SPECIES
ASH – APPEARANCE
Grey ash, a versatile option for hardwood countertops, butcher block islands, bar tops, and hardwood table tops, showcases heartwood ranging from light to medium brown. Its sapwood, often wide, presents a beige or light brown hue, sometimes blending seamlessly with the heartwood. With a medium to coarse texture akin to oak, grey ash typically features straight and regular grain, occasionally exhibiting moderate curling or figure patterns.
GREY ASH – PSYSICAL PROPERTIES
In terms of physical properties, grey ash excels in machining, nailing, screwing, and gluing, allowing for easy customization and finishing. It dries quickly with minimal degradation and exhibits little movement in performance. Known for its excellent overall strength relative to weight, ash offers remarkable shock resistance and is suitable for steam bending, expanding its versatility in woodworking applications like hardwood countertops, kitchen island tops, butcher block table tops, bar tops.
ASH – WORKING PROPERTIES
Belonging to the Fraxinus genus, white ash stands out as a favored species for construction and woodworking. Widely utilized in flooring, furniture, cabinets, and sporting goods like hockey sticks and baseball bats, white ash proves its adaptability to various woodworking techniques, whether using hand tools or machinery. Responding well to steam bending and adept at handling gluing, staining, and finishing processes, white ash offers affordability comparable to oak while delivering durable performance. Moreover, our ash wood butcher blocks countertops, kitchen island tops and edge glued panels are sourced from FSC certified hardwood timber, ensuring its sustainability and responsible forestry practices, adding an eco-conscious dimension to its appeal.
TRIVIA:
Ash was often used for spear shafts or handles for weapons. The English name Ash may have been derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Asec which is the name for a ritualistic spear. It was also a folklore tradition that Snakes could not bear to be near an Ash tree or a woodcut from an Ash. In Irish folklore, if shadows were cast upon Ash trees' crops, it was though the crops would be ruined. At many of the sacred wells in Ireland, Ash stumps have been found, which suggest its association with healing/wishing well and well-dressing traditions. In British folklore, the ash was credited with a range of protective and healing properties, most frequently related to child health. Newborn babies were popularly given a teaspoon of ash sap. Ailing children, especially those suffering from rupture or weak limbs, would be passed naked through a cleft in an ash tree or ash sapling, to cure them. The cleft was often specifically made for the purpose and bound together again after the ceremony to heal over as the child also healed. Some folklore then suggested an intimate bond between the welfare and fate of the now related tree and person, with harm to the tree, is reflected in the healed person's life, leading people to become understandably protective of "their" ash tree.