Beech Wood Uses

Learning about Beech Wood Uses, Advantages & Disadvantages

The beech tree is commonly grown in America, Europe, and Asia.

Various kinds exist, such as Japanese Beech, American Beech, European Beech, and many more.

Despite their varieties, they are almost identical to each other.

Most of them come in light yellowish color with a pinkish-brown hue.

Not many people know about beechwood uses, but it is still widely used for different purposes.

What is European Beech wood?

Scientifically called Fagus sylvatica, European Beech belongs to a large deciduous tree predominantly spread across Central and Western Europe.

Compared to the American Beech wood, European has a lighter color like brown or cream pink.

Its grains are straight with a broader range of colors in their texture.

Moreover, it has excellent resistance to wear and erosion.

Its hardness and strength make the wood suitable for many uses.

Beech Wood Uses in Daily Life

Beech wood has been known as a good source for those who work in the timber industry, especially the European ones.

Indeed there are various types of Beech wood, and European Beech has been used for multi-purposes.

To learn more about the wood and its uses, here are the explanations.

Here is some beechwood uses you might not know.

Beech wood for furniture

Among Beechwood uses, furniture is the most frequent usage.

It is suitable for steam bending and tolerant for irregular grains also knots.

The furniture products primarily include desks, benches, chairs, bookcases, cabinets, joineries, and more.

The final product’s appearance has the best looks since it is easy to nail, machine, and polish.

Its color consistency is also a plus.    

Interior Design

One of the most common beechwood uses for interior design purposes.

Since it has a good appearance and durability, it is commonly used for flooring, stairs, or veneer.

You can also find the part of furnishing products like chair or table legs, the back of cabinets, and the bottom of drawers.

Beech wood for Firewood

Among other uses, firewood might be the very first usage of the wood.

Beechwood is very excellent to use for firewood.

You can split the timber so quickly, and it burns well too.

Moreover, it produces such calm and bright flames.

The log and the trunk are easy to cut into smaller pieces to burn before it dries out.

When seasoned, the wood gets tougher, making it hard to be cut.

The wood is also toxic-free.

Its dense wood burns without producing many sparks or barks remaining.

Smoke Food Ingredients

Are you looking for an excellent wood to smoke your salmon?

Then beech wood is the answer.

This is an ideal choice because it will not create an overpowering flavor.

It only produces a light and clean smoke with a slight hint of nutty flavor.

That will compliment your salmon well.

Besides salmon, you can also use it to smoke other ingredients such as herrings, nuts, vegetables, meats, or even cheese.

Beer-making Process

Famous beer brand like Budweiser has been widely known for using beech chips in lagering process.

The chips will stay at the base of fermentation tanks to prevent autolysis.

That will give the yeast more time and area to rest. Some beer manufacturers in Germany also use beech wood.

Beech wood for veneer

The fine texture and soft color are the most significant advantages of the European Beech wood veneer to cover other wood or furniture.

Its color and texture consistency also contributes positively to its availability and price.

The hue color of the grain also adds more beauty to wood.

Beech wood for flooring and stairs

Not only great in appearance, but the wood also has good endurance and resistance.

It absorbs blows and shocks well and responds to evaporation treatments better than other woods.

For cabin construction, this wood also could be used for many parts apart of the flooring.

Yet, the wood is mainly used for permanent houses for wood-related parts like windows, doors, stairs, and flooring.

In addition, there are some facts about European Beech for flooring, including:

Need topcoat protection

Though it has endurance, the wood stills need certain treatment to prevent rotting due to beetle and natural causes.

The topcoat protection could also help to prevent any natural causes to rot.

Avoid floor heating

High temperature causes color changes to European wood faster.

Hence, floor heating is not recommended to be installed on the European Beechwood floor.

Steaming process to enhance the color

As the color will fade or change over time, steaming is the best way to make the color last longer.

The steam will make the reddish part look stronger, and through time the oxidation will enhance the reddish.

Instruments from Beech wood

Beechwood uses can also be found in some musical instruments.

Beech wood, Known for its great look, is also used for several instruments like piano pin blocks, drums, and guitar bodies.

The wood has a unique tone between Birch and Maple that is suitable for drum woods.

Beech wood for sports

One of Beech wood’s uses in sport, especially baseball, is bats.

Many top brands use this wood because of its quality.

The Beech and other woods have been tested in terms of rupture, elasticity, and density.

It turns out the European Beech generates a trampoline effect that increases distance and produces better exit speed. 

Other Beech wood uses in history

Throughout the years before people have advanced technologies like nowadays, European Beech wood had been used for specific purposes as follows:

Used as an ink source

In 1727 and previous times, the burned European wood that was later boiled and diluted created the soot.

The sot could be used as the ink source for Bistre color in paintings.

Used as a book

Before the pulp was discovered, the bark of European Beech was used to write for religious purposes.

Nowadays, the English word ‘book’ derives from the Old Norse’ bók’ that refers to the ‘Beech’ tree.

Advantages of Beech Wood

There are several benefits you can get in using beech wood material.

Elegant Look

Beechwood is well-known for its elegant look.

It has a straight grain that gives a unique texture.

Using it for furnishing products will add a glossy appearance.

Strong and Durable

This wood has a medium density.

Compared to other wood furniture products, it is solid and durable.

It also resists shock, which is why it is perfect for flooring and stairs.

Moreover, since it is hardwood, it is not easy to get scratches or scars.

Easy to Work with

Due to its density and hardness, beech wood can hold screws and nails quite well.

In addition, the grain can keep polish and paint well, which gives an excellent finishing look.

Good Elasticity

When the wood is steamed correctly, it can reach a certain elasticity to bend it easily.

Once it is dry, it will not deform.

Disadvantages of Beech Wood

Despite its benefits, beechwood also carries some disadvantages you might want to look at.

Not Good for Outdoor

Beechwood has a good rot resistance. However, that is only valid for indoor uses.

As for the outdoor might rot within a few years once it gets in contact with dust or weather issues.

Furthermore, it can absorb a vast amount of water when exposed to rain.

Easy to Crack

This material requires a sort of medium-high maintenance.

The treatments it needs are paint and polish.

This treatment aims to prevent the wood from getting cracks.

Without those maintenances, it will get some in a few years.

Very Heavy

Although beech wood is solid and durable, it is also cumbersome at the same time due to its density.

Expensive

In the domestic area, beech in raw material might be affordable.

However, furnishing products made of this wood can be pretty expensive.

The high price mostly comes from regular maintenance.

There are a lot of beech wood uses we can find in daily life.

It can be an excellent material for our interior needs or a musical instrument.

But, it will require us to give regular maintenance, which means extra cost to spend.