Butternut wood movement, board-foot & weight calculator
- Janka
- 490lbf
- Density
- 26.6lb/ft³
- T/R ratio
- 1.9
- Spec. gravity
- 0.38
Butternut is a North American hardwood. It has a Janka side hardness of 490 lbf, a specific gravity of 0.38, and an air-dry density near 27 lb/ft³ (426 kg/m³) (mechanical values at 12% moisture content). It shrinks 6.4% tangentially and 3.4% radially from green to oven-dry (T/R ratio 1.9), so a 12-inch flatsawn board moves about 0.15 in (≈ 5/32 in) across a 6-point moisture swing (about 6%→12% MC).
Compute Butternut: movement, weight & board footage
Every number below is worked from Butternut'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″ | 0.026″ (≈ 1/32 in) | 0.014″ (≈ 0 in) |
| 3″ | 0.038″ (≈ 1/32 in) | 0.02″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 4″ | 0.051″ (≈ 1/16 in) | 0.027″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 6″ | 0.077″ (≈ 1/16 in) | 0.041″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| 8″ | 0.102″ (≈ 3/32 in) | 0.054″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| 10″ | 0.128″ (≈ 1/8 in) | 0.068″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| 12″ | 0.154″ (≈ 5/32 in) | 0.082″ (≈ 3/32 in) |
| 16″ | 0.205″ (≈ 7/32 in) | 0.109″ (≈ 3/32 in) |
Need a different width or moisture swing? Run the movement calculator preloaded with Butternut. At a T/R ratio of 1.88, Butternut 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 | 5.9 lb |
| 1×6 × 8′ | 4 bd ft | 8.9 lb |
| 1×8 × 8′ | 5.33 bd ft | 11.8 lb |
| 1×10 × 8′ | 6.67 bd ft | 14.8 lb |
| 1×12 × 8′ | 8 bd ft | 17.7 lb |
| 2×4 × 8′ | 5.33 bd ft | 11.8 lb |
| 2×6 × 8′ | 8 bd ft | 17.7 lb |
| 2×8 × 8′ | 10.67 bd ft | 23.6 lb |
Different length or size? Run the board foot calculator or the weight calculator, both preloaded with Butternut.
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 | 0.118″ (≈ 1/8 in) |
| Chicago, IL | May · 12.3% | Dec · 15.1% | 2.8 pts | 0.072″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| Miami, FL | Apr · 12.2% | Sep · 14.4% | 2.2 pts | 0.056″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| Boston, MA | Apr · 11.5% | Sep · 12.8% | 1.3 pts | 0.033″ (≈ 1/32 in) |
| Denver, CO | Jul · 8% | Dec · 10.5% | 2.5 pts | 0.064″ (≈ 1/16 in) |
| Seattle, WA | Jul · 12% | Dec · 16.9% | 4.9 pts | 0.125″ (≈ 1/8 in) |
Driven by Butternut's tangential shrinkage of 6.4%. These are outdoor equilibrium-moisture figures, so they are an upper bound — a climate-controlled interior swings less. How this is calculated.
How Butternut compares
Ranked against the 196 species in the Wood Handbook tables this site carries.
- Hardness: at 490 lbf, Butternut is harder than 17% of the 157 species with a Janka figure — one of the softer woods here, easy to work and easy to dent.
- Weight: at 26.6 lb/ft³ it is heavier than 12% of the 170 species measured — an 8-foot 1×6 board weighs about 8.9 lb.
- Stability: its T/R ratio of 1.88 is more even than 44% of the 196 species here — as humidity changes, 56% of them hold their shape more evenly.
See Butternut 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 Butternut is unavailable or priced out.
- Yellow-poplar is a common substitute for Butternut : 10% harder, 11% heavier, and similarly stable in service.
- Sitka Spruce is a common substitute for Butternut : nearly identical hardness, about the same weight, and similarly stable in service.
- American Chestnut is a common substitute for Butternut : 10% harder, 13% heavier, and similarly stable in service.
- Red Pine is a common substitute for Butternut : 14% harder, 21% heavier, and similarly stable in service.
| Species | Janka | Density | T/R |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow-poplar | 540 lbf | 29.4 | 1.78 |
| Sitka Spruce | 510 lbf | 28 | 1.74 |
| American Chestnut | 540 lbf | 30.1 | 1.97 |
| Red Pine | 560 lbf | 32.1 | 1.89 |
About Butternut
Also called white walnut, butternut (Juglans cinerea) grows from southern New Brunswick and Maine west to Minnesota. Its southern range extends into northeastern Arkansas and eastward to western North Carolina. The narrow sapwood is nearly white and the heartwood is light brown, frequently modified by pinkish tones or darker brown streaks. The wood is moderately light in weight, rather coarse textured, moderately weak in bending and endwise compression, relatively low in stiffness, moderately soft, and moderately high in shock resistance. Butternut machines easily and finishes well. In many ways, butternut resembles black walnut, especially when stained, but it does not have the same strength or hardness. Principal uses are for lumber and veneer, which are further manufactured into furniture, cabinets, paneling, interior woodwork, and miscellaneous rough items. Butternut canker, a fungal disease thought to be of foreign origin, was first described in 1979. It is causing widespread death of butternut trees. Because of it, butternut is now listed as endangered by the IUCN.
Durability & sustainability
Decay resistance: the Wood Handbook rates Butternut heartwood slightly or nonresistant to fungal decay . 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 Butternut.
Properties
| Specific gravity | 0.38 |
|---|---|
| Janka hardness (side) | 490 lbf |
| Density (air-dry, 12% MC) | 26.6 lb/ft³ (426 kg/m³) ovendry-weight basis: 23.7 lb/ft³ |
| Weight per board foot (air-dry) | 2.22 lb |
| Radial shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 3.4% |
| Tangential shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 6.4% |
| Volumetric shrinkage (green→oven-dry) | 10.6% |
| T/R ratio (stability indicator) | 1.9 |
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.