Comparative Data:
some woods used for stringed instruments

 Common Name Scientific Name   Specific Gravity  Tangential Shrinkage Radial Shrinkage  Radial/ Tangential 
African Blackwood Dalbergia melanoxylon 1.22      
Alaska Yellow Cedar Chamaecyparis nootkatensis .44 6.0 2.8 2.1
Koa Acacia koa .60 6.2 5.5 1.1
Claro Walnut Juglans hindsii        
Black Walnut Juglans nigra .55 7.8 5.5 1.4
Myrtle or California Laurel Umbellularia californica .55      
Bigleaf Maple Acer macrophyllum .48      
Sitka Spruce Picea sitchensis .40 7.5 4.3 1.7
Honduras Mahogany Swietenia spp. .40 5.1 3.7 1.4
Indian Rosewood Dalbergia latifolia .76      
Engelmann Spruce Picea engelmannii .34  7.1 3.8 1.9
Eastern Spruce Picea spp. .40 7.8 3.8 2.1
Western Redcedar Thuja plicata .33 5.0 2.4 2.1
Redwood Sequoia sempervirens .40 4.4 2.6 1.7

Sources: Identifying Wood by R. Bruce Hoadley, and USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory