American Chestnut wood movement, board-foot & weight calculator
- Janka
- 540lbf
- Density
- 30.1lb/ft³
- T/R ratio
- 2
- Spec. gravity
- 0.43
American Chestnut is a North American hardwood. It has a Janka side hardness of 540 lbf, a specific gravity of 0.43, and an air-dry density near 30 lb/ft³ (482 kg/m³) (mechanical values at 12% moisture content). It shrinks 6.7% tangentially and 3.4% radially from green to oven-dry (T/R ratio 2), so a 12-inch flatsawn board moves about 0.16 in (≈ 5/32 in) across a 6-point moisture swing (about 6%→12% MC).
Compute American Chestnut: movement, weight & board footage
Every number below is worked from American Chestnut's own shrinkage and density figures, not looked up from a table — change the width, moisture swing, or board size in the calculators linked alongside.
Cross-grain movement by board width
| Board width | Flatsawn (tangential) | Quartersawn (radial) |
|---|---|---|
| 2″ | 0.027″ (≈ 1/32 in) | 0.014″ (≈ 0 in) |
| 3″ | 0.04″ (≈ 1/32 in) | 0.02″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 4″ | 0.054″ (≈ 1/16 in) | 0.027″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 6″ | 0.08″ (≈ 3/32 in) | 0.041″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 8″ | 0.107″ (≈ 3/32 in) | 0.054″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| 10″ | 0.134″ (≈ 1/8 in) | 0.068″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| 12″ | 0.161″ (≈ 5/32 in) | 0.082″ (≈ 3/32 in) |
| 16″ | 0.214″ (≈ 7/32 in) | 0.109″ (≈ 3/32 in) |
Need a different width or moisture swing? Run the movement calculator preloaded with American Chestnut. At a T/R ratio of 1.97, American Chestnut is stable — it moves moderately more across the face than through the thickness — normal behaviour for a furniture hardwood, and predictable if boards are acclimatised before milling.
Board footage & weight, standard sizes
| Nominal size × length | Board feet | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1×4 × 8′ | 2.67 bd ft | 6.7 lb |
| 1×6 × 8′ | 4 bd ft | 10 lb |
| 1×8 × 8′ | 5.33 bd ft | 13.4 lb |
| 1×10 × 8′ | 6.67 bd ft | 16.7 lb |
| 1×12 × 8′ | 8 bd ft | 20.1 lb |
| 2×4 × 8′ | 5.33 bd ft | 13.4 lb |
| 2×6 × 8′ | 8 bd ft | 20.1 lb |
| 2×8 × 8′ | 10.67 bd ft | 26.8 lb |
Different length or size? Run the board foot calculator or the weight calculator, both preloaded with American Chestnut.
Seasonal movement by city
| City | Driest month (EMC) | Most-humid month (EMC) | EMC swing | 12″ board movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix, AZ | Jun · 4.4% | Dec · 9% | 4.6 pts | 0.123″ (≈ 1/8 in) |
| Chicago, IL | May · 12.3% | Dec · 15.1% | 2.8 pts | 0.075″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| Miami, FL | Apr · 12.2% | Sep · 14.4% | 2.2 pts | 0.059″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| Boston, MA | Apr · 11.5% | Sep · 12.8% | 1.3 pts | 0.035″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| Denver, CO | Jul · 8% | Dec · 10.5% | 2.5 pts | 0.067″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| Seattle, WA | Jul · 12% | Dec · 16.9% | 4.9 pts | 0.131″ (≈ 1/8 in) |
Driven by American Chestnut's tangential shrinkage of 6.7%. These are outdoor equilibrium-moisture figures, so they are an upper bound — a climate-controlled interior swings less. How this is calculated.
How American Chestnut compares
Ranked against the 196 species in the Wood Handbook tables this site carries.
- Hardness: at 540 lbf, American Chestnut is harder than 22% of the 157 species with a Janka figure.
- Weight: at 30.1 lb/ft³ it is heavier than 27% of the 170 species measured — an 8-foot 1×6 board weighs about 10 lb.
- Stability: its T/R ratio of 1.97 is more even than 34% of the 196 species here — as humidity changes, 66% of them hold their shape more evenly.
See American Chestnut plotted against every species we carry: the full Janka hardness chart and the full density chart .
Species with a similar working profile
Closest matches on hardness, weight and stability together — useful when American Chestnut is unavailable or priced out.
- Red Pine is a common substitute for American Chestnut : nearly identical hardness, about the same weight, and similarly stable in service.
- Butternut is a common substitute for American Chestnut : 9% softer, 12% lighter, and similarly stable in service.
- Yellow-poplar is a common substitute for American Chestnut : nearly identical hardness, about the same weight, and similarly stable in service.
- Tamarack is a common substitute for American Chestnut : 9% harder, 23% heavier, and similarly stable in service.
| Species | Janka | Density | T/R |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Pine | 560 lbf | 32.1 | 1.89 |
| Butternut | 490 lbf | 26.6 | 1.88 |
| Yellow-poplar | 540 lbf | 29.4 | 1.78 |
| Tamarack | 590 lbf | 37 | 2 |
About American Chestnut
American chestnut (Castanea dentata) is also known as sweet chestnut. Before this species was attacked by a blight in the 1920s, it grew in commercial quantities from New England to northern Georgia. It is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN because practically all standing chestnut has been killed by blight, and most supplies of the lumber come from salvaged timbers. Because of the species’ natural resistance to decay, standing dead trees in the Appalachian Mountains continued to provide substantial quantities of lumber for several decades after the blight, but this source is now exhausted. The heartwood of chestnut is grayish brown or brown and darkens with age. The sapwood is very narrow and almost white. The wood is coarse in texture; growth rings are made conspicuous by several rows of large, distinct pores at the beginning of each year’s growth. Chestnut wood is moderately light in weight, moderately hard, moderately low in strength, moderately low in resistance to shock, and low in stiffness. It dries well and is easy to work with tools. Chestnut was once used for poles, railroad crossties, furniture, caskets, boxes, shingles, crates, and corestock for veneer panels. At present, it appears most frequently as wormy chestnut for paneling, interior woodwork, and picture frames.
Durability & sustainability
Decay resistance: the Wood Handbook rates American Chestnut heartwood resistant to fungal decay (Table 14-1 rates the Chestnut genus as a whole, without splitting by growth region or variety) . Ratings are for heartwood only and the table's own note cautions that resistance varies substantially within a species; treat this as a general indicator, not a guarantee, especially for ground contact. Wood Handbook, Chapter 14: Biodeterioration of Wood (Arango, Lebow, Glaeser), USDA Forest Products Laboratory, FPL-GTR-282 (2021), Table 14-1. Public domain.
CITES status: not listed on any CITES Appendix — no international-trade restriction applies to American Chestnut.
Properties
| Specific gravity | 0.43 |
|---|---|
| Janka hardness (side) | 540 lbf |
| Density (air-dry, 12% MC) | 30.1 lb/ft³ (482 kg/m³) ovendry-weight basis: 26.8 lb/ft³ |
| Weight per board foot (air-dry) | 2.51 lb |
| Radial shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 3.4% |
| Tangential shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 6.7% |
| Volumetric shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 11.6% |
| T/R ratio (stability indicator) | 2 |
Shrinkage is total green-to-oven-dry (Table 4-3); strength values are at 12% MC. Full bases and the derivation formulas are on the methodology page.
Data: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 (2021), public domain.