Maple Hardwood Janka Rating

The scale was invented in 1906 by gabriel janka an austrian wood researcher and standardized in 1927 by the american society for testing and materials depending on the room where the flooring will be installed a certain level of hardness may make it a more desirable choice.

Maple hardwood janka rating.

Hard maple ranks 1 450 while red oak ranks 1 290. Hard maple sugar maple 1450 australian cypress 1375 woven bamboo 1360 white oak 1360 ash white 1320 american beech 1300 red oak northern 1290 yellow birch 1250 heart pine 1225 carbonized bamboo 1180 teak 1000 the true measure of wood. Still the very impressive janka ratings accurately depict the excellent durability of these non wood flooring products. Poplar ranks 540 on the low end of the scale.

The janka hardness scale is used to determine a hardwood s resistance to dents dings and scratches. Hard maple sugar maple 1450 caribbean walnut 1390 coffee bean 1390 natural bamboo represents one species 1380 australian cypress 1375 white oak 1360. Blue ash has the highest janka rating at 2 030 with a specific gravity of 0 58. A common use of janka hardness ratings is to determine whether a species is suitable for use as flooring.

Janka wood hardness ratings. The janka test measures the amount of force required to embed a 0 444 steel ball into the wood to half of its diameter. Woods with a higher rating are harder than woods with a lower rating. Now it may look like hard maple is heads and tails above the rest and to a certain extent it is but for reference black cherry has a janka hardness of 950 lb f the same as red maple and black walnut is rated at 1 010 lb f also note that black maple not pictured isn t quite as hard as its close relative hard maple and ranks in the mid range with a hardness of 1 180 lb f.

The janka hardness test from the austrian born emigrant gabriel janka 1864 1932 measures the resistance of a sample of wood to denting and wear. With a janka hardness rating of 1450 out of 4000 the sugar maple wood species falls within the medium range of hardwood flooring options. Among maple birch poplar and ash sweet birch has the highest specific gravity at 0 65 with a janka measurement of 1 470. On the janka hardness scale a scale that ranks wood for hardness hickory is the hardest of all domestic hardwoods ranking at 1 820.

The scale used in the table is pounds force. Hickory pecan satinwood 1820 afzelia doussie australian wormy chestnut 1810 bangkirai 1798 rosewood 1780 african padauk 1725 blackwood 1720. The janka hardness scale determines the hardness of a particular type of wood over another. Janka hardwood scale this scale is the worldwide standard for gauging the ability of various species of.

Sugar maple black maple sweet birch yellow birch and white ash are all strong hardwoods. The janka scale is used to determine the relative hardness of particular domestic or exotic wood species. The janka hardness test is often applied to bamboo and eucalyptus flooring products after manufacturing a process that artificially hardens the material by the addition of resins.