Hickory is among the hardest and strongest of woods native to the United States. On average, Hickory is denser, stiffer, and harder than either White Oak or Hard Maple. The wood is commonly used where strength or shock-resistance is important.
Shagbark Hickory falls into the True-Hickory grouping, and is considered to be a ring-porous wood. The strength characteristics of Hickory are influenced considerably by the spacing of its growth rings. In general, wood from faster-growing trees, with wider spaced growth rings, tends to be harder, heavier, and stronger than wood from slower-growing trees that have rings which are closer together.
In addition to strength and hardness applications, the wood of Carya species also has a very high thermal energy content when burned, and is sometimes used as fuel wood for wood stoves. Additionally, Hickory is also used as charcoal in cooking meat, with the smoke imparting additional flavor to the food.

SPECIES DETAILS

• Botanical Name: Carya ovata
• Color: Heartwood tends to be light to medium brown, with a reddish hue; sapwood is a paler yellowish brown.
• Origin: North America
• Grain/Texture: Grain is usually straight, though occasionally wavy, with a medium texture.
• Rot Resistance: Considered to be non-durable to perishable regarding heartwood decay, and also very susceptible to insect attack.
• Workability: Difficult to work, with tearout being common during machining operations if cutting edges are not kept sharp; the wood tends to blunt cutting edges. Glues, stains, and finishes well. Responds well to steam bending.
• Availability: Various species of Hickory and Pecan (Carya genus) are typically mixed together and simply sold as Hickory.
• Uses: : Tool handles, ladder rungs, wheel spokes, flooring, etc.

STOCK AVAILABILITY

• Quarter Sawn Lumber:
• Quarter sawn Beams:
• Sawn Lumber
• Grading: FEQ, S2S, S3S, S4S
• Round logs
• Rough squares
• Wider Boards
• Drying: KD, AD