WoodwoodHardwood

Beech (American)

Dense, fine-grained hardwood that wears evenly without splintering. The traditional material for workbench tops and butcher blocks, and widely used for flooring and bent furniture parts.

Stock forms — Board section and side elevation, end grain showingannual ringsend graintwLside elevation
Beech (American) — stock formsSymbols only — no stock sizes are published

Properties

Family
Wood
Category
wood
Species
Fagus grandifolia
Density
0.72 g/cm³ · 720 kg/m³

Densityhow beech (american) compares

Density of Beech (American) — 0.72 g/cm³Beech (American)0.72Water1.00Aluminium2.700369g/cm³
0.72 g/cm³ — 720 kg/m³Water 1.00 · Aluminium 2.70

Applicationswhere beech (american) is normally specified

Workbench topsButcher blocksFlooringFurniture

Practical notes

  • Density is for air-dried stock at about 12% moisture content
  • Moves significantly with humidity — allow for movement in wide panels
  • Not durable in ground contact or damp conditions

Lumber sizeswhat beech (american) weighs in each nominal size

Lumber size database

Dressed sizes are the same for every species — a 2x4 is 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 in in oak as much as in spruce. What changes is the weight, and that is derived here from beech (american)'s density of 0.72 g/cm³.

2x4 dimensions2x4x8 weight2x6 dimensions4x4 dimensions

Tools used on itmatched on the wood family, not on this page

All tools
Circular SawCountersinkDrillHole SawImpact DriverJigsawMitre SawRandom Orbit SanderRouterTwist Drill Bits

Which tools work a material is a property of the family (Wood), not of the individual species — so this list is the same on every wood page, and changes when the tool data changes rather than when this paragraph does.

Used in these projectsbuilds whose bill of materials calls for it

All projects
6 ft Oak Dining TableFixing a Loose Chair Rail

Browse

Weight calculatorAll materials