ASH - COMMERCIAL WOOD Botanists distinguish a number of species of ash in the United States; but, for commercial purposes, only three are usually specified— white ash, black ash, and Oregon ash.
White ash (Fraxinus americana) is slightly under the average weight and hardness of hardwoods, but of more than average strength and stiffness, which makes it very useful for many purposes.
Black ash (Fraxinus nigra) is somewhat softer and weaker than white ash. It is much less generally distributed throughout the Eastern States than the former, and is most largely manufactured in Wisconsin and Michigan. The toughness of black ash made it popular wood for split hoops for many years.
Oregon ash (Fraxinus oregona), while not very abundant in that State, yields a hard, strong, tough wood which takes an excellent polish and hence is useful for fixtures and furniture in addition to its main use for handles.
The statistical reports do not separate the various species of ash, and their uses are summarized in Table 68.
Table 68 Factory Uses of Ash Purpose Per Cent Handles 22 Woodenware and Novelties 21 Vehicles 15 Furniture and Fixtures. 8 Mill Work 7 Refrigerators and Kitchen Cabinets 6 Car Construction 6 Agricultural Implements 4 Boxes and Crates. 4 Ship and Boat Building 3 Sporting and Athletic Goods 1 Other Uses 3 Total 100 In addition to the above, particular uses for white ash are for: Aeroplanes Car repairing Automobiles (running boards) Chairs Bars (vehicle) Church pews Baseball bats Churns Bent panels (light vehicle Churn lids bodies) Corn planters Beams (cultivators) Cylinders (cider mill) Baby perambulators Doors Bobsleds Dowels Bows Electrical apparatus Boxes Elevator parts Butter tubs (heading) Engine cabs Butter tubs (staves) Felloes Cabinet work Flooring Car construction (framing) Frames (automobile bodies) Frames (buggy and carriage Plow beams bodies) Pokes (animal) Frames (light vehicle seats) Poles (heavy vehicles) Frames (wagon boxes) Posts (vehicles) Furniture Plumbers' woodwork Gears Icoach) Pump rods Handles Rails Handles (edge tool) Rake heads Hames (wood) Rake (garden) handles Harrows Rims (vehicle) Hoe handles Refrigerators Hose truck bodies Sash Hounds (vehicles) Shovel handles Interior finish Soil rollers Machinery (construction) Staves Kitchen cabinets Tables Keels (boat) Tools Moldings Trunks Panels Vehicle bodies and parts Parallel bars Yokes Patterns Wagon parts Piano parts Well-digging machines Planing mill products Windmills Black ash enters into the manufacture of : Auto seats- Hoppers (fruit and vegetable) Baseball bats Ice chests Boat finish Interior finish Box shooks Kitchen cabinets Buffets (exterior work) Lard tubs Buffets (inside work) Moldings (piano) Butter tubs Music cabinets (inside work) Candy pails Music cabinets (exterior work) Chairs (kitchen) Picture moldings Commodes Pike poles Cooperage stock Racked hoops Desks (inside work) Refrigerators Fixtures Sills (vehicle) Flooring Spice kegs Furniture (interior) Slats (bed) Handles (garden tools) Sugar buckets Handles (small tools) Trunk slats Hayloader parts Washboards Hoops (butter tubs) Oregon ash is used on the Pacific Coast in making boats, book cases, chairs, desks, tables, handles, saddles, and vehicles.