Turning Wood Species Reference Chart
Shrinkage and the warp spread (tangential minus radial shrinkage) are from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory, as tabulated by Woodbin's Wood Shrinkage Table. Janka hardness is from 8 Billion Trees' Janka hardness chart. Toxicity/sensitization notes are from The Wood Database, which documents reported reactions without ranking their severity — these notes are worded the same way. All retrieved 2026-09-16.
| Species | Janka (lbf) | Radial % | Tangential % | Warp spread (pp) | Warp tendency | Dust/health note | Turning note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Walnut | 1010 | 5.5 | 7.8 | 2.3 | Lower | Reported irritant/sensitizer; rare nasopharyngeal-cancer (NPC) reports in wood-dust literature. | Comparatively stable while drying (low warp spread); a popular first bowl-blank species. |
| Black Cherry | 950 | 3.7 | 7.1 | 3.4 | Moderate | Reported wheezing/giddiness in some woodworkers. | Turns and finishes cleanly; darkens with age and light exposure. |
| Northern Red Oak | 1290 | 4 | 8.6 | 4.6 | Higher | Reported irritant/sensitizer, asthma; rare NPC reports. Oak dust is also classified by ACGIH as A1 (confirmed human carcinogen), based on IARC evidence linking long-term hardwood-dust exposure to sinonasal adenocarcinoma — use real dust collection and a properly rated respirator, not just a comfort mask. | Open pores (ray fleck shows on quartered blanks); higher warp spread — expect more distortion drying. |
| White Oak | 1360 | 5.6 | 10.5 | 4.9 | Higher | Same oak-dust cautions as red oak: reported irritant/sensitizer, asthma, rare NPC reports, and the same ACGIH A1 carcinogen classification. | Closed pores, more water/rot resistant than red oak; among the higher-shrinkage species here. |
| Sugar Maple | 1450 | 4.8 | 9.9 | 5.1 | Higher | Reported irritant/sensitizer, asthma. Spalted or moldy wood of ANY species (not maple specifically) can carry a separate hypersensitivity-pneumonitis (HP) risk from the mold/fungus itself — Cryptostroma corticale ('maple bark disease') is the best-documented case and chronic exposure has caused lung fibrosis in wood handlers, so use a properly rated respirator (not a comfort dust mask) on any spalted/moldy blank, whatever the species. | Hard, dense, pale — a common bowl and utensil wood; takes detail well. |
| Red Maple | 950 | 4 | 8.2 | 4.2 | Moderate | Same maple-dust cautions as sugar maple, including the spalted/moldy-wood hypersensitivity-pneumonitis (HP) risk. | Softer and often more figured (spalting, mineral streaks) than sugar maple. |
| White Ash | 1320 | 4.9 | 7.8 | 2.9 | Lower | Reported irritant (The Wood Database); no carcinogen classification found — standard wood-dust precautions still apply. | Strong, open-grained; increasingly scarce in some regions due to emerald ash borer dieback — often available as salvaged log wood. |
| Yellow Birch | 1260 | 7.3 | 9.5 | 2.2 | Lower | Reported irritant, sensitizer, and nausea (The Wood Database); standard wood-dust precautions still apply. | High shrinkage but a comparatively low warp spread, so it moves a lot in volume but stays rounder. |
| American Beech | 1300 | 5.5 | 11.9 | 6.4 | Higher | Reported irritant/sensitizer with rare NPC reports (The Wood Database) — and, like oak, beech dust is classified by ACGIH as A1 (confirmed human carcinogen), one of the two species most strongly linked to sinonasal adenocarcinoma in the IARC evidence base. This is one of the more serious entries in this table, not a mild one — use real dust collection and a properly rated respirator. | Highest tangential shrinkage and warp spread in this list — expect the most distortion; leave extra rough-out wall thickness. |
| American Sycamore | 770 | 5 | 8.4 | 3.4 | Moderate | No documented severe reaction profile found beyond standard wood-dust precautions; commonly spalted stock still carries the mold-based HP risk noted under maple. | Distinctive fleck figure on quartered blanks; softer and easier to turn than the oaks/maples above. |
| Quaking Aspen | 350 | 3.5 | 6.7 | 3.2 | Moderate | No documented severe reaction profile found beyond standard wood-dust precautions. | Very soft, low density, and low warp spread — dries faster than denser species and is a forgiving practice wood, but dents/tears easily. |
| American Basswood | 410 | 6.6 | 9.3 | 2.7 | Lower | No documented severe reaction profile found beyond standard wood-dust precautions. | Soft, fine, even grain — a classic carving/practice wood; low warp spread keeps it relatively round. |
| Black Locust | 1700 | 4.6 | 7.2 | 2.6 | Lower | Reported irritant and nausea (The Wood Database); standard wood-dust precautions still apply. | Very hard, dense, and rot-resistant; comparatively stable (low warp spread) for a hardwood this dense — but dense means slow-drying. |
| Shagbark Hickory | 1820 | 7 | 10.5 | 3.5 | Moderate | No documented severe reaction profile found beyond standard wood-dust precautions. | Hardest and among the densest species here — tough on tools, very durable finished, and slow to dry because of that density, not because of its warp spread. |
Wood dust from any species is a respiratory irritant in enough quantity — use dust collection and at minimum a NIOSH N95-rated respirator, regardless of species. For extended turning or sanding of oak or beech specifically (both ACGIH A1 confirmed-carcinogen dust), step up to an FFP2/FFP3 or P100 half-mask respirator, not just a comfort mask. These notes flag specific, documented reactions beyond that baseline, not an exhaustive medical risk assessment; if you have a known wood allergy or sensitivity, follow your own doctor's guidance over this chart.
Use the rough-out & drying calculator to see how a species' warp spread affects wall-thickness guidance (drying time itself is driven by wall thickness, not species).