Ash is a very useful timber which has been in use in the UK from pre-iron age. Indeed, in British folklore, the ash tree was said to provide healing properties and ash sap was frequently given to newborn babies to encourage good health. It has very useful characteristics and the family Fraxinus is spread all over the world from Asia to Europe, USA and Canada.

Sadly, the ash tree is seeing the impact of disease across the UK right now, and we hold hope for a resistant strain of this wood to emerge.

Timber merchants in Sussex, W.L. West & Sons work with all types of common and exotic woods and ash is one of our favourites due to it being a temperate hardwood and flexible tree. In honour of the wonderfully versatile wood, here are five must know facts.

1. Ash wood is brilliant for steam bending

Timber is considered one of the best building materials due to its sustainability and air-purifying properties – yet the majority of timber architecture features straight beams and panels. This is largely due to the fact that trees grow straight and, therefore, timber requires a specific process to bend.

This process is called steam bending and it involves soaking a piece of wood in hot water, at boiling point, within a steam box – ultimately softening the fibres to make it pliable and stretchier. Upon cooling, the fibres will dry out and the wood will retain its new shape.

Ash wood is one of the top five hardwoods that can be steam bent. It dries well and quickly without much distortion and remains stable in its “end use” application. These qualities make it perfect for Windsor chair backs, shafts for buggies and carts as well as spokes for wooden wheels.

2. Strong and shock absorbent

Ash wood is the best timber for tool handles as it takes shock absorption so well and takes a huge amount of force for it to shatter. It is also is strong, dense and smooth to touch, unlike its popular competitor oak. Hickery wood from USA would be a close runner-up.

Ash wood is also widely known for being one of the toughest hardwoods in the world. In the olden days, Oak could be graded to D30 (now superseded by BS5756), but Ash was graded at D40.

Next time you open the tool box, take a look at the handles of your tools. The highest quality tools will likely have European Ash.

3. It looks beautiful in the home

Not only is ash one of the strongest and most durable types of wood, but it also has a beautiful natural finish that compliments any home.

With unique patterns and a good grain texture, its light/white pale colours lend themselves well to our furniture. Ash furniture can also be stained well to all manners of colours, and can also be glued and polished, making it a popular choice for furniture makers.

4. Not suitable externally unless treated

With this in mind, it is worth noting that ash wood will perish without any modification if used externally. While it was historically used for farm implements and tools, these items would have had to have been replaced relatively regularly.

However, in more recent years, ash wood has been tested using superheated steam in a cylinder, enabling thermo treatment to take place. This enables the wood to be used fully externally for a very long time – increasing the list of ways we can benefit from its use.

5. Well-priced and versatile

For anyone looking to use ash wood in their upcoming projects, budget will always be a consideration. As hardwoods go, it is well-priced and has been undervalued for years. This is because it is considered a bit “out of fashion”, however in the next 10 years over 85% of ash wood is estimated to disappear for this exact reason.

Right now, stocks are presents and good, with a wide varied specification, good widths and good lengths in T/T kiln dried timber.

Today, we’d highly recommend this wood for a number of projects. It is perfect for cabinet work, for furniture makers and kitchen makers, and as a great alternative to oak flooring. It is also excellent for sporting goods, such as racing cycle rims, and arrow shafts which the purest long-bow archers still use today.

WL West Timber is a family-owned sawmill & timber merchant in West Sussex with over 155 years’ industry experience. We provide a wide range of air-dried oak and kiln-dried oak timber products and supplies. We also build and install custom projects for our customers.

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