Beech
Beech is a close-grained temperate hardwood designated FASY in EN 13556, stocked kiln-dried, air-dried, green, steamed and thermally modified at a density of 0.72 g/cm³.
Reference datasheet — Beech is not in the instant-quote catalog. Upload your part and an engineer will quote it in this grade or suggest the closest stocked equivalent.
Values for the KD12 condition
Beech tempers and conditions
Beech is supplied in 4 conditions, soft to hard. KD12 is the default FabDigit quotes; the values on this page are for it.
Compare all 4 conditionsHide
| Condition · open for datasheet | Best for | Yield MPa | Tensile MPa | Elong. % | Hardness | Conductivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green / unseasoned | Freshly sawn stock for green woodturning, riving and bending blanks — strength is roughly halved. | 70 | 2 | 0.3 W/m·K | ||
Thermally modified | Pick for dimensionally stable, decay-resistant cladding or sauna/wet-area parts where reduced toughness is acceptable. | 70 | 0.7 | 0.13 W/m·K | ||
Air-dried, 15–18 % moisture content | Shed-dried stock for outdoor-sheltered joinery or as feedstock before final kilning. | 95 | 1.5 | 0.19 W/m·K | ||
KD12Default Kiln-dried, 12 % moisture content | Standard furniture/joinery condition: use for indoor structural, turned and machined parts. | 110 | 1.2 | 0.16 W/m·K |
Supply forms, finishes and certifications
Ways Beech is supplied — form, process route, surface or paperwork — without a datasheet of their own. The property values above apply.
| Option | What it is | Type |
|---|---|---|
STM | Steamed / steam-bending grade | Surface finish |
What is Beech?
Beech is a close-grained temperate hardwood designated FASY in EN 13556, stocked kiln-dried, air-dried, green, steamed and thermally modified at a density of 0.72 g/cm³. It is the European workhorse for bent and turned components because of its steam-bending behaviour and even texture, offering about 110 MPa tensile strength, 14 GPa elastic modulus and 1.2 % elongation in solid stock, plywood veneer and moulded shells. Decay resistance is the lowest in this group (score 20) and it moves with humidity, so it is an interior material up to a 100 °C service temperature. Birch is the nearest alternative where bending is not required. Beech has a density of 0.72 g/cm³ (0.026 lb/in³), heavier than 61% of natural material grades. Beech has a tensile strength of 110 MPa (16 ksi), stronger than 97% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1.2% and the elastic modulus is 14 GPa (2.03 Msi).
What is Beech used for?
- Bent furniture (Thonet-style)
- Tool handles
- Flooring
- Kitchen worktops
- Toys
Advantages
- Polishes to a fine finish — 80/100, better than 80% of natural material grades
- Stiff — 14 GPa (2.03 Msi), better than 79% of natural material grades
Limitations
- Needs corrosion protection — 20/100, worse than 98% of natural material grades
Beech properties
Typical room-temperature values for Beech-KD12; bars are the position among natural material grades.
Physical2
Beech has a density of 0.72 g/cm³ (0.026 lb/in³), heavier than 61% of natural material grades.
Mechanical9
Beech has a tensile strength of 110 MPa (16 ksi), stronger than 97% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1.2% and the elastic modulus is 14 GPa (2.03 Msi).
Thermal5
Beech is rated for continuous service to 100°C (212 °F). It conducts heat at 0.16 W/m·K (0.0924 BTU/hr·ft·°F), better than 64% of natural material grades. Thermal expansion is 4 µm/m·K (2.22 µin/in·°F).
Electrical2
Beech is an electrical insulator with a dielectric strength of 4 kV/mm (101.6 V/mil) and a resistivity of 1×10¹⁰ Ω·m.
Chemical & Environmental1
Corrosion resistance is poor (20/100), worse than 98% of natural material grades.
Sustainability4
Producing a kilogram of Beech takes about 11 MJ of energy and emits 0.45 kg of CO₂ — more than 56% of natural material grades. Typical recycled content is 5%.
Manufacturability2
Beech's machinability is very good (70/100, worse than 67% of natural material grades).
