A Chart of the Density of Wood Species
I have included several familiar woods that probably will never be used in banjo making for the sake of comparison. I have also included domestic and exotic woods that could be or have been used for banjo making. The species in bold are ones I have used for making rims.
The following is a wood density chart compiled from several different sources. In the metric system "kg/cu.m" is kilograms per cubic meter. A cubic meter of water is 1,000 kg. Therefore woods that are less than 1,000 kg/cu.m will float whereas over 1,000 kg/cu.m wood will sink.
| Species |
kg/cu.m |
| Balsa | 170 |
| Pine | 360 |
| Red Cedar | 380 |
| Poplar | 420 |
| Willow | 420 |
| Redwood | 450 |
| Sitka Spruce | 450 |
| Cherry | 510 |
| Cypress | 510 |
| Soft Maple | 540 |
| Honduras Mahogany | 550 |
| Walnut | 560 |
| Sycamore | 590 |
| Elm | 600 |
| Beech | 640 |
| African Mahogany | 650 |
| Oak | 650 |
| Ash | 670 |
| Birch | 670 |
| Hard Maple | 710 |
| Padauk | 730 |
| Purple Heart | 740 |
| Teak | 750 |
| Bolivian Rosewood | 760 |
| East Indian Rosewood | 780 |
| Brazillian Rosewood | 800 |
| Ebony | 960 |
| African Blackwood | 1100 |
| Cocobolo | 1150 |
| Lignum Vitae | 1280 |
| Iron Wood | 1300 |