Basswood Wood (Tilia Americana) : Uses, Properties, Pros and Cons

Basswood is a species especially known for one of its applications, one where it stands out for its characteristics. In this case, that use is making carvings out of wood. It is a nice, light-colored wood that is easy to work with.

Most carving is done with basswood or Tilia americana wood, but it is also used to make boxes and other similar items.

Basswood is a light wood that is easy to work with, has a smooth surface, and works well with almost any finish. On the other hand, the wood has a uniform texture and color, and the grain is almost impossible to see.

Even though it is light, it is a hardwood often used to make windows and shutters. During the Middle Ages, it was used to make shields in Europe because it was the best balance of weight and strength.

In locations where it grows, basswood trees are among the most prevalent species. This is because it is very easy for this tree to cross-pollinate naturally and in gardens.

Basswood has a lot of uses in the business world. It is especially good for carving small details because the wood is soft, easy to shape, has little grain, is low in density, and can be worked with even the most basic carving tools.

Basswood wood is still in high demand today, making small works of art and household items and making light window blinds and shutters. They are easy to find as lumber or blanks for carving.

The sapwood of basswood is creamy white and blends into the heartwood, which is light to reddish brown and sometimes has darker streaks. The wood doesn’t smell or taste like anything when it’s dry.

What is the difference between American and European basswood?

There are several species within the lime family ( Tilia spp ), although two stand out from a timber point of view. American and European basswood ( Tilia x Europaea ).

There aren’t many differences between American and European basswood, although the European basswood is slightly lighter, heavier, and tougher.

The majority of the farms are situated in the northern hemispheres of the American and European continents, where it is extensively sold and used in a variety of crafts.

Basswood Is sold under other names

American Basswood, American lime, American linden, Basswood, Beetree, Beetree linden, Carolina linden, Florida basswood, Florida linden, Limetree, Linden, Linn, White Basswood.

It is more commonly called basswood, linden, and lime tree in North America and Europe, even though it has nothing to do with lime fruit.

Pricing

The prices of domestic hardwood are lower, but larger carving blocks can cost more.

In terms of price and availability, it can be said that basswood is cheap and easy to find in Northern Europe. It shouldn’t be hard to find sources outside of these areas.

Geography

The American basswood grows from southwestern New Brunswick and New England west through Quebec and Ontario to the southeast corner of Manitoba; south through eastern North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas to northeastern Oklahoma; east to northern Arkansas, Tennessee, and western North Carolina; and northeast to New Jersey.

Sustainability

This type of wood is not on the CITES Appendices list, and the IUCN says it is a species of the least concern.

Is basswood hard or softwood 

The American basswood is a hard tree with soft wood that Indians used to make ropes, rugs, and bandages.

High-end shutter makers like basswood are one of the best hardwoods for carving and turning.

Basswood wood stain

Basswood is always a light color, but a stain can make it darker and more attractive. Basswood is easy to stain and stays stained for a long time. Follow these steps to stain basswood.

First, you have to clean the wood’s surface.

After cleaning, the surface may be a little bit wet. So make sure it gets dry.

Open the can carefully and stir it well with a clean stick.

Put the stain on the basswood with a cloth that doesn’t have any lint. Depending on the stain and how intense you want the color, you may need two or three layers.

Make sure to wait a while between each coat. Dust can mess up your work, so don’t let it dry in a dusty place.

Before putting on the last coat, lightly sand the wood surface with 250-grit sandpaper.

Carefully put the top coat on the wood, and let it dry for 24 hours.

Basswood Identification

Basswood is a light, soft, and easy-to-work-with type of wood.

It has become the lumber of choice for many woodworkers who want to make lightweight wood products quickly and easily. This fine-grained wood has found a place on the commercial market worldwide.

Basswood is a large tree that sheds its leaves in almost all varieties. It can easily grow to be 65 to 130 feet tall, and its leaves can range from 2.5 to 8 inches wide.

Tilia/Basswood trees can live a very long if the conditions are right. The oldest trees that are still alive are thought to be around 2000 years old.

Color and appearance

Sapwood and heartwood are difficult to distinguish; their color can range from light white to light brown.

Most wood has small growth rings, and most face grain is the same color. There aren’t many knots or other problems.

Grain and texture

Straight grain, fine, even texture, and a moderate natural shine.

Basswood is sometimes confused with yellow poplar, magnolia, willow, aspen, and other light, porous hardwoods like aspen, magnolia, and willow.

Let’s say the wood is sapwood and has no colored heartwood. In that case, it can be hard to tell apart from Magnolia species and Liriodendron tulipifera, which are usually hard to tell apart without a microscope.

Flower

The flowers of the basswood are small, fragrant, and yellowish-white. They are 10–14 mm (1332–916 in) in diameter and are arranged in 6–20-cymosed racemes that hang down. At the base of the top, a whitish-green bract is attached by half its length.

They are perfect and even, with five sepals and petals, many stamens, and a superior ovary with five cells. It blooms in early to mid-summer, and bees pollinate it.

