Appearance:
Among the palest colored veneers, ash has a lustrous surface, beautiful straight grain, a light stripe effect, and subtle contrast between its light tan heartwood and creamy sapwood.
It produces a wide range of beautiful, shimmering figures and delicate burls.
When stained, ash can look very similar to oak (Quercus spp.), although oaks have much wider rays, which are visible on all wood surfaces—even on flatsawn surfaces, where they appear as short, thin brown lines between the growth rings. Ashes lack these conspicuous rays.
Workability
Produces good results with hand or machine tools. Responds well to steam bending. Glues, stains, and finishes well.
Common Uses: Flooring, millwork, boxes/crates, baseball bats, and other turned objects such as tool handles.
White Ash has excellent shock resistance, and along with hickory (Carya spp.), it is one of the most commonly used hardwoods for tool handles in North America—particularly in shovels and hammers where toughness and impact resistance is important.
Pricing/Availability:
Ash is among the least expensive utility hardwoods available domestically; it should compare similarly to oak in terms of price.
This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices, but is on the IUCN Red List. It is listed as critically endangered due to a projected population reduction of over 80% in the next three generations, caused by effects of introduced taxa.
