Aspen is very easy to work with and cut.
Is aspen wood a hardwood or softwood.
Aspen has creamy white sapwood with heartwood that changes from brown to greyish white without any visible transition.
Aspen wood is stable.
When properly seasoned this wood rates a 2150 on the janka hardness scale which measures units of force.
Sapwood is white blending into the light brown heartwood.
By comparison white oak is rated 1360 and eastern white pine is 380.
First it is virtually unobtainable and not commercially available outside of its natural range in central south america.
The supposed superiority of hardwood over softwood isn t so cut and dried either.
Although aspen is a hardwood species it is offered by the majority of softwood manufacturers.
It does not split easily and takes nails and screws well.
However the wood is omitted from this list for two main reasons.
And what is it used for.
Aspen is considered a hardwood and syp is a class of softwood species yet syp species have a higher density than aspen.
Unseasoned dogwood is considerably less hard and dense rating around 1410 on the janka scale.
The wood is straight grained and has a fine uniform texture.
Aspen is the whitest wood we carry and makes a great substitute for holly.
But aspen has its perks too.
So despite being made of softwood syp panels are actually heavier stronger and stiffer than aspen.
Dogwood is an extremely dense hardwood.
Aspen is excellent for mouldings toys and caskets.
Is aspen a hardwood or softwood.
Classifying wood as either a hardwood or softwood comes down to its physical structure and makeup and so it is overly simple to think of hardwoods as being hard and durable compared to soft and workable softwoods.
This happens to be generally true but there are exceptions such as in the cases of wood from yew trees a softwood that is relatively hard and wood from balsa trees a.
Aspen is less prone to expansion and contraction during temperature and moisture changes in its environment as well as being less likely to warp cup or crown.
To quickly answer that question aspen is classed as a hardwood making it great for carving.
What does this mean.
The contrast between sap and heartwood is small.
But where aspen is a softer hardwood it is also noted for being extremely stable.
A hardwood named quipo cavanillesia platanifolia is commonly reported as the softest known wood with an alleged janka hardness of 22 lb f 98 n.
The wood laser engraves and cuts great.
