WHITE OAK



White Oak is an outstanding domestic hardwood that is widely available. It is a very strong wood that displays a very straight and consistent grain. This feature makes White Oak very versatile and easy to match when making wider panels, and as such it is widely used in building furniture and cabinets.
The characteristic that has made White Oak famous is the presence of striking medullary rays that appear when the wood is quarter sawn. Quarter sawn White oak is highly stable.
White Oak retains its popularity as a furniture wood, but its uses have expanded to include many more applications. Its unique cellular structure makes the wood highly water resistance, and it is therefore used in great quantities for exterior applications from trim and general construction to furniture and garden structures.
White Oak is the perfect species for many applications it finishes beautifully and can take stain well.

SPECIES DETAILS

  • Botanical Name: Quercus alba
  • Color: Heartwood is a light to medium brown, commonly with an olive cast. Nearly white to light brown sapwood is not always sharply demarcated from the heartwood. Quarter sawn sections display prominent ray fleck patterns.
  • Origin: Eastern North America
  • Grain/Texture: Grain is straight with a coarse uneven texture. : Ring-porous; 2-4 rows of large, exclusively solitary earlywood pores, numerous small to very small latewood pores in radial arrangement; tyloses abundant; growth rings distinct; rays large and visible without lens.
  • Rot Resistance: Rated as very durable
  • Workability: Produces good results with hand and machine tools. It has moderately high shrinkage values, resulting in mediocre dimensional stability, especially in flat sawn boards. Can react with iron particularly when wet and cause staining and discoloration. It responds well to steam-bending. Glues, stains, and finishes well.
  • Uses: Cabinetry, furniture, interior trim, flooring, boatbuilding, barrels and veneer.

STOCK AVAILABILITY

  • Quarter Sawn Lumber:
  • Quarter sawn Beams:
  • Sawn Lumber
  • Grading: FEQ, S2S, S3S, S4S
  • Round logs
  • Rough squares
  • Wider Boards
  • Drying: KD, AD



SPECIFICATIONS

Character

Green

Dry

Units

Bending Strength
8300
15200
psi
Crushing Strength
670
1070
psi
Max Crushing Strength
3560
7440
psi
Static Bending
3700
4800
psi
Impact Strength
42
37
inches
Stiffness
1250
1780
1000 psi
Work to Maximum Load
12
15
in-lbs/in3
Hardness
-
1360
lbs
Shearing Strength
-
2000
psi
Specific Gravity
0.60
0.68
-
Weight
63
47
lbs/ft3
Radial Shrinkage
-
6
%
Tangential Shrinkage
-
11
%
Volumetric Shrinkage
-
16
%