 Red Spruce (P. sitchensis pictured)
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Common Name(s): Red Spruce, Adirondack Spruce Scientific Name: Picea rubens Distribution: Eastern North America Tree Size: 80-110 ft (24-34 m) tall, 2-4.5 ft (.6-1.4 m) trunk diameter Average Dried Weight: 29 lbs/ft3 (470 kg/m3) Hardness: 490 lbf (2,180 N) Rupture Strength: 10,800 lbf/in2 (74,480 kPa) Elastic Strength: 1,610,000 lbf/in2 (11,100 MPa) Crushing Strength: – lbf/in2 (- MPa) Shrinkage: Radial: 3.8%, Tangential: 7.8%, Volumetric: 11.8%, T/R Ratio: 2.1 |
Color/Appearance: Red Spruce is typically a creamy white, with a hint of yellow and/or red.
Grain/Pore: Red Spruce has a fine, even texture, and a consistently straight grain.
Durability: Heartwood is rated as being slightly resistant to non-resistant to decay.
Workability: Easy to work, as long as there are no knots present. Glues and finishes well, though it can give poor (blotchy and inconsistent) results when being stained due to its closed pore structure. A sanding sealer, gel stain, or toner is recommended when coloring Spruce.
Scent: There is no characteristic odor associated with this wood species.
Safety: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Spruce in the Picea genus has been reported as a sensitizer. Usually most common reactions simply include skin irritation and/or respiratory disorders. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
Price/Availability: Construction grade spruce is cheap and easy to find. However, quartersawn clear pieces—free from knots—are much more expensive. Quartersawn billets of instrument-grade Red (Adirondack) Spruce can easily exceed the cost of most all domestic hardwoods in terms of per board-foot cost.
Comments: Common uses for Red Spruce include: pulpwood, papermaking, construction lumber, millwork, crates, christmas trees, and musical instrument soundboards.
Red Spruce compares very similarly with Sitka Spruce in terms of mechanical properties, with the two species having nearly identical values.
Scans/Pictures: There are currently no pictures of this exact wood species, but a similar species within the Picea genus is being substituted (P. sitchensis). If you’d like to contribute a wood sample of this specific species to be scanned, (even small pieces of veneer can be sent), please use the contact form.
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Sitka Spruce (sanded) |
 Sitka Spruce (sealed) |
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