Origin
Principally the Northern and Lake states.
Working properties
Basswood machines well and is easy to work with hand tools making it a premier carving wood. It nails, screws, and glues fairly well and can be sanded, and stained, to a good smooth finish. It dries fairly rapidly with little distortion or degrade. It has fairly high shrinkage but good dimensional stability when dry.
General description
The wood is light and soft with generally low strength properties and a poor steam-bending classification.
Main uses
Carvings, turnings, furniture, pattern-making, mouldings, millwork and musical instruments. An important specialized use is Venetian blinds and shutters.
