Janka hardness tells you how hard a wood is to dent, and it is a good first guide to how hard it will be on your router bits. Pine and cedar sit around 350 to 550 lbf, walnut and cherry near 1,000 lbf, and oak, ash, beech and hard maple between about 1,100 and 1,500 lbf.
This chart lists common UK and US hardwoods, softwoods and sheet materials with Janka hardness in pounds-force (lbf) and newtons (N), typical dried density, how easy each is to machine, and practical notes for a hobby CNC router or hand router. Type a species into the search box, or filter by type. For actual spindle speed and feed numbers, use the CNC Router Feeds & Speeds calculator.
Wood Hardness and Routing Chart
| Wood | Type | Janka (lbf) | Janka (N) | Density (kg/m³) | Workability | Router notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European oakQuercus robur / petraea | Hardwood | 1,120 | 4,980 | 650–750≈ 44 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Open grain: tear-out on cross-grain profiles and fuzzy V-carves in the large pores. Sharp bits, climb a light finishing pass. Tannins react with steel and wet glue (black stains). |
| American white oakQuercus alba | Hardwood | 1,360 | 6,050 | ~755≈ 47 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Harder and denser than European oak. Keep chip load up to avoid burning; finishing pass of 0.3–0.5 mm cleans the edge. |
| American red oakQuercus rubra | Hardwood | 1,290 | 5,740 | ~700≈ 44 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Very open, porous grain: V-carved text can look ragged, so use bold fonts or fill and sand. Machines cleanly otherwise. |
| European ashFraxinus excelsior | Hardwood | 1,480 | 6,580 | ~680≈ 42 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Tough, straight-grained, routes well with sharp carbide. Ring-porous grain can chip on fine detail. |
| American white ashFraxinus americana | Hardwood | 1,320 | 5,870 | ~675≈ 42 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Similar to European ash. Good for tool handles and furniture; burns if the bit dwells in corners. |
| European beechFagus sylvatica | Hardwood | 1,450 | 6,450 | ~710≈ 44 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Fine, even texture: excellent for small detail and V-carving. Burns easily at low chip load. Moves a lot with humidity. |
| Hard maple (rock maple)Acer saccharum | Hardwood | 1,450 | 6,450 | ~705≈ 44 lb/ft³ | Hard | Dense and prone to burning: keep feeds up, use sharp bits and avoid dwelling. Superb crisp detail once dialled in. |
| Soft mapleAcer rubrum and others | Hardwood | 950 | 4,230 | ~610≈ 38 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Easier than hard maple and still fine-textured. A good practice wood for carving and inlays. |
| American black walnutJuglans nigra | Hardwood | 1,010 | 4,490 | ~610≈ 38 lb/ft³ | Easy | One of the nicest woods to route: clean edges, crisp V-carves, little burning. Dust can irritate skin and airways. |
| European walnutJuglans regia | Hardwood | 1,220 | 5,430 | ~640≈ 40 lb/ft³ | Easy | Machines much like black walnut; figure can tear out on profiles. Dust is an irritant. |
| American cherryPrunus serotina | Hardwood | 950 | 4,230 | ~560≈ 35 lb/ft³ | Easy | Routes cleanly but burns very easily: keep the chip load up and use a final light pass. Burn marks are hard to sand out. |
| Yellow birchBetula alleghaniensis | Hardwood | 1,260 | 5,600 | ~690≈ 43 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Fine texture, holds detail. Can burn and can fuzz on curly figure. |
| HickoryCarya spp. | Hardwood | 1,880 | 8,360 | ~800≈ 50 lb/ft³ | Hard | Very hard and tough: blunts bits quickly, so take lighter cuts on a hobby router. Typical value for shagbark hickory. |
| SapeleEntandrophragma cylindricum | Hardwood | 1,410 | 6,270 | ~670≈ 42 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Interlocked (ribbon) grain tears out on edges and profiles: use a compression or down-cut bit and a light finishing pass. Dust is an irritant. |
| IrokoMilicia excelsa | Hardwood | 1,260 | 5,600 | ~640≈ 40 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Contains hard mineral deposits that dull edges fast; interlocked grain. Dust is a known sensitiser (asthma, dermatitis): extract and wear an FFP3 mask. |
| TeakTectona grandis | Hardwood | 1,070 | 4,760 | ~655≈ 41 lb/ft³ | Moderate | High silica content blunts tools quickly. Oily surface: wipe with solvent before gluing. Dust is a sensitiser. |
| Genuine mahoganySwietenia macrophylla | Hardwood | 800 | 3,560 | ~590≈ 37 lb/ft³ | Easy | Classic carving wood: soft enough to cut easily, firm enough to hold detail. Interlocked grain can tear on profiles. |
