How to Identify White Ash Wood (Fraxinus americana)

Heartwood is a light to medium brown; sapwood can be very wide and tends toward beige or light brown. Medium to coarse texture similar to oak; grain almost always straight and regular, though moderately curly or figured boards occur. End grain: Ring porous; large earlywood pores 2-4 rows wide, small latewood pores solitary and in radial multiples; tyloses common; parenchyma banded (marginal) and vasicentric/winged/confluent around latewood pores; narrow rays, normal spacing.

Janka hardness 1,320 lbf (side hardness: the force needed to embed a 0.444-inch steel ball to half its diameter). Specific gravity 0.6 at 12% moisture content, so a cubic foot weighs roughly 37 lb. Weight in the hand is one of the quickest checks: compare a piece of known size against a board you already know.

Both are ring-porous, pale-to-medium-brown, tough woods used for tool handles; ash has narrow, evenly spaced rays and a moderately unpleasant working odor, while hickory is denser/harder (Janka roughly 1,820-1,880 lbf vs ash's 1,320 lbf) with reticulate parenchyma bands visible on the endgrain. The Hickory (Shagbark) page has its own details.

Can have a distinct, moderately unpleasant smell when being worked; noted for excellent shock resistance relative to its weight, which is why it is favored for tool handles.

Flooring, millwork, boxes/crates, baseball bats, and other turned objects such as tool handles.

Produces good results with hand or machine tools, responds well to steam bending, and glues/stains/finishes well; ash (Fraxinus) has been reported to cause skin irritation and a decrease in lung function.

Photograph a freshly cut or sanded face in daylight, not a finished or stained surface, since stain hides color and finish flattens grain. Add a close-up of the end grain: cut a clean end, wet it or sand it to 220, and shoot from straight on; pore pattern and rays are the most reliable marks. Put a ruler in frame. The app suggests the likely species; confirm with the end grain and weight.