Ash is a light colored wood with an open grain. It works well with both hand and power tools and traditionally it was used when a strong straight grained wood was needed. With the right finish it can be indistinguishable from Oak. Most people are most familiar with ash as the wood of choice for baseball bats, if they even know that baseball bats used to be made out of wood. Ash is a dream to mill because it holds much less water than many other trees making the green wood much lighter. Because it has such a low moisture content when green it cures with very little warping and in a relatively short time. It is one of the few woods that I routinely mill into 4" thick slabs. There are many different kinds of Ash, however in the central part of California Modesto Ash is the most common. It is similar to Water Ash with the main differences being that the wood of Modesto Ash is slightly more yellow and the grain is not quite as open and a bit lighter making it a little less striking in contrast. I currently have one tree of each, both outgrew their suburban backyards. The picture is of Water Ash.
© Robin Corell 2005