| Tulipwood / yellow poplarLiriodendron tulipifera | Hardwood | 540 | 2,400 | ~455≈ 28 lb/ft³ | Easy | Soft hardwood: routes fast but the surface can fuzz. Great for paint-grade signs, jigs and test cuts. |
| Basswood (similar: European lime)Tilia americana | Hardwood | 410 | 1,820 | ~415≈ 26 lb/ft³ | Easy | Favourite for relief carving: soft, even and grain-free looking. Fuzzes with dull bits; crushes if clamped too hard. |
| Red alderAlnus rubra | Hardwood | 590 | 2,620 | ~450≈ 28 lb/ft³ | Easy | Even texture, routes and carves well. Common in US kitchens and sign blanks. |
| BalsaOchroma pyramidale | Hardwood | 70 | 310 | 100–250 (varies)≈ 11 lb/ft³ | Easy | So soft it crushes rather than cuts: very sharp single-flute bits, light hold-down, or cut it with a knife or laser instead. Janka varies hugely with density. |
| Scots pine / European redwoodPinus sylvestris | Softwood | 540 | 2,400 | ~550≈ 34 lb/ft³ | Easy | Soft spring growth and hard latewood cut differently, so V-carves can look stepped. Resin gums bits: clean them often. Knots chip. |
| Eastern white pinePinus strobus | Softwood | 380 | 1,690 | ~400≈ 25 lb/ft³ | Easy | Soft and even for a pine; carves well with sharp tools, fuzzes with dull ones. Seal before painting signs. |
| Southern yellow pinePinus palustris and others | Softwood | 870 | 3,870 | ~670≈ 42 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Hard latewood bands and lots of resin: expect gummed bits and uneven V-carve depth. Value is for longleaf pine; loblolly and others are softer. |
| Norway spruce / whitewoodPicea abies | Softwood | 380 | 1,690 | ~405≈ 25 lb/ft³ | Easy | Typical UK DIY-store “whitewood” and CLS studs. Soft, tears out across the grain; use as test stock, not show work. |
| Sitka sprucePicea sitchensis | Softwood | 510 | 2,270 | ~425≈ 27 lb/ft³ | Easy | Straight, light and stiff (instrument tops). Fuzzes with dull bits; light final pass helps. |
| Douglas firPseudotsuga menziesii | Softwood | 620 | 2,760 | ~510≈ 32 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Strong contrast between soft and hard growth rings: splinters on edges. Sharp up-cut for slots, down-cut for top edges. |
| Western red cedarThuja plicata | Softwood | 350 | 1,560 | ~370≈ 23 lb/ft³ | Easy | Very soft and crushes easily; good for outdoor signs. Dust is a well-known respiratory sensitiser: extract and wear an FFP3 mask. |
| European larchLarix decidua | Softwood | 740 | 3,290 | ~590≈ 37 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Resinous with hard latewood: gums bits and can splinter. Popular for UK cladding and garden projects. |
| MDF (standard)Medium-density fibreboard | Sheet material | n/a | n/a | 650–800≈ 45 lb/ft³ | Easy | Cuts cleanly with no grain, ideal for V-carving, jigs and paint-grade work. Edges and carved areas soak up finish: seal first. Very fine dust and urea-formaldehyde resin: always extract. |
| Moisture-resistant MDF (MR MDF)Usually green core | Sheet material | n/a | n/a | 700–800≈ 47 lb/ft³ | Easy | Machines like standard MDF, tolerates damp rooms better. Still not for outdoor use. |
| HDF / hardboardHigh-density fibreboard | Sheet material | n/a | n/a | 800–1000≈ 56 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Thin and dense: good for templates and laser/CNC backers. Hold it down well: thin sheet lifts and chatters. |
| Birch plywood (Baltic / Russian / Finnish)Birch veneers throughout | Sheet material | n/a | n/a | 650–720≈ 43 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Many hard glue lines wear bits faster than solid wood. Use a compression bit to keep both faces clean. Good-grade ply has few voids. |
| Poplar plywoodPoplar core, often poplar or birch face | Sheet material | n/a | n/a | 450–550≈ 31 lb/ft³ | Easy | Light and soft; face veneer is thin and tears out on top edges: use a down-cut or compression bit. Check for voids before deep pockets. |
| Hardwood / combi plywood (DIY grade)Mixed tropical or eucalyptus veneers | Sheet material | n/a | n/a | 500–700 (varies)≈ 37 lb/ft³ | Moderate | Quality varies a lot: voids, overlaps and thin faces are common. Fine for jigs; buy better ply for show faces. |
| OSBOriented strand board | Sheet material | n/a | n/a | 600–680≈ 40 lb/ft³ | Hard | Strands rip out and edges never come clean. Usable for rough jigs only; resin in the board is hard on edges. |
| Chipboard / particleboard (incl. melamine-faced)Particleboard | Sheet material | n/a | n/a | 600–700≈ 41 lb/ft³ | Hard | Crumbly core and abrasive resin; melamine face chips without a compression or down-cut bit. Carbide only. |
Janka values are published averages for dried wood at about 12% moisture content; N = lbf × 4.448, rounded. Density is a typical dried figure; individual boards commonly vary by 10–20% or more. Sheet materials have no meaningful Janka value.
