Hickory Products
Hickory (Carya spp)
Tilo makes a number of products using hickory, including
- cabinetry
- dowels
- flooring
- furniture
- paneling
Browse our selection of Standard Profiles or talk to us about a Custom Profile using hickory hardwood.
General Description of Hickory
Hickories are generally split into two groups, the true hickories and the pecan hickories (fruit bearing). The wood is virtually the same for both and sold together. It's the heaviest, hardest and strongest American wood. The sapwood is white, tinged with inconspicuous fine brown lines while the heartwood is pale to reddish brown. Course textured with fine grain. Usually straight but can be wavy or irregular.
Relative Abundance and Availability of Hickory
2.2 percent of total U.S. hardwoods commercially available. Hickory is readily available, but more limited if selected specifically for color as either red or white hickory.
Working Properties of Hickory
- difficult to machine and glue
- difficult to work with hand tools
- holds nails and screws well, but tendency to split, so pre-boring is advised
- can be sanded to a good finish
- grain pattern welcomes a full range of medium to dark finishes and bleaching treatments
- difficult to dry and has high shrinkage
Physical Properties of Hickory
The density and strength of hickories will vary according to rate of growth, with true hickories generally showing higher values than the pecan hickories. The wood is very well known for its very good strength and shock resistance and has excellent steam bending properties. Extremely tough and resilient, with even texture, hickory is quite hard and only moderately heavy.
Moisture content |
12% |
Specific Gravity (b)
|
0.56-0.75 |
Static Bending Modulus of Rupture (lbf/in2)
|
9,100-20,200 |
Static Bending Modulus of Elasticity (c) (106 lbf/in2) |
1.29-2.26 |
Static Bending Work to Maximum Load (in-lbf/in3) |
13.8-31.7 |
Impact Bending to Grain (in) |
104 |
Compression Parallel to Grain (lbf/in2) |
3,920-9,210 |
Compression Perpendicular to Grain (lbf/in2) | 760-1,980 |
Shear Parallel to Grain (lbf/in2) | 2,439 |
Tension Perpendicular to Grain (lbf/in2) | 680 |
Side Hardness (lbf) | 1,820 |
a) Results of tests on small clear specimens in the green and
air-dried conditions. Definition of properties; impact bending is height
of drop that causes complete failure, using 0.71-kg (50 lb.) hammer;
compression parallel to grain is also called maximum crushing strength;
compression perpendicular to grain is fiber stress at proportional
limit; shear is maximum shearing strength; tension is maximum tensile
strength; and side hardness is hardness measured when load is
perpendicular to grain.
b) Specific gravity is based on weight when oven dry and volume when green or at 12% moisture content.
c)
Modulus of elasticity measured from a simply supported, center-loaded
beam, on a span depth ratio of 14/1. To correct for shear reflection,
the modulus can be increased by 10%.
Reprinted with permission from Hardwood Manufacturers Association