Research Note

Box Elder

David Stevens

This is a great wood for decking and general hull planking. The heartwood is a yellowish brown which merges into a yellowish white sapwood. Some box elders are off-white with wide coral-red streaks caused by a fungus. The streaked wood is sought after for its unusual coloring. Most Box Elder I have seen is white in color and makes a nice weathered looking deck. As far as a construction wood for model building its a little weak; not much stronger than Basswood.

This tree is in the Acer family (maples) and is a short lived tree due to the box elder bug causing heart rot in the trunk and the weakness of the wood causes damage to the trees from wind and storms.

You will find the wood works real nice with hand and power tools. The wood is very stable and dries without defects such as cracking and warpage. There is little of the wood on the lumber market due to the way the tree grows. it will have a short trunk then quickly branch out making boards quite short.

So, if you have a downed tree its worth the effort to salvage it for wood working.

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