If you are looking for a good type of wood to use for a variety of construction purposes, mesquite is always something to consider. Now, mesquite is commonly used for smoking meats and other foods, but it works really well for construction purposes too.
In fact, it is one of the harder and more durable types of wood that grows in North America, as well as in the rest of the world. Today, we are going to be examining mesquite wood based on five main factors to figure out how strong it really is.
Is Mesquite a Hardwood or a Softwood?
Mesquite is a deciduous angiosperm, which means that it is a flowering tree and it loses its leaves during the winter. Moreover, mesquite is a type of hardwood and is in fact one of the harder types of hardwood. As you are about to find out from our examination below, mesquite is one of the best types of wood that you could possibly use for many different purposes.
To learn more about the difference between a hardwood and a softwood, read this article.
Mesquite Wood Strength: All You Need to Know
There are a few different types of mesquite that can be commonly found throughout the world, with the three most popular ones being African mesquite, honey mesquite, and black mesquite. We are now going to determine exactly how strong this wood is. There are five different factors that we will examine, including compressive strength, bending strength, stiffness, hardness, and density.
Compressive Strength
Let’s now take a look at the compressive strength of all three types of mesquite:
- African Mesquite – 10,650 lbf/in2 (73.5 MPa)
- Honey Mesquite – Data Unavailable
- Black Mesquite – 8,490 lbf/in2 (58.6 MPa)
African mesquite has the highest compressive strength of the three. In fact, this type of wood has a higher compressive strength than the vast majority of other types of wood in the world. There are only a select few types of hardwood that have higher compressive strength.
The compressive strength of wood may also be referred to as the crushing strength. This is how much weight a piece of wood can take parallel to its grain. For example, imagine a table leg. How much weight could you pile on top of that table leg before it snaps and gives out sideways?
Bending Strength
let’s now take a look at the bending strength of all three types of mesquite:
- African Mesquite – 18,930 lbf/in2 (130.5 MPa)
- Honey Mesquite – Data Unavailable
- Black Mesquite – 11,210 lbf/in2 (77.3 MPa)
As you can see, African mesquite has by far the highest bending strength. Furthermore, the bending strength of mesquite in general is very high. It has a higher bending strength than virtually all types of softwood, and also than the majority of hardwoods.
The bending strength of wood is also known as the modulus of rupture. This is in reference to how much weight a piece of wood can take perpendicular to its grain. Here, imagine a table turned on its side with the legs sticking out horizontally. How much weight could you hang on those table legs before they snap and crash downwards?
Stiffness
let’s now take a look at the modulus of elasticity for all three types of mesquite:
- African Mesquite – 2,019,000 lbf/in2 (13.92 GPa)
- Honey Mesquite – Data Unavailable
- Black Mesquite – 1,117,0000 lbf/in2 (7.70 GPa)
As with the other sections, African mesquite comes out on top when it comes to stiffness. Furthermore, this is much stiffer than all types of softwood and about 90% of hardwoods.
There are only a few woods in the world that are stiffer than mesquite, particularly African mesquite. This is an extremely stiff type of wood and it takes a whole lot of force to cause it to bend.
The stiffness of wood may also be referred to as the modulus of elasticity. This refers to how much weight a piece of wood can handle in its center before it begins to sag or bend. Once again, imagine that same table, with you standing on top of it. How heavy would you have to be to cause that table to sag, bend, or even snap?
Hardness
Let’s now take a look at the Janka hardness rating for all three types of mesquite:
- African Mesquite – 2,940 lbf
- Honey Mesquite – 2,340 lbf
- Black Mesquite – 1,940 lbf
African mesquite is by far the hardest type of mesquite out there. It is harder than about 95% of other types of wood in the world, and this goes for both softwood and hardwood. Even black mesquite, which is the softest of the three, is still harder than a good deal of hardwoods that can be found throughout the world.
The hardness of wood refers to how durable its surface is. In other words, how resistant to denting and scratching is that piece of wood? This is generally measured on the Janka hardness scale.
Density
Let’s now take a look at the density of all three types of mesquite:
- African Mesquite – 59 lbs/ft3 (945 kg/m3)
- Honey Mesquite – 51 lbs/ft3 (820 kg/m3)
- Black Mesquite – 52 lbs/ft3 (825 kg/m3)
African mesquite is by far the heaviest of all types of mesquite. It is also heavier than all types of softwood, as well as most types of hardwood. Mesquite in general is just a very hard, heavy, and dense type of wood.
The density of wood refers to how heavy it is in regard to a specific area or size, and this is usually measured in pounds per cubic foot or kilograms per cubic meter.
Is Mesquite Wood Strong?
As you can see from our examination above, mesquite is a very strong type of wood. It absolutely ranks in the top 10% of woods from around the world, and this goes for all categories. Mesquite is extremely hard, dense, stiff, and more. It also has an extremely high bending strength and compressive strength.
If you need a type of wood that is ideal for a variety of construction purposes, whether for decorative work or weight-bearing applications, or if you need something that has great structural integrity, mesquite is a great choice.
Summary
Mesquite is definitely a very strong type of wood, and although it’s not the cheapest type of wood around, it does make for a good option for many different purposes.