Ash wood advice

[myshop1044]

I have some That was given to me for the pictures in wood project, is it soft, hard ?
should it carve a picture well, any advice would help.
see attached.

[want2b]

Ash is a hard wood. Have never carved any but have burnt a lot in my wood stove. It rates higher than white oak on the btu scale so I would think it would carve similar.
I'm sure somebody has used it and can chime in with an answer based on experience.
Rock H

[oscarl48]

Just looked up the janka scale. I guess it depends on what type of ash it is. Black ash = softer than cherry. white ash = about oak hardness. I've not personally used ash so would not even know how to identify it.

[Mugsowner]

I have carved ash with no problem. Ash is very hard with finer tight grain, which are a few of the reasons it is used in baseball bat and other batons.

[Ropdoc]

Ash is stable, carves very well. I use it allot.

[badger2424]

I use ash on a lot of sports signs, natural finish with a stained oak trim and it works great. Very little sanding clean up.

[Sliverfoot]

I made a lot of my own lumber in years past harvesting local white ash trees that had fallen in a local woods, hence, I use a lot of it for carves and furniture.
Machines well and finishes well, much like white oak.

[kelsky]

I have used it a lot as well. Carves well.

[earlyrider]

Ash works well by hand and machine, resists splitting, and takes screws and nails well. It was the lumber used most by the early auto industry for building the body "skeletons" for the coach-built cars pre- 1930. The tin gets nailed on top.
83364 1915 Overland Model 90 Roadster