Wood species
Bigtooth aspen wood
Bigtooth aspen is a hardwood (Populus grandidentata). It weighs about 27 lb/ft³ (437 kg/m³), 2.3 lb (1.03 kg) per board foot.
Also called: Populus grandidentata.
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, 12% MC
- Not measured
- Weight at 12% MC
- 27 lb/ft³ (437 kg/m³)
- 2.3 lb per board foot
- Specific gravity (oven-dry weight)
- 0.39 at 12% MC volume
- 0.36 on green volume
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 7.9% tangential
- Radial 3.3%, volumetric 11.8%
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, the authority for species properties it measured
Why: Measured by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory; bigtooth aspen's density is worked from its specific gravity with the Handbook's own equation.
How much bigtooth aspen moves
A 12 in wide flatsawn board of bigtooth aspen that goes from 6% to 12% moisture content swells about 0.2 in (about 3/16 in, 5.1 mm). Quartersawn, the same board moves about 0.08 in (about 3/32 in, 2 mm). Flatsawn faces move 2.4 times as much as quartersawn ones, because the wood shrinks 7.9% around the growth rings but only 3.3% across them.
Worked with the Wood Handbook's dimensional change coefficients for bigtooth aspen (Table 13-5: 0.00278 tangential, 0.00112 radial per 1% change in moisture content), which hold between 6% and 14%. Individual boards vary: the Handbook gives shrinkage a coefficient of variation of about 15% (p. 4-11).
Color, grain and working
- Color
- Grayish white to light grayish brown heartwood; the lighter sapwood merges into it gradually.
- Grain and texture
- Usually straight grained with a fine, uniform texture.
- Working and character
- The Handbook describes the aspens together: lightweight and soft, low in strength, moderately stiff, with moderately high shrinkage. Easily worked, and well-dried aspen gives no odor or flavor to food.
- Uses
- Lumber, pallets, boxes and crating, pulpwood, particleboard and strand panels; one of the preferred woods for oriented strandboard.
Adapted in our own words from the Wood Handbook, Chapter 2, p. 2-4.
Strength
Bending strength is the modulus of rupture (MOR); stiffness is the modulus of elasticity (MOE). Clear, straight-grained samples of bigtooth aspen tested by the Forest Products Laboratory (Wood Handbook Table 5-3b). Knots and cross grain make lumber weaker than these clear samples (Handbook Chapter 5).
| Property | Green | 12% MC |
|---|---|---|
| Bending strength (MOR) | 5,400 psi (37 MPa) | 9,100 psi (63 MPa) |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,120,000 psi (7.7 GPa) | 1,430,000 psi (9.9 GPa) |
| Crushing strength (compression parallel to grain) | 2,500 psi (17 MPa) | 5,300 psi (37 MPa) |
| Compression perpendicular to grain | 210 psi (1 MPa) | 450 psi (3 MPa) |
| Shear parallel to grain | 730 psi (5 MPa) | 1,080 psi (7 MPa) |
| Tension perpendicular to grain | — | — |
A dash means the Handbook prints no value; none is filled in.
Dust and health
- Wood dust is classed as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, chiefly for cancers of the nose and sinuses.
- NIOSH recommends keeping wood dust exposure to 1 mg/m³ of total dust, as quoted in OSHA's sawmill guidance.
This is what the named authorities publish, not medical advice.
Compare with
Buying and finishing bigtooth aspen
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for cabinets and trim with the species picker
Weigh bigtooth aspen against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.
- Plan a finish for cabinets in bigtooth aspen
The finishes whose makers name that use, and a dated coat schedule from each product’s own sheet.
Why these numbers
Why these numbers?
The situation
The Wood Handbook prints no side hardness for bigtooth aspen (Table 5-3b shows "—"), so none is given here.
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, the authority for species properties it measured , sources [1]
What that means
Side hardness (Janka) is the load needed to press a 0.444 in (11.28 mm) steel ball halfway into the wood across the grain; a higher number dents less (Handbook p. 5-5).
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, the authority for species properties it measured , sources [1]
So
Density at 12% is water's density × specific gravity × (1 + 0.12) (Handbook Eq. 4-14): 62.43 × 0.39 × 1.12.
Arithmetic: exact by definition , sources [1]
The number
About 27 lb/ft³, or 2.3 lb per board foot (1/12 ft³), at 12% moisture content.
Arithmetic: exact by definition
Sources