Collection: Box Elder Lumber

Common Trade Name: Ash-leaf Maple, Black Ash, Sugar Ash, Stinking Ash, Three-leaved Maple, Manitoba Maple

Scientific Name: Acer negundo

Color Range: Grayish to yellowish-brown heartwood with distinct red or pink streaks. Pale white or yellow-green sapwood

Availability: Common but seldom available in lumber form

Janka Scale Hardness: 720 lbf (3,200 N)

Average Weight per BF: 30.2 lbs/Cu. Ft.

Common Uses: boxes, crates, utensils and kitchenware, turning wood blanks, pulpwood, ornamental objects, and toys

 

What Is Box Elder?

Box elder lumber comes from the same genus as maple but is considerably weaker. It is a low- density hardwood with brittle, lightweight, and lesser-dense properties. It is a less-desired timber and seldom sold as lumber because of its light and low strength. Although box elder may not level with other hardwoods, it is still useful in small woodworks and wood blanks for decorative objects.

Box elder has a noticeably red stain or spalting to defend itself from pathogens like the bacteria Fusarium solani. These stains fade in the box elder board surface over time. But crafters preserve their natural beauty by flaming the wood for a beautiful finish.

 

Where Is Box Elder Sourced From?

Box elder is a fast-growing tree indigenous to the United States and South-Central Canada. They thrive in moist places like streams, riverbeds, and shorelines of lakes. A box elder tree grows up to 50 ft tall and no more than 3 ft in diameter, resembling a white ash tree.

 

When the tree grows to its commercial size, they are harvested for timbers and mixed with soft maple. In the earlier century, box elder was used as posts and beams in rough constructions and occasionally in making cheap furniture. But wood blanks are more useful in small ornamental objects, boxes, crates, and turned objects.

 

What to Look for When Buying Box Elder

Box elder is rarely sold as lumber and is not available as veneer. More often, it is available as carving, turning blanks, live edge, or dyed burls. Choose a board with pronounced streaks in specialty lumber stores where box elder may be available. Expect burls and figured pieces in a higher price range than its wood planks.

 

Pros and Cons of Box Elder

For many local mills, box elder has little value and is somewhat inferior among the line of hardwoods. But this is a prized wood for hand-planers, carvers, and wood artists for its workability. This is the best wood for beginners.

 

Pros

• Moderately-priced
• High workability
• Beautiful appearance
• Turns, glues, and finishes well

 

Cons

• Not durable
• Weak and brittle
• Less dense
• Poor resistance to decay

 

FAQs

Is box elder toxic?

Box elder came from the family of maple, which may cause allergies to people sensitive to the genus Acer. However, there is no substantial evidence to prove or disprove its toxicity when used as wooden utensils. We know the box elder was used for a long time as turning blanks for wooden kitchen tools.

 

Why is box elder burl expensive?

Burl is an abnormal tree growth that offers beautiful and rosy grains. They are often priced based on their appearance.

 

How is the red streak in the box elder preserved?

Woodworkers and carvers often fortify the streak with an aniline dye of the same color. A sanding sealer, shellac, or wipe-on finish is used to partially seal the wood before staining it.

 

Where to Buy Box Elder Lumber

Local sawmills may sell box elder in small quantities. Sometimes they are mixed with soft maples, but specialty lumber dealers may separate box elders for a reasonable price.

 

Alderfer Lumber Company Inc is a specialty wood and lumber dealer with box elder lumber and wood blanks available. We offer a variety of softwood and hardwoods for many woodworking  purposes. At Alderfer, we ensure reliable and well-preserved products and regularly replenish our stocks.

 

If you can’t find the lumber you are looking for, give us a call or send us an e-mail. We will be glad to sort through our inventory for products that may not be otherwise updated on our website.