What is the densest wood?

Answer 1

I have had many arguements about this question over the years. one thing i realized is a lot of people beleive that a stronger wood equals a denser wood. this is not so. If you are talking wood DENSITY then you are talking about wood fibers that are grouped closer together. those wood fibers might not be as strong as other fibers in less denser woods. Others claim that the weight of the wood determines density. no although it is a more accurate way to guage density than the strength of the wood it is still not quite talking about the same thing.

The closer wood fibers are to eachother, the less air that is in between them. so basically the less boyancy the wood will have in water.

another thing to concider is green wood versus dead wood. this can give you mixed results if not thought about before hand.as wood dries it will begin to either shrink and become more dense or expand and become less dense. so a good judgement call would be to compare all green wood or dead wood.

I prefer to compare dead wood. and if you look at dead wood the desert ironwood is the most dense. it is one of the only woods that does not float in water when toatally dried and aged naturally. but as a green wood it is very boyant and soft. here is a list of species and their densities.

Trees With Dry (Seasoned) Wood That Sinks In Water :

Olneya tesota

(Desert Ironwood): 1.15

Guaiacum officinale

(Lignum Vitae): 1.37

Cercocarpus betuloides

Mountain Mahogany: 1.10

Diospyros ebenum

Ebony: 1.12

Very Heavy Wood :

Prunus ilicifolia

Hollyleaf Cherry: 0.98 Diospyros virginiana

Persimmon: 0.83

Quercus engelmannii

Engelmann Oak: 0.94

Carya ovata

Shagbark Hickory: 0.83

Acacia greggii

Cat's Claw Acacia: 0.85

Ostrya virginiana

Eastern Ironwood: 0.80

Quercus chrysolepis

Canyon Live Oak: 0.85

Lyonothamnus floribundus

Catalina Ironwood: 0.80

Quercus agrifolia

Coast Live Oak: 0.83

Robinia pseudoacacia

Black Locust: 0.79

Prosopis glandulosa

Mesquite: 0.77

Maclura pomifera

Osage Orange: 0.77

Heavy Wood:

Cornus nuttallii

Pacific Dogwood: 0.75

Carya illinoensis

Pecan: 0.72

Arbutus menziesii

Madrone: 0.71

Betula alleghaniensis

Yellow Birch: 0.69

Fraxinus velutina

Arizona Ash: 0.68

Quercus coccinea

Scarlet Oak: 0.67

Umbellularia californica

California Bay Tree: 0.65

Cercis canadensis

Redbud: 0.63

Quercus kelloggii

California Black Oak: 0.64

Tectona grandis

Teak: 0.63

Juglans californica

California Black Walnut: 0.63

Acer saccharum

Sugar Maple: 0.63

Medium Heavy Wood:

Chilopsis linearis

Desert Willow: 0.59

Liquidambar styraciflua

Sweet Gum: 0.59

Cercidium floridum

Palo Verde: 0.55

Prunus serotina

Black Cherry: 0.56

Psorothamnus spinosus

Smoke Tree: 0.55

Acer saccharinum

Silver Maple: 0.53

Celtis reticulata

Western Hackberry: 0.53

Swietenia macrophylla

Honduras Mahogany: 0.51

Acer macrophyllum

Big-Leaf Maple: 0.50

Magnolia grandiflora

Southern Magnolia: 0.50

Soft Wood :

Pinus ponderosa

Ponderosa Pine: 0.46

Sequoia sempervirens

Coast Redwood: 0.40

Calocedrus decurrens

Incense Cedar: 0.40

Picea engelmannii

Engelmann Spruce: 0.35

Pinus lambertiana

Sugar Pine: 0.36

Quercus suber

Cork Oak Bark: 0.24

Abies concolor

White Fir: 0.36

Ochroma pyramidale

Balsa: 0.17