moves least across the face (7.8% tangential shrinkage) and also has the T/R ratio closest to 1 (1.42).

Janka hardness

Resistance to dents and wear, side hardness at 12% MC.

  • White oak1,360 lbf45th hardest of 155
  • Sugar maple1,450 lbf41st hardest of 155
  • Black walnut1,010 lbf74th hardest of 155

Density

Specific gravity: oven-dry weight over green volume.

  • White oak0.6039th heaviest of 155
  • Sugar maple0.5652nd heaviest of 155
  • Black walnut0.5175th heaviest of 155

Bending strength

Modulus of rupture at 12% MC: load before a beam breaks.

  • White oak15,200 psi49th strongest of 155
  • Sugar maple15,800 psi44th strongest of 155
  • Black walnut14,600 psi55th strongest of 155

Stiffness

Modulus of elasticity at 12% MC: how little it bends.

  • White oak1.78 M psi61st stiffest of 155
  • Sugar maple1.83 M psi53rd stiffest of 155
  • Black walnut1.68 M psi74th stiffest of 155

Shrinkage across the face

Tangential, green to oven-dry. Lower moves less.

  • White oak10.5%18th highest of 155
  • Sugar maple9.9%23rd highest of 155
  • Black walnut7.8%76th highest of 155

Shrinkage through the thickness

Radial, green to oven-dry.

  • White oak5.6%23rd highest of 155
  • Sugar maple4.8%46th highest of 155
  • Black walnut5.5%24th highest of 155

T/R ratio

Tangential ÷ radial shrinkage. Closer to 1 stays flatter.

  • White oak1.8866th highest of 155
  • Sugar maple2.0639th highest of 155
  • Black walnut1.4215th lowest of 155

Volumetric shrinkage

Loss of volume, green to oven-dry.

  • White oak16.3%20th highest of 155
  • Sugar maple14.7%36th highest of 155
  • Black walnut12.8%68th highest of 155

Find woods by property

Set any of the limits below; empty boxes mean no limit. The table lists every wood that passes all of them, and the Compare button adds a wood to the comparison above.

Janka hardness
Density (specific gravity)
Shrinkage, at most
Groups

21 of 155 woods match.

WoodJanka, lbfDensityFace shrinkageT/R
PurpleheartImportedSG 0.67 · 6.1% face · T/R 1.91
1,860
0.676.1%1.91
Peroba rosaImportedSG 0.66 · 6.4% face · T/R 1.68
1,730
0.666.4%1.68
Para-angelimImportedSG 0.63 · 7.1% face · T/R 1.61
1,720
0.637.1%1.61
PiquiaImportedSG 0.72 · 8.0% face · T/R 1.60
1,720
0.728.0%1.60
KempasImportedSG 0.71 · 7.4% face · T/R 1.23
1,710
0.717.4%1.23
Black locustU.S. hardwoodSG 0.66 · 7.2% face · T/R 1.57
1,700
0.667.2%1.57
Peroba de camposImportedSG 0.62 · 6.6% face · T/R 1.74
1,600
0.626.6%1.74
HoneylocustU.S. hardwoodSG 0.60 · 6.6% face · T/R 1.57
1,580
0.606.6%1.57
AfrormosiaImportedSG 0.61 · 6.4% face · T/R 2.13
1,560
0.616.4%2.13
SapeleImportedSG 0.55 · 7.4% face · T/R 1.61
1,510
0.557.4%1.61
SepetirImportedSG 0.56 · 7.0% face · T/R 1.89
1,410
0.567.0%1.89
White ashU.S. hardwoodSG 0.55 · 7.8% face · T/R 1.59
1,320
0.557.8%1.59
IrokoImportedSG 0.54 · 3.8% face · T/R 1.36
1,260
0.543.8%1.36
Caribbean pineImportedSG 0.68 · 7.8% face · T/R 1.24
1,240
0.687.8%1.24
Green ashU.S. hardwoodSG 0.53 · 7.1% face · T/R 1.54
1,200
0.537.1%1.54
AndirobaImportedSG 0.54 · 7.6% face · T/R 2.45
1,130
0.547.6%2.45
AvodireImportedSG 0.48 · 6.7% face · T/R 1.46
1,080
0.486.7%1.46
AlbarcoImportedSG 0.48 · 5.4% face · T/R 1.93
1,020
0.485.4%1.93
Southern magnoliaU.S. hardwoodSG 0.46 · 6.6% face · T/R 1.22
1,020
0.466.6%1.22
Black walnutU.S. hardwoodSG 0.51 · 7.8% face · T/R 1.42
1,010
0.517.8%1.42
TeakImportedSG 0.55 · 5.8% face · T/R 2.32
1,000
0.555.8%2.32

What the numbers mean

All figures are averages for small, clear, straight-grained specimens from the USDA Wood Handbook (2010). They are for comparing woods, not design values.

Janka hardness
Force to press a 0.444-inch steel ball halfway into the side of the wood at 12% moisture content. Across the 155 woods it runs from 240 to 3,680 lbf; the median is 950 lbf. How to read it
Density
Specific gravity, from 0.25 to 0.96. For imported woods the handbook does not state the basis of this figure. Density and hardness
Shrinkage
Percent of the green size lost on drying to oven-dry. Across the face (tangential) it runs from 3.5% to 12.7%. Radial and tangential shrinkage
T/R ratio
Tangential ÷ radial shrinkage, from 1.09 to 2.90. A lower ratio means the two directions move more evenly.
Ranks
Counted among all 155 woods from the nearer end, so “8th softest” and “148th hardest” describe the same place.

Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook (2010), Tables 4-3, 4-4, 5-3b and 5-5b. The comparison and filter run in your browser on a 155-row file; nothing is sent anywhere. How to use the comparer · How we use the data