Alder is a popular wood in making furniture, doors, window frames, cabinetry, and much more. It is considered one of the most popular wood types in the Pacific Northwest and can use for various woodworking projects.
When I was working with Alder, I noticed it is significantly soft than most other woods. Therefore, I was curious, Is Alder a hardwood?
Yes, Alder wood is a hardwood. But it is not hard as other hardwoods like Pine, Elm, and Poplar. Alder is one of the softest hardwoods with a Janka hardness rating of 590 lbf (2,624 N) which is relatively lower than most woods. Alder is a soft hardwood.
But that’s just a quick snapshot.
So, in this article, we’ll explore is Alder a hardwood and how hard is Alder by taking its characteristic qualities. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of Alder wood and its uses of it.
Furthermore, I’ll answer some frequently asked questions about the hardness of Alder wood compared to other wood types as well.
So, let’s jump in!
Installed these amazingly beautiful Alder barn doors yesterday. They turned out amazing!! #woodworking #woodwork pic.twitter.com/jt3hGZsOJU
— Stay At Home Rustics (@StayAtHomeRusti) April 27, 2019
How Hard Is Alder Wood?
Alder wood is softer than most hardwoods and some softwoods as well. But Alder wood is considered a hardwood.
Because of having less hardness than many other hardwoods, Alder wood is known as soft hardwood.
Janka hardness test is the standard method of finding the hardness of a particular wood by considering its resistance against wear and dent.
If a particular wood has high resistance against wear and tear, its Janka hardness test value is high.
So, according to the Janka hardness test values, Alder wood has a hardness rating of 590 lbf (2,624 N) which is significantly lower than most hardwoods.
Now you’re thinking, why do we consider Alder wood as hardwood if it is that soft with a poor hardness rating than other hardwoods in the family.
The reason is, that hardwoods come from deciduous, flowering, nut-producing trees, whereas softwoods come from conifer trees.
So, Alder wood comes from a deciduous tree with all the unique properties of the hardwood family.
It is only having less hardness value than other hardwoods, but structure-wise it 100% belongs to the hardwood family.
This bedroom set by Whittier Woods is not only gorgeous and quality made, it is so practical!
— Kaminski’s Home Furnishings (@KaminskisHome) September 13, 2021
Some of its features are:
•solid alder hardwood, alder veneer
•full extension ball bearing slides
•6 drawers
•english dovetail
•power strip
•concealed under cubbies storage pic.twitter.com/5K3B8ZQd1x
According to the Janka hardness test, Alder has a hardness rating of 590 lbf (2,624 N).
Here’re the hardness ratings of other popular wood types to get an idea about how hard Alder wood is.
| Wood species | Hardness value |
| Brazilian Walnut | 3,684 lbf (16,390 N) |
| Red Mahogany, Turpentine | 2,697 lbf (12,000 N) |
| Brazilian Cherry, Jatoba | 2,350 lbf (10,500 N) |
| Golden Teak | 2,330 lbf (10,400 N) |
| Hickory, Pecan, Satinwood | 1,820 lbf (8,100 N) |
| Hard Maple, Sugar Maple | 1,450 lbf (6,400 N) |
| White Oak | 1,360 lbf (6,000 N) |
| Ash (White) | 1,320 lbf (5,900 N) |
| American Beech | 1,300 lbf (5,800 N) |
| Red Oak (Northern) | 1,290 lbf (5,700 N) |
| Yellow Birch / Baltic Birch | 1,260 lbf (5,600 N) |
| Teak | 1,155 lbf (5,140 N) |
| Black Walnut, North American Walnut | 1,010 lbf (4,500 N) |
| Cherry | 995 lbf (4,430 N) |
| Black Cherry, Imbuia | 950 lbf (4,200 N) |
| Red Maple | 950 lbf (4,200 N) |
| Douglas Fir | 710 lbf (3,158 N) |
| Silver Maple | 700 lbf (3,100 N) |
| Alder | 590 lbf (2,624 N) |
| Hemlock | 540 lbf (2,402 N) |
| Black Spruce | 520 lbf (2,313 N) |
| Sitka Spruce | 510 lbf (2,268 N) |
| Cypress | 510 lbf (2,268 N) |
| White Spruce | 480 lbf (2,135 N) |
| Redwood | 420 lbf (1,868 N) |
| Engelmann Spruce | 390 lbf (1,735 N) |
| Sugar Pine | 380 lbf (1,690 N) |
As you can see, the hardness rating of Alder wood is so poor than many other kinds of wood.
