Hickory

There are four commercial species of hickory, and the wood is almost the same from all of them. The sapwood is pale and clearly demarcated from the heartwood, and is sold as 'white hickory'. The heartwood is brown to reddish-brown, and marketed as 'red hickory'. Usually straight-grained, it can be wavy or irregular, with a coarse texture, and it has a medium lustre.

Properties:

Hickory is very dense and has high crushing, stiffness, bending and toughness qualities. It has exceptionally good shock resistance, and good steam-bending properties. The wood is quite difficult to work, especially with hand tools, and has a moderate to severe blunting effect on cuttng edges. Pre-boring is required for nailing, and it is difficult to glue. Hickory sands, turns, stains and polishes well.

Seasoning:

It dries fairly rapidly, and this must be managed with care. High shrinkage, twisting and warping can be a problem. Hickory shows high stability in service.

Durability:

The wood is non-durable, with little resistance to decay. It can be vulnerable to attack from the forest longhorn and buprestid beetles, and the sapwood is at risk from powder-post beetle. It is moderately responsive to impregnation with preservatives.

Typical Uses:

Hickory is much used for the handles of striking tools, such as axes and hammers. It is also used for furniture, ladders, vehicle parts, cutting surfaces, violin bows, piano keys, sporting goods, flooring, handles and baseball bats.

Carya spp. (Juglandaceae)

Syn.: Hicoria Also called:

pignut hickory (C. glabra), mockernut hickory (C. tomentosa), shellbark hickory (C. laciniosa), shagbark hickory, scalybark hickory (C. ovata)

Grows:

Canada and USA

Weight per Board Foot:

4.2 lbs

Typical dry weight:

51lb/ft3 (820kg/m3)

Specific Gravity:

.82

Typical Height:

50-100ft (15-30m)

Trunk Diameter:

2ft 67 in (0.8m)**4'x8' 10mm Paper Back Veneer
10 bf min