Hickory Products

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.