AMERICAN SASSAFRAS

American sassafras is a medium sized aromatic tree important to wildlife and the perfume industry.

LATIN NAME

Sassafras officinale

OTHER COMMON NAMES

red sassafras, golden elm, cinnamon wood

american_sassafras

FOREST DISTRIBUTION

COMPARE SPECIES

American sassafras trees grow small in the north and tend to develop pockets around parent trees. They are distributed throughout the eastern, central and southern USA and as far west as eastern Texas in natural hardwood forests on all types of soil.

MATERIAL AVAILABILITY

COMPARE SPECIES

Sassafras lumber from the USA is rarely available and only in limited volumes mainly from southern producers. Check with suppliers for grades available for export. Veneer may also available from specialist suppliers.

WOOD DESCRIPTION

COMPARE SPECIES

The heartwood of sassafras is pale to dark brown but often golden in colour. It is a soft light flexible wood. The grain may be interlocked, can be straight but is often wavy and can produce a highly attractive fiddleback pattern. The wood may have a coarse or fairly fine texture and the grain has an ash-like appearance and resembles chestnut.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Sassafras is medium in hardness and shock resistance, but low in stiffness. It is has good bending qualities and is easy to turn on the lathe.

0.42

Specific Gravity(12% M.C.)

4,973kg/m3

Average Weight(12% M.C.)

8.20%

Average Volume Shrinkage(Green to 6% M.C.)

62.06MPa

Modulus of Rupture

7,722MPa

Modulus of Elasticity

32.82MPa

Compressive strength (parallel to grain)

2,802N

Hardness

Oiled / Un-Oiled Appearance

COMPARE SPECIES
Oiled
american_sassafras_oiled
Un-Oiled
american_sassafras_unoiled

PERFORMANCE

COMPARE SPECIES

● Sassafras machines and works reasonably well, but tools should be kept sharp. It requires pre-boring for nailing and holds screws well. The wood glues very well and stains and polishes with care to a good finish. It requires care in drying as it has a marked tendency to check and cup. It has moderate shrinkage and little movement in performance.

● The wood is resistant to heartwood decay and is moderately resistant to preservative treatment.

MAIN USES

COMPARE SPECIES

American sassafras, growing in natural forests in the USA, is considered highly suitable for several aromatic uses including staves for buckets and some furniture.

Furniture

EAXMPLE OF USE