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Brinell hardness test

The Brinell hardness test is a British Standard (Brinell EN 1534:2000) which gives a value for each wood species. It is based around a given value of 100 for oak, comparing and rating other species as softer or harder.

In the test a 10mm steel ball is pressed against the surface of the hardwood test sample with a known force of 100kg. This produces an indentation in the surface of the wood. The resultant indentation is measured and used to calculate the hardness rating based on an average number of readings.

The table below shows typical Brinell test results for many of the popular wood species - the higher the reading, the harder the wood species.

Brinell results for typical samples:
Species	Relative hardness	Brinell hardness
Pine	42	1,6
Birch	67	2,6
Birch Barogue	67	2,6
Maple (European)	82	3,2
Cherry	85	3,3
Walnut	90	3,5
Beech	95	3,7
Red Oak	97	3,8
Oak	100	3,9
Rose Gum	103	4,0
Ash Barogue	105	4,1
Ash	105	4,1
Beech Barogue	118	4,6
Beech Antique	118	4,6
Maple (Canadian)	123	4,8
Jarrah	131	5,1
Merbau	144	5,6
Kempas	154	6,0

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