White Ash Lumber: Properties, Grades and Uses

White ash lumber is the sawn wood of the white ash group, mainly Fraxinus americana with green and blue ash sold alongside it. It is heavy, hard, strong and stiff, with high shock resistance and good bending properties, a white to yellow sapwood and a light to dark brown heartwood. It is graded under the standard NHLA rules, sold mostly in 4/4 to 8/4, and used for furniture, flooring, millwork, handles and sports goods.

Item	Typical for white ash lumber
Species	White ash (Fraxinus americana), green ash (F. pennsylvanica), blue ash (F. quadrangulata) in the east, Oregon ash (F. latifolia) in the west
Sapwood	White to yellow, often wide
Heartwood	Light to dark brown, sometimes with lighter streaks
Grain	Ring porous, straight, distinct figure
Side hardness (Janka)	about 1,320 lbf at 12% moisture
Specific gravity	0.55 green, 0.60 at 12% moisture
Modulus of rupture at 12%	about 15,000 psi
Shrinkage, green to oven dry	radial 4.9%, tangential 7.8%, volume 13.3%
Heartwood decay resistance	Slightly or not resistant (ashes group)
Common thicknesses	4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4
Average dried weight	about 3.5 lb per board foot (NHLA guide)
US tariff line	4407.95 (ash)

Figures are typical for the species from the USDA Wood Handbook and the NHLA species guide, not guarantees for a lot. The NHLA rulebook governs grades.

What is sold as white ash

The Wood Handbook names American white ash, green ash and blue ash as the main eastern species of the white ash group, and Oregon ash on the Pacific coast. The trade sells them together as white ash. Black ash (Fraxinus nigra) belongs to a separate group and is lighter and weaker. If the strength of the wood matters, as it does for handles and sports goods, say “white ash (F. americana)” and ask how the mill separates species.

The NHLA species guide gives US ash growing stock as 657 million cubic meters, about 4.5% of all US hardwood growing stock, and says ash is readily available as lumber and veneer in a wide range of grades and sizes.

Strength, hardness and bending

Property at 12% moisture	White ash	White oak	Hard maple (sugar)
Side hardness	about 1,320 lbf	about 1,360 lbf	about 1,450 lbf
Specific gravity	0.60	0.68	0.63
Modulus of rupture	about 15,000 psi	about 15,200 psi	about 15,800 psi
Modulus of elasticity	about 1.74 million psi	about 1.78 million psi	about 1.83 million psi
Tangential shrinkage (green to oven dry)	7.8%	10.5%	9.9%

Values from the Wood Handbook tables for clear wood. White ash matches oak and maple for strength while being lighter than white oak, and it shrinks less across the face. The Handbook notes that second-growth trees are especially sought for their weight, strength, hardness, stiffness and shock resistance. The NHLA guide calls ash ideal for bending and turning.

That combination explains the classic ash uses: tool handles, baseball bats, oars, bent furniture parts and frames that take impact. For these uses, buyers often specify straight grain, a minimum growth ring count or density and freedom from cross grain, beyond the NHLA grade.

Grades and color

White ash follows the standard NHLA grades.

Grade	Minimum board	Clear face yield	Typical ash use
FAS	6 in wide, 8 to 16 ft	83 1/3%	Furniture, millwork, bent parts
F1F and Selects	One FAS face, back No.1 Common	83 1/3% on the better face	Doors, mouldings
No.1 Common	3 in wide, 4 to 16 ft	66 2/3%	Cabinets, furniture parts, handles
No.2A Common	3 in wide, 4 to 16 ft	50%	Flooring, short parts

See the FAS grade page and the lumber grades hub for how cuttings are counted.

The NHLA guide notes that ash may be sold by color. Mills commonly offer white ash with a sapwood face for pale finishes, and brown heart ash for darker, warmer tones, as sorts. As with maple, define the sort in measurable words and ask how it is checked.

Emerald ash borer and supply

Emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive beetle, kills ash trees across large parts of North America. The NHLA species guide links it to rising ash mortality and removals, expected to exceed growth in some states, and names Michigan and Ohio as central to the infestation. For a lumber buyer this means:

• Supply by region. Salvage harvests can raise short-term supply in some areas while standing ash declines over time. Long programs in ash need a supplier view on volume.
• Wood quality. Lumber sawn from trees dead for some time can show more stain, checks and insect marks. Ask whether logs were cut from live or recently killed trees if appearance matters.
• Import and export rules. Ash wood moves under specific plant health rules. Into the United States, ash wood from Canada needs certificates or importer documents depending on whether the area of origin is regulated for EAB (7 CFR 319.40-5(n)). The EU sets special requirements for ash wood from countries where EAB occurs. Check the destination rule before you quote.

Our guide to white ash lumber supply after emerald ash borer follows the supply side in more detail, and the EU import rules page covers the EU side.

Substitutes and alternatives

If you need	Consider	Trade-off
Similar look, open grain	White oak, red oak	Heavier (white oak), different color
Shock resistance for handles	Hickory	Harder and heavier, more color variation
Pale, hard surface	Hard maple	Closed grain, different look
Exterior use with ash look	Thermally modified ash	Lower strength, better durability. See thermally modified hardwood

Drying and weight

White ash dries fairly easily. For interior use in North America the usual target is 6 to 8%. The NHLA guide gives an average dried weight of about 3.5 lb per board foot, which is a fair starting point for freight. See kiln drying schedules for how ash is usually dried.

What to write on the RFQ

Name the species (white ash, F. americana if it matters), grade and rulebook, color sort, any straight grain or density requirement for handles, thickness, surfacing, drying, width and length limits, board feet and the destination’s ash paperwork. Our hardwood lumber specifications guide explains every field.

RFQ line: White ash (Fraxinus americana), FAS, NHLA rules (edition named), white one face, 8/4 rough, KD 6-8%, straight grain, 4 in and wider, 8-12 ft, 3,000 BF, ash plant health papers for destination.

Send it through our lumber RFQ form and we pass it to up to 3 mills or yards that carry white ash in that grade. More species are on the hardwood species hub.