Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Family: Monimiaceae
Common names: Sassafras, White sassafras
Distributed in: United States (North America)
Distribution overview: This North American species is distributed in Ontario, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kansas, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, and West Virginia. The tree prefers moist, particularly sandy, soils of uplands and valleys, and is often found in old fields, clearings, and forest openings.
Common uses: Boat building, Building materials, Canoes, Foundation posts, Interior construction, Interior trim, Lifeboats, Millwork, Posts, Shipbuilding, Stakes
Product sources: Most Sassafras trees are too small to yield significant quantities of lumber. When available, Sassafras is often mixed at sawmills with other species such as Ash. Price range is moderate.
Environment profile: Widespread
Tree size: Tree height is 30-40 m
Colors: the heart isWhite, Yellowand the sapwoodWhite, Yellow.The grain isStraight, the textureFineand the lusterMedium
Natural durability: Perishable, Susceptible to insect attack
Odor: Spicy taste
Kiln Schedules: T8 - D4(4/4)US
Kiln Drying Rate: Naturally dries quickly
Drying Defects: May check slightly during drying , Splitting
Ease of Drying: Seasons without difficuly and is accompanied by little degrade
Comments: Bark of root is the source of the largest indirect product from Sassafras Produces oil which is used commercially to scent soaps, medicines and other products Small roots are used for making Sassafras tea which is considered to be a tonic
Blunting Effect: Moderate
Boring: Fairly easy to very easy
Carving: Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Cutting Resistance: Moderate to saw
Gluing: Good gluing properties
Mortising: Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Moulding: Very Good to Excellent
Movement in Service: Very Good to Excellent
Nailing: Pre-Boring Recommended, Requires some care
Planing: Works without difficulty with ordinary tools in planing and other machining operations
Resistance to Abrasion: Moderate
Resistance to Impregnation: Permeable sapwood
Response to hand tools: Responds Readily
Routing recessing: Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Sanding: Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Veneering qualities: Veneers easily, Veneers moderately easy
Steam bending: Unsuitable
Screwing: Firmly holds screws , Very Good to Excellent Results; Turning: Fairly Easy to Very Easy
Polishing: Fairly Easy to Very Easy;
- Numerical data Metric
- Numerical data English
- Strength properties
- References
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Item |
Green |
Dry |
Metric |
Specific Gravity |
0,41 |
0,51 |
|
Density |
|
|
kg/m3 |
Bending Strength |
413 |
620 |
kg/cm2 |
Crushing Strength |
25 |
58 |
kg/cm2 |
Hardness |
|
|
kg |
Impact Strength |
|
|
cm |
Shearing Strength |
|
85 |
kg/cm2 |
Stiffness |
62 |
77 |
1000 kg/cm2 |
Tangential Shrinkage |
6 |
|
% |
Radial Shrinkage |
4 |
|
% |
Weight |
657 |
464 |
kg/m3 |
Maximum Load |
0,49 |
0,63 |
cm-kg/cm3 |
Toughness |
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cm-kg |
Static Bending |
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kg/cm2 |
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| | | | Item | Green | Dry | English | Bending Strength | 5880 | 8820 | psi | Crushing Strength | 363 | 833 | psi | Maximum Crushing Strength | 2675 | 4665 | psi | Shearing Strength | | 1215 | psi | Stiffness | 892 | 1098 | 1000 psi | Work to Maximum Load | 7 | 9 | inch-lbs/in3 | Specific Gravity | 0.41 | 0.51 | | Weight | 41 | 29 | lbs/ft3 | Radial Shrinkage | 4 | | % | Tangential Shrinkage | 6 | | % | Volumetric Shrinkage | 10 | | % | |
Compression strength (parallel to grain) = low Bending stength in air-dried condition...is medium Average weight
Boone, R.S., C.J. Kozlik, P.J. Bois and E.M. Wengert. 1988. Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Woods: Temperate and Tropical. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, General Technical Report FPL-GTR-57, Madison, Wisconsin.Kline, M. 1984. Sassafras albidum - Sassafras. In A Guide to Useful Woods of the World. Flynn Jr., J.H., Editor. King Philip Publishing Co., Portland, Maine. 1994. Page 323-324.Little, E.L.1980.The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees - Eastern Region.Published by Arthur A. Knopf, New York.Panshin, A.J. and C. deZeeuw. 1980. Textbook of Wood Technology, 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill Series in Forest Resources. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York.USDA. 1987. Wood Handbook - Wood as an Engineering Material, Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 72, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.USDA. 1988. Dry Kiln Operators Manual, Preliminary Copy. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.
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