How to Use This Chart
- Janka is a dent test, not a cutting test. It measures the force to press a 11.28 mm (0.444 in) steel ball half its diameter into the wood. Harder woods generally need lighter cuts and duller bits faster, but grain, resin and minerals matter too: teak and iroko blunt edges far faster than their Janka number suggests.
- Pick the calculator group from the type. In the CNC Router Feeds & Speeds calculator, use Softwood for pine, spruce and cedar, Hardwood for anything above roughly 900 lbf, and the MDF or plywood settings for sheet goods. Soft hardwoods such as tulipwood, basswood and alder machine more like softwood.
- Burning means the chip is too thin, not too thick. Cherry, hard maple and beech scorch when the bit rubs. Raise the feed or lower the rpm to make a thicker chip, rather than slowing down.
- Read the workability column as a hobby-machine guide. “Hard” does not mean you cannot cut it, only that a light, belt-driven router needs shallower passes, sharp carbide and patience.
Worked example: you want to V-carve a sign and are choosing between red oak (1,290 lbf) and black walnut (1,010 lbf). They are close in hardness, but red oak’s large open pores make fine lettering look ragged, while walnut cuts crisp edges. Walnut is the better choice for small text; red oak suits bold, deep lettering that you fill with paint or epoxy.
Bit choice by material
- Up-cut spiral: clears chips best for slots and pockets but lifts fibres on the top face. Fine for MDF and the hidden face of solid wood.
- Down-cut spiral: clean top edge, packs chips in deep slots. Good for veneered ply and melamine faces; take shallow passes.
- Compression bit: up-cut at the tip, down-cut above it, so both faces of plywood stay clean. The cut depth must be deeper than the up-cut section.
- Single-flute (O-flute): best in soft, gummy or resinous material and on low-power machines where you cannot reach a good chip load with two flutes.
Dust warning: HSE warns that hardwood dust can cause cancer, especially of the nose, and that many wood dusts (including western red cedar, iroko and other tropical hardwoods) cause asthma. MDF dust is very fine. Use dust extraction at the bit, keep the shop clean with a vacuum rather than a brush, and wear a well-fitted FFP3 mask when sanding or routing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Janka hardness is the force needed to press a steel ball of 11.28 mm (0.444 in) diameter halfway into a piece of wood. It is quoted in pounds-force (lbf) in the US and newtons (N) elsewhere. A higher number means the wood resists dents better and is usually harder work for cutting tools.
Oak is a hardwood. European oak is about 1,120 lbf and American white oak about 1,360 lbf, so use the hardwood setting in a feeds and speeds calculator and expect more tear-out across the grain than with maple or walnut.
Fine, even-textured woods give the crispest V-carves: walnut, cherry, maple, beech, basswood and mahogany. Open-grained woods such as red oak and ash, and resinous pine, give rougher edges. MDF carves cleanly but needs sealing before paint.
Burning happens when the bit rubs instead of cutting, usually because the chip load is too low: rpm too high for the feed, a dull bit, or too many flutes. Increase the feed, lower the spindle speed, use a sharp two-flute or single-flute bit and add a light finishing pass.
Not a meaningful one. Janka is measured on solid wood. For sheet goods, use density and construction instead: MDF is around 650 to 800 kg/m³ and cuts cleanly, while birch ply is similar in density but its glue lines wear bits faster.
Related Calculators and Charts
Janka hardness and density figures are typical published averages for dried timber (for example The Wood Database and the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook); individual boards vary with growth, moisture and cut. Sheet-material densities are typical ranges from manufacturers and vary by product. Router notes are general starting advice: always make a test cut in an offcut first.