Janka Rating Hardwood

As an example red oak hardwood has a janka rating of 1260 meaning it took 1260 pounds of force to embed the steel ball half way into the sample piece of red oak.

Janka rating hardwood.

Similar to a laminate ac rating the hardwood floor hardness determines the durability of the species. For hardwood flooring the test usually requires a 2 6 sample with a thickness of at least 6 8mm and the most commonly used test is the astm d1037. In hardwood flooring the score is used to determine the durability of hardwood species that it might be suitable for a home. Woods with a higher rating are harder than woods with a lower rating.

The higher the number the harder the wood. The janka test measures the amount of force required to embed a 0 444 steel ball into the wood to half of its diameter. The scale used in the table is pounds force. The test measures the force required to push a steel ball with a diameter of 11 28 millimeters 0 444 inches into the wood to a depth of half the ball s diameter.

The janka test was developed as a variation of the brinell hardness test. Forest service list the relative hardness for numerous wood species used in flooring. The janka rating is a measure of the amount of force required to push a 444 diameter steel ball half way into a piece of wood. A common use of janka hardness ratings is to determine whether a species is suitable for use as flooring.

In laymans terms it is a way to measure a woods resistance to denting. To give some quantification to the issue of wood species hardness the lumber industry created the janka hardness scale a standard now widely accepted as the best means of ranking a wood s hardness. Hardwood flooring species are usually compared to red oak as the basis such as. The janka rating scale was created to rank the various degrees of hardness throughout the different species of hardwoods.

The scale was invented in 1906 by gabriel janka an austrian wood researcher and standardized in 1927 by the american society for testing and materials astm. The janka number is found by pushing a steel ball into a 2 x 2 x 6 wood plank. The janka hardness test the janka test is a measure of the hardness of wood. It is not productive to take issue with the exact number but rather understand the relative hardness of one wood to another.

Use this guide to understand precisely what each rating means for a better likelihood of choosing the right hardwood flooring. No matter what species you re interested in chances are it has already undergone the janka hardness test. Brazilian cherry jatoba hardwood flooring is 224 times harder than a red oak floor. The janka scale is used to determine the relative hardness of particular domestic or exotic wood species.

These ratings were calculated using the janka hardness test which measures the force needed to embed a 444 inch steel ball to half its diameter in a piece of wood.