American Beech

Grain is straight, with a coarse, uneven texture, Heartwood is a light to medium brown, commonly with a reddish cast. Paler sapwood is not always sharply demarcated from the heartwood. Quartersawn sections display prominent ray fleck patterns. Rated as non-durable to perishable, with poor insect resistance. Can become discolored and stained when in contact with water, Produces good results with hand and machine tools, though it has fairly high shrinkage values, resulting in mediocre dimensional stability, especially in flat sawn boards.

Straight or slightly wavy grain, fine even texture, heartwood light reddish brown with almost white sapwood. Not rot resistant and susceptible to insect attack. Easy to work with hand and machine tools, turns, glues and finishes well.

Fairly coarse and uneven texture. Has Conspicuous flecking, reddish brown with grey or light brown rays, resulting in a lace pattern when quartersawn. Not rot or insect resistant. Easy to work with, glues, stains, finishes well. May have some difficulty in planning.