Alder
(Red Alder, Western Red Alder)
Scientific Name: Alnus rubra
General Description
Red alder, a relative of Birch, is almost white when freshly cut but quickly changes on exposure to air, becoming light brown with a yellow or reddish tinge. Heartwood is formed only in trees of advanced age and there is no visible boundary between sap and heartwood. The wood is fairly straight-grained with a uniform texture.
Working Properties
Red Alder machines well and is excellent for turning. It nails, screws and glues well, and can be sanded, painted, or stained to a good finish. When stained, it blends with walnut, mahogany or cherry. It dries easily with little degrade and has good dimensional stability after drying.
Physical Properties
Red Alder is a relatively soft hardwood of medium density that has low bending strength, shock resistance and stiffness.
Specific Gravity: 0.41 (12% M.C.)
Average Weight: 449 kg/m3 (12% M.C.)
Average Volumetric Shrinkage: 10.1% (Green to 6% M.C.)
Modulus of Elasticity: 9515 MPa
Hardness: 2624 N
Availability
Readily available, (2.9 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available).
Main Uses
Furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, shutters, mouldings, panel stock, turnings, carvings and kitchen utensils.
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Alder
Aspen
Basswood
Beech
Birch
Cherry
Cottonwood
Elm
Hackberry
Hard Maple
Hickory and Pecan
Red Oak
Sap Gum
Sassafras
Soft Maple
Sycamore
Walnut
White Ash
White Oak
Willow
Yellow Poplar
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