If you want to know just how strong basswood is, you have come to the right place because this is exactly what we are here to discuss today. Basswood is a commonly used type of wood for musical instruments and other such purposes.
Today, we are going to take a look at a variety of factors that determine exactly how strong any type of wood is. Let’s figure out how strong basswood is, and whether it is hardwood or softwood.
Is Basswood a Hardwood or a Softwood?
What is very interesting to note about basswood is that although it is technically a deciduous hardwood tree, its wood is actually very soft. In fact, the wood that comes from this tree is about as soft as humanly possible. In fact, it is so soft that it’s generally not even as hard as most species of softwood. However, this is something we will talk about in greater detail further below.
Basswood Strength: All You Need to Know
There is one major type of basswood, so this is exactly what we will be focusing on today. Furthermore, there are five main factors that we have to take a look at when determining exactly how strong a piece of wood is.
We will be examining basswood based on its compressive strength, bending strength, stiffness, hardness, and density. By the end of this piece, you will know exactly how strong basswood is.
Compressive Strength
Basswood features a compressive strength of 4,730 lbf/in2 (32.6 MPa). For the record, this is virtually as low as it gets. This is actually lower than the majority of softwoods that can be found in North America and throughout the world, and certainly much lower than all types of hardwood. In the grand scheme of things, basswood just doesn’t have very much compressive strength.
The compressive strength of wood may also be referred to as the crushing strength. This refers to how much weight a piece of wood can take parallel to its grain. For an example that is easy for you to picture, imagine a table standing on its legs.
How much weight could you put on top of that table before the table legs buckle and split sideways? You could also imagine yourself pressing a stick in between your hands with either end being in your palms. How hard would you have to press onto the stick to get it to snap?
Bending Strength
Basswood features a bending strength of 8,700 lbf/in2 (60 MPa). Once again, this is on the lower end of the spectrum. This is about on par or even lower than most types of softwood, and certainly much lower than all types of hardwood out there. Basswood just doesn’t have very much bending strength, and it can’t handle much weight perpendicular to its grain.
The bending strength of wood may also be known as the modulus of rupture. This measures how much weight a piece of wood can take perpendicular to its grain. Take note, here we are talking about perpendicular to the grain, unlike above where we are talking about parallel to the grain.
For an easy-to-picture example, imagine that same table we talked about above, but now turn it sideways so that the legs are sticking out horizontally. How much weight could you hang on one of those table legs before it snaps and goes crashing down?
Stiffness
Basswood features a stiffness rating of 1,460,000 lbf/in2 (10.07 GPa). Yes, there is a theme here, which is that basswood just isn’t very strong.
As you can see, it’s also not very stiff. If we compare this to other types of softwood and hardwood, this ranks extremely low. It’s certainly not as stiff as other types of hardwood, and it’s not even as stiff as many types of softwood.
The stiffness of wood may also be known as the modulus of elasticity. This measures how much weight a piece of wood can take in its center before it begins to bend or sag. Once again, imagine that same table we have been talking about, and now stand on top of it. How heavy would you have to be to cause that table to bend, sag, or even snap?
Hardness
Basswood features a Janka hardness rating of 410 lbf. This is also decidedly low. As mentioned above, basswood is technically a type of hardwood, although the wood is so soft that it is generally even softer than most softwoods. This is one of the softest types of wood out there, and it doesn’t take much to dent or scratch it.
The hardness of wood simply refers to how hard it actually is, or in other words, how resistant it is to physical damage such as denting and scratching. This is usually measured on the Janka hardness scale. Here, imagine yourself using a knife to try and carve something into that table’s surface. How much force would you have to apply to actually leave a mark?
Density
Basswood weighs 26 lbs/ft3 (415 kg/m3). This is not very heavy or dense at all. It’s about on par with most types of softwood, or even lower, but it is much lighter than most types of hardwood.
The density of wood simply refers to its weight based on a specific area. This is generally measured in pounds per cubic foot or kilograms per cubic meter. This is important to know because it does in part determine how durable a piece of wood is, and how easy it is to work with as well.
Is Basswood Strong?
What it really comes down to here is that basswood is not very strong at all. When it comes to all five of the factors discussed above, it just doesn’t rank very highly, and this is the case when compared to both hardwoods and softwoods. In general, basswood is not something that can bear a lot of weight and it’s not really structurally sound either.
This is not the type of wood that you would use for heavy-duty construction purposes or for any kind of weight-bearing application. It does work well for lower-end purposes, and it works perfectly fine for musical instruments, especially in terms of its tonal properties, but you definitely don’t want to build things like floors or furniture out of it.
Summary
What it all comes down to here is that although basswood looks nice and has great uses in terms of making musical instruments, it’s definitely not something you want to use for any kind of weight-bearing or structural applications, or for outdoor purposes. This is more or less strictly an instrument wood, as well as something decorative in nature.