Some softwoods have higher hardness values than Alder wood, such as Cedar, and Douglas fir.
But as a soft hardwood, it’s strong, hard, and dense which can be applied especially for small woodworking projects.
This nine piece #guitar body is alder, cedar, and walnut from a hardwood floor. Pickguard will be #reclaimed too. Stay tuned for progress in the TNV workshop. Also visit https://t.co/aMM8PlyMWH #guitars #yyc #calgary #handmade #madeincanada pic.twitter.com/UqEsrSviTn
— The New Vintage Guitars (@the_newvintage) October 28, 2020
Alder Wood Characteristics
Alder wood is a hardwood with a light to medium brown color close-grained texture.
It has diffused porous structure with brownish or whitish lines that separate growth rings. Small pores are evenly distributed and the same in size.
It has wide rays that are 1 inch long on a tangential surface.
Vessels are small to medium in size with narrow rays. Rays are spaced closely, and aggregate rays are spaced wide.
Alder wood has a straight grain with a moderately fine uniform texture that adds a unique appearance to the wood.
It has good decay resistance compared to most softwoods.
Most importantly even though Alder is considered a hardwood, it has good workability. Working with Alder wood is so much easy even for a beginner in woodworking.
It curves so easily compared to other hardwoods. Therefore, Alder is popular in guitar and making other musical instruments.
But because of being too soft, Alder has poor resistance to denting.
Same as poplar, Alder wood is a closed-grained wood. This makes it easy to finish in woodworking. It has moderate weight and hardness.
Overall, Alder wood is considered a versatile wood type.
In a summary, here’re the most significant qualities of Alder wood.
- Hardwood
- High workability
- No chemical odor
- Poor hardness
- Medium-density
- Soft
- Aesthetically pleasing
Here’re the main characteristic features of Alder wood,
| Color | Medium to brown color |
| Density | 0.41 kg/m3 |
| Hardness | 590 lbf (2,624 N) |
| Stiffness | 1.38 Mpsi |
| Wood Type | Soft Hardwood |
| Applications | Furniture, Decking, Guitars |
This nine piece #guitar body is alder, cedar, and walnut from a hardwood floor. Pickguard will be #reclaimed too. Stay tuned for progress in the TNV workshop. Also visit https://t.co/aMM8PlyMWH #guitars #yyc #calgary #handmade #madeincanada pic.twitter.com/UqEsrSviTn
— The New Vintage Guitars (@the_newvintage) October 28, 2020
So, let’s find out the advantages and disadvantages of Alder wood in terms of its hardness.
Pros and Cons of Alder Wood
| Pros | Cons |
| High workability | Softness |
| High availability | Poor durability |
| Affordable | |
| Versatility | |
| No chemical odor |
As you can see Alder wood is filled with lots of advantages. Most of the disadvantages can easily skip with proper maintenance.
Overall, Alder is a versatile hardwood.
Let’s talk use of Alder wood as a soft hardwood species.
What Is Alder Used For?
Here’re the uses of Alder wood,
- Furniture making
- Small woodworking projects
- Musical instruments
- Doors
- Window frames
- Carvings
- Decorative purposes
- Millwork
As you can see Alder wood can use pretty much for any woodworking project.
