Flooring, Furniture, Mill work, Baseball bats, Snooker sticks and other turned objects such as tool handles.
The heartwood is a light brown color, though darker shades can also be seen, which is sometimes sold as Olive Ash. Has a medium to coarse texture similar to oak. The grain is almost always straight and regular, though sometimes curly or figured boards can be found. Ring-porous; large earlywood pores 2-4 rows wide, small latewood pores solitary and radial multiples of 2-3; tyloses common; growth rings distinct; rays barely visible without lens; parenchyma banded (marginal), paratracheal parenchyma around latewood pores vasicentric, aliform, and confluent.
Color/Appearance
The heartwood is a light brown color, though darker shades can also be seen, which is sometimes sold as Olive Ash.
Grain/Texture
Has a medium to coarse texture similar to oak. The grain is almost always straight and regular, though sometimes curly or figured boards can be found.
Endgrain
Ring-porous; large earlywood pores 2-4 rows wide, small latewood pores solitary and radial multiples of 2-3; tyloses common; growth rings distinct; rays barely visible without lens; parenchyma banded (marginal), paratracheal parenchyma around latewood pores vasicentric, aliform, and confluent.
Rot Resistance
Heartwood is rated as perishable, or only slightly durable in regard to decay. Ash is also not resistant to insect attack.
Workability
Produces good results with hand or machine tools. Responds well to steam bending. Glues, stains, and finishes well.
Allergies/Toxicity
Ash in the Fraxinus genus has been reported to cause skin irritation, and a decrease in lung function. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
Pricing/Availability
European Ash is the European equivalent to White Ash of the United States, and both should be among the least expensive utility hardwoods available domestically, respectively. It should compare similarly to oak in terms of price.
Sustainability
This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Perfect Fit
Flooring, Furniture, Mill work, Baseball bats, Snooker sticks and other turned objects such as tool handles.
