WoodwoodSoftwood

Spruce (Sitka)

Exceptional stiffness for its very low weight, which is why it is used for aircraft structures and instrument soundboards. A structural softwood with an unusually high strength-to-weight ratio.

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

Properties

Family
Wood
Category
wood
Species
Picea sitchensis
Density
0.43 g/cm³ · 430 kg/m³

Densityhow spruce (sitka) compares

Density of Spruce (Sitka) — 0.43 g/cm³Spruce (Sitka)0.43Water1.00Aluminium2.700369g/cm³
0.43 g/cm³ — 430 kg/m³Water 1.00 · Aluminium 2.70

Applicationswhere spruce (sitka) is normally specified

Aircraft structuresInstrument soundboardsMastsSpars

Practical notes

  • Density is for air-dried stock at about 12% moisture content
  • Best strength-to-weight of the common softwoods
  • Poor decay resistance — protect from moisture

Lumber sizeswhat spruce (sitka) 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 spruce (sitka)'s density of 0.43 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.

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Weight calculatorAll materials