But because of being too soft, I do not recommend Alder wood for big woodworking projects, or constructions. Make sure not to use Alder wood for the areas that face force directly.
It is too soft and not durable much. But it is a hardwood with versatile properties.
How Strong Is Alder?
Alder wood is a strong hardwood compared to most softwoods. But it has poor bending strength compared to other hardwoods due to the medium density.
Here’re the strengths of Alder wood in terms of compressive strength and bending strength.
- The compressive strength of Alder wood is 5,820 psi
- The bending strength of Alder wood is 9,800 psi
As you can see it has medium compressive strength and bending strength. Therefore,
Alder wood is not good for construction projects and better used for small projects that don’t need huge strength to work against the load.
Not all projects are big. Here’s a simple, yet complex (it can happen) stepping stool made out of alder. #woodwork #woodworking #stepstool pic.twitter.com/qQ7nQWfae8
— Stay At Home Rustics (@StayAtHomeRusti) November 24, 2019
So, let’s answer some frequently asked questions is Alder a hardwood compared to other popular wood types.
Which Is Harder Oak or Alder?
Oak is harder than Alder. Both Alder and oak are hardwoods. But both red oak and white oak are harder, denser, and stronger than Alder wood.
According to the Janka hardness ratings, the hardness of oak wood and Alder wood is as follows,
| Wood Type | Hardness |
| Alder Wood | 590 lbf |
| Red Oak | 1,290 lbf |
| White Oak | 1,360 lbf |
As you can see oak wood is significantly harder than Alder even though both wood species belong to the same hardwood family.
Alder wood is one of the softest hardwoods on the planet.
Is Alder Harder Than Pine?
Alder is harder than Sugar Pine and White Pine. But Yellow Pine is harder than Alder. Even though all wood species of Pinewood belong to the softwood family, in terms of hardness they are almost the same.
Surprisingly softwood yellow Pine is so much harder than the hardwood Alder wood.
According to the Janka hardness test, here is the hardness comparison between Alder and Pinewood.
| Wood Type | Hardness |
| Alder Wood | 590 lbf |
| White Pine | 380 lbf |
| Sugar Pine | 380 lbf |
| Yellow Pine | 870 lbf |
Is Alder Harder Than Maple?
Alder is softer than Maple. Both hard Maple and soft Maple wood species are so much harder than Alder wood.
They are almost twice as much harder than Alder wood.
According to the Janka hardness test, the hardness of Alder wood and Maple is as follows,
| Wood Type | Hardness |
| Alder Wood | 590 lbf |
| Hard Maple | 1,450 lbf |
| Soft Maple | 950 lbf |
Is Alder Harder Than Birch?
Birch is so much harder than Alder wood. Alder wood is twice as much softer as Birchwood.
According to the Janka hardness test, the hardness of Alder wood and Birch is as follows,
| Wood Type | Hardness |
| Alder Wood | 590 lbf |
| Birch | 1,260 lbf |
The Addison Bed frame by Whitter Wood has 6 spacious storage drawers in its base for your clothing. Made from solid alder hardwood. #addisonbedroom #whitterwood #solidalderhardwood #spacesavingdesign pic.twitter.com/Cs9QUzlS2y
— HomeWorld (@homeworldhawaii) December 4, 2018
Did I cover all you wanted to know about: Is Alder A Hardwood?
In this article we have deeply discussed is Alder a hardwood by taking its characteristic features and, we have talked in detail about how hard Alder wood is.
Alder wood is one of the softest hardwoods with lots of superior qualities. Because of having less hardness value while being a hardwood it has high workability which makes it one of the best options for beginners in woodworking to practice.
Furthermore, we have discussed the pros and cons of Alder wood and answered some frequently asked questions about is Alder a hardwood compared to other wood types as well.
Hope you have gained good knowledge about the hardness of Alder wood and how useful its qualities are in the woodworking world.
Try to use Alder wood for your next woodworking project. Enjoy woodworking!
