American basswood
(Tilia americana)
Range
Basswood grows throughout the eastern half of the United States from Maine westward to North Dakota and southward to Florida and eastern Texas. More than half of the total stand is located in the Lake States, and another quarter is in the east central part of the range.
Properties
Basswood is a lightweight hardwood with an average weight of 26 pounds a cubic foot. The wood is weak, moderately stiff, and low in resistance to shock. Its specific gravity of 0.32 classes it as soft.
Although it has large shrinkage, basswood is fairly easy to air-dry or kiln-dry and stays in place well after seasoning. It has low nail-withdrawal resistance, but. well resists splitting while being nailed. In decay resistance, it is low. The wood is easy to work with tools, takes and holds paint well, and is easily-glued. When pulped by the soda process, basswood yields a soft, short-fibered, easily bleached pulp.
Uses
Most of the basswood cut in this country is first made into lumber for a variety of items. The largest amounts are used for crates and boxes. The manufacture of sash, doors, and general millwork also accounts for much of the basswood lumber produced each year. In addition considerable lumber and veneer is used in the furniture industry, especially as core material overlaid with high-grade furniture veneers, such as walnut and mahogany.
Description
Heartwood is creamy white to creamy brown or sometimes reddish. Pores are very small, as in aspen, and growth rings on plainsawed surfaces are generally faint. Wood rays are broader and higher than in aspen, and the two species can be readily distinguished by comparing their quartersawed faces. While the rays of aspen are low and uniform in height, some of those in basswood are distinctly higher than others and frequently darker than the background wood.