WOOD SPECIES:
Red Oak
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Quercus rubra
OTHER COMMON NAMES:
Northern Red Oak, Red Oak, Gray Oak, American Red Oak, Canadian Red Oak
TYPICAL USES:
Widely used in furniture making and cabinetry, Red Oak is also a common choice for flooring, boat building, musical instruments, and construction applications.
SOURCES:
North America, Europe
AVG BENDING STRENGTH:
14,200 psi
SPECIFIC GRAVITY:
0.60
AVG WEIGHT:
44 lbs/cu.ft.
SAPWOOD COLOR:
Generally ranges from a pale gray to a light red-brown color.
HEARTWOOD COLOR:
Ranges in color from light pink to a pale reddish-brown.
GRAIN:
Coarse straight grain.
TEXTURE:
Varying texture with medium to large sized pores.
MOVEMENT:
With proper seasoning, most Red Oak stock exhibits average to above-average dimensional stability.
DURABILITY:
Red Oak is rated as virtually non-durable, owing to its lack of resistance to decay and insect attack.
BLUNTING EFFECT:
A moderate blunting effect is noticed with Red Oak lumber.
CUTTING RESISTANCE:
The hardness of Red Oak generates a moderate amount of cutting resistance.
PLANING:
Despite its hardness, Red Oak responds to most machining operations, assuming sharp cutting tools, proper angles and adjusted feed rates.
TURNING:
In general, Red Oak lumber turns quite well, producing smooth, clean surfaces.
BORING:
Overall good response to boring operations.
GLUING:
Responds well to most gluing applications.
NAILING:
Pre-drilling is necessary to avoid splitting.
SCREWING:
Holds screws well; pre-boring is recommended.
STAINING:
Red Oak responds well to most staining and finishing applications.
STEAM BENDING:
A good candidate for steam bending operations.