It is known that the male and female parts of its flowers grow similarly. This makes this three-family plant hermaphroditic.

Leaves

The leaf of a basswood tree is easy to spot. It has heart-shaped leaves that are arranged alternately and are light brown to dark green on the top and a lighter color on the bottom. They are between 10 and 15 short (4–6 in). The leaves have small hairs on their surfaces.

Basswood Tree

Basswood is a medium to large tree that loses its leaves every year. Normal height is between 60 and 120 feet, and trunk diameter is between 3 and 4 feet.

Basswood is a fast-growing tree that grows between 1 and 2 feet yearly. A basswood tree can live for about 150 to 170 years.

Basswood grows well in soils that are moist but have good drainage. It grows from seeds. Getting lots of direct sunlight helps it grow quickly.

Basswood bark

The bark of a basswood tree is grayish to light brown. Young basswood has smooth, light brown bark, but as it gets older, it gets rough.

Basswood’s pros and cons         

When it comes to heartwood decay, basswood is not considered durable.

Basswood is not durable against normal heartwood decay because it is weak and doesn’t last long outdoors. Finished Products made of basswood need to be coated to last for decades.

People say that wood has little natural resistance to attack by fungi and other organisms that eat wood.

The longhorn beetle can get into logs, and the common furniture beetle can get into the sapwood.

Allergies and toxicity: Other than the usual health risks of wood dust, basswood has not been linked to any other health problems.

For water resistance, the oils in the basswood help it shed water instead of soaking it up. This keeps the wood from getting wet.

Workability

Sculptors like working with basswood because it is easy and pleasant to work with, and it is also used by people who are just starting because it is easy to nail, screw, and glue.

Basswood is great for carvings and sculptures of all kinds because of how it looks and feels. It also lets dyes and paints through.

Basswood also glues and finishes well, but it is hard to bend with steam and doesn’t hold nails well.

Basswood doesn’t bend well with steam, but we can still bend it. Yes, it’s a little hard, but it’s not too hard. There are many ways to bend wood, like using steam or soaking it in hot water for a long time and then bending it.

For 15 to 20 minutes, soak a piece of basswood wood in vinegar. When the wood is bent, it is less likely to break.

You need to heat the water and steam it. The steam makes the wood soft and bendable. Bring the stream up to the surface of the wood. Check to see that steam is coming out from under the wood.

After the wood is soaked, ensure it is soft enough to bend.

Impregnability

Sapwood: Impregnable

Heartwood: Not impregnable

Physical properties

Apparent density at 12% humidity 530 kg/m3 semi-light wood

Dimensional stability: slightly nervous wood

Hardness: semi-soft wood

Mechanical properties

Static bending strength 600 Kg/cm2

Modulus of elasticity 102,500 Kg/cm2

Compressive strength 13 Kg/cm2

Basswood wood uses

Basswood is used in business to make shutters and blinds for windows, plywood, veneer, wood pulp, and fiber products.

Basswood for wood carving

According to woodworkers worldwide, basswood is perfect for making intricate carvings of all sizes, statues, model buildings, marionettes, and puppets.

Since ancient times it has been known for its ease of carving thanks to its homogeneity and fine grain.

For this reason, it is highly valued for sculpture.

Basswood is often used for moldings because it is easy to work with and has a uniform grain that makes it easy to stain to match other, more expensive woods.

Basswood for furniture

Basswood is used a lot in making things out of wood. The biggest problem with it is that it is too soft. This makes it a poor choice for many furniture parts that must be hard to last.

Basswood isn’t a good choice if you need hardwood, but it works fine as a secondary wood in furniture.

The frame of upholstered furniture is frequently constructed from a species of wood called basswood.

Basswood is easy to carve, so it is often used to make panels that are set into other types of hardwood furniture.

Basswood for musical instruments

Basswood sounds great, so it is often used to make wind instruments, recorders, guitar and bass guitar bodies, drum shells, and other musical instruments.

Basswood for flooring

Basswood is a “soft hardwood” like pine, but it doesn’t have any knots or pitch. It looks great painted on a wall or ceiling and can also be used as flooring in low-traffic rooms like a bedroom or study.

Its color and grain are mostly very light, but it takes stains well, so you have a lot of ways to decorate with it.

Basswood for firewood

Basswood is a “soft hardwood” like pine, but it doesn’t have any knots or pitch. It looks great painted on a wall or ceiling and can also be used as flooring in low-traffic rooms like a bedroom or study.

Its color and grain are mostly very light, but it takes stains well, so you have a lot of ways to decorate with it.

Basswood related species

In Europe, trees in the genus Tilia are most often called lime or linden, while in North America, they are most often called basswood.

European Lime (Tilia x europaea)

Tilia x europaea, also known as common lime, European lime, or linden, is a tree that grows in the UK. A cross between Tilia cordata and Tilia platyphyllos happens on its own.

In Britain and Europe, lime trees were planted to make lime avenues.