What is the tensile strength of basswood?

Answer 1

The tensile strength of a material is the value at which the material fails when subjected to a tensile force. (Tensile means a force pulling the wood fibers lengthwise, as opposed to a compressive force.) There are a lot of different types and load cases for wood, so there is not one answer to this question. For example, wood used outside will fail at a lower load than wood inside. Wood is also anisotropic, i.e. it has different strength in different directions. Example values of tensile strength vary anywhere from 175 pounds per square inch for Utility Grade pine to 1400 psi for Dense Select Structural grade Douglas Fir. A good reference for material strength data for most species and grades of commerically available wood can be found in the American Institute of Timber Construction handbook.

Answer 2

I just did a Google search and found on a student report website which claimed to site a wood book that the tensile strength is 8,700 psi. It also said the compression strength is 4,400 psi. It does not matter what the length is for compression. That means even if you keep it vertical, it will collaps into itself at 4,400 psi.

I did not write down the modulus of elasticity, but I do remember it was much greater than balsa, maybe 10x.

Answer 3

1000 psi