Wood species

Copper Beech

Fagus sylvatica (purple-leaved form Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea) · Fagaceae

A purple-leaved form of European Beech that showed up as natural mutants in the 15th century and has been planted as a specimen tree since; OCC's stock is lawn and campus salvage. The purple is in the leaves, not the wood.

Janka hardness: 1450 lbf
Shrinkage T / R: 11.7 / 5.8 %
Origin: Europe (the copper form is a cultivated selection planted as an ornamental)
IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Shop Copper Beech in stock (2)All live edge slabs

Pictured: Copper Beech Live Edge Wood Slab #BPD582 92" x 27" - 32" x 2.7"

About Copper Beech

Copper Beech is European Beech cut from a purple-leaved tree, and the lumber is the same wood: pale straw with a pink or brown hue, straight grained, with a fine to medium even texture and a moderate luster. It machines, glues, turns and finishes well and steam bends very well, which is why it has long been a furniture and workbench wood in Europe. It moves more than most hardwoods with seasonal humidity, so a wide top needs a base that lets it shift. Rated non-durable, it stays indoors. It suits desks, benches, dining tops and cutting boards. The purple foliage is the tree's story, not the slab's; ours is kiln dried in Zebulon, NC.

Working & finishing

Machines, glues, finishes and turns well and responds superbly to steam bending. Closed even grain takes stain evenly and reads clean under a water-based film; oil warms it toward amber. Raise the grain with a damp rag and knock it back at 220 before a water-based coat or it fuzzes. A sensitizer with eye, skin and respiratory irritation reported, so collect dust and wear a mask.

Care

Non-durable or perishable with poor insect resistance; indoor use only. The largest volumetric shrinkage in OCC's Tier 1 group, so a wide top moves visibly with the seasons and the base must let it shift. Keep it out of direct wet areas and refresh an oil finish yearly.

In stock now