Common Calculations4
Values are nominal handbook figures for design screening. Certified mill or lot data ships with every FabDigit order on request.
Working with Beech
Is Beech easy to machine?
Cuts, turns and drills cleanly with carbide or sharp HSS; keep feeds up and tools sharp or the close grain scorches, and expect moderate tool wear from its density.
Can Beech be welded?
Not weldable — joined by PVA/urea-formaldehyde/PU adhesives, dowels, mortise-and-tenon or mechanical fasteners (pre-drill to avoid splitting).
Can Beech be formed, bent or molded?
Best-in-class steam bender: steam ~1 h per 25 mm at 100 °C and bend over a form with a tension strap; also peels well for plywood and moulded seat shells.
Beech chemical composition (wt %)
Limits by weight percent from the governing specification, written the way the spec states them — a single maximum for impurities, a range for alloying elements, and the base element as balance. Nominal is the typical mid-range value.
| Element | Spec limit (wt %) | Nominal |
|---|---|---|
| celluloseoven-dry basis | 42 – 48 | 45 |
| hemicellulose (mainly xylan)high xylan typical of hardwoods | 27 – 35 | 31 |
| ligninsyringyl-rich hardwood lignin | 20 – 25 | 22 |
| extractiveslow — poor natural durability | 0.5 – 2 | 1.2 |
| ash | 0.3 – 0.8 | 0.5 |
What surface finishes work on Beech?
Sands to a very smooth surface and needs no grain filler; takes dye unevenly (blotching) so use a conditioner or gel stain, then lacquer/oil — treat or coat for any damp exposure.
How much does Beech cost?
Beech is a budget-cost natural material ($), cheaper than about 90% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
Beech — frequently asked
What is Beech used for?
Beech is typically used for bent furniture (Thonet-style), tool handles, flooring, kitchen worktops and toys. In short: best steam-bending hardwood; even close-grained texture; poor untreated decay resistance.
What is the tensile strength of Beech?
Beech has a typical tensile strength of 110 MPa (16 ksi) — stronger than 97% of natural material grades. Strength varies by condition: see the 4 listed tempers.
Is Beech easy to machine?
Yes — machinability is rated very good (70/100, worse than 67% of natural material grades). Cuts, turns and drills cleanly with carbide or sharp HSS; keep feeds up and tools sharp or the close grain scorches, and expect moderate tool wear from its density.
Can Beech be welded?
Not weldable — joined by PVA/urea-formaldehyde/PU adhesives, dowels, mortise-and-tenon or mechanical fasteners (pre-drill to avoid splitting).
What surface finishes work on Beech?
Sands to a very smooth surface and needs no grain filler; takes dye unevenly (blotching) so use a conditioner or gel stain, then lacquer/oil — treat or coat for any damp exposure.
Can Beech be formed, bent or molded?
Best-in-class steam bender: steam ~1 h per 25 mm at 100 °C and bend over a form with a tension strap; also peels well for plywood and moulded seat shells.
What is the maximum service temperature of Beech?
Beech is rated for continuous use to about 100°C (212 °F). Strength falls off well before that limit — check the elevated-temperature data for load-bearing parts.
How much does Beech cost?
Beech is a budget-cost natural material ($), cheaper than about 90% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
Sources
- Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-282) — USDA Forest Products Laboratory (2021)
- EN 13556 — Round and sawn timber: nomenclature of timbers used in Europe (FASY) — CEN (2003)
- EN 350 — Durability of wood and wood-based products — CEN (2016)
- DIN 68364 — Characteristic values of wood species: density, modulus of elasticity, strength — DIN (2003)
- Species property data for Fagus sylvatica (European beech) — Thünen-Institut / Wood Database compilations (2022)
Property data is compiled from published supplier and standards handbooks and normalised for comparison; hardness values on non-Brinell scales are converted approximately for charting only. Manufacturability limits are FabDigit quote-engine defaults and may be relaxed by engineering review. Nothing on this page is a certification — request mill certs, CoC or material test reports with your order.