Red oad vs. white oak

[Leon]

I notice that Red Oak takes on a pink cast when I sand it.

[toller]

When I was in Yosemite I read that live oak acorns were the indians' staple food. Anyhow, I "think" they are okay to eat raw; but since we don't have them in the frigid Northeast I have never tried them. Even if not edible, they are not poisonous; they will just be too bitter to eat. When boiled to remove the tanin, black oak acorns are too tasteless to eat, though they are nutritious.

[Swingman]

Damn you guys with your color acuity ... I wouldn't know pink if... never mind. :)

[DJ Delorie]

When our house was built, my dad was looking at our 7 year old red oak dining room table sittin on our month old red oak floor. "Hey, your table doesn't match the floor." I told him to come back in a year and it would.

IMHO the best finish for red oak is time.

[Leon]

Cool. We had barrels full this fall.

[Andy Dingley]

Try ammonia fuming it - it goes greenish ! If you're after that Craftsman look you may need to use a reddish shellac to tone it down.

Lots of timber has a pink cast when sanded. Freshly green (English) ash is very notable for it - a pure white log can have a pile of sawdust next to it that turns pink as you watch. I think it's an oxidation going on with the freshly exposed surface.

[Leon]

Damn, I meant Hardwood Lumber.

[Leon]

Ok, Pink is always ... never mind. LOL

[Swingman]

Clark's Hardwood Lumber Co. over in the Heights ... same thing.

[bole2cant]

A sure way? Yes.

Get some sodium nitrite (NaNo2) 5% or 10% solution and put some on the oak. If it leaves a dark mark if it is white oak.

From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor:

Red oak is not always more red than white oak. For example, black oak (which is a red oak) has no red at all. Color is about 50% accurate.

Although red oak will let you blow bubbles, so will some white oak. This test is not too good. Red oak growing under stress will not let you blow bubbles.

There is a test where you put a few drops of sodium nitrite solution on the oak and if it turns dark colored, it is white oak. This test is 100%.

You can separate most white from red by noticing the ray length in the flatsawn portion of the lumber, even on rough lumber. Once someone shows you this technique, it is pretty easy. Most lumber graders and others with experience with both groups of oak can separate them easily.

in Utah P.S. I have about 240 senders blocked in this newsgroup so the chances of my seeing a message from you are not that great--but that's just if you are a vexation. :-) ============================

"Warren" wrote in a message

[Mark & Juanita]

Actually, Doug's description is kind -- I think red oak smells much worse than that -- more like the product of peristalsis.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Now we'll just use some glue to hold things in place until the brads dry +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[Warren]

Thanks, that's the sort of answer I was looking for. They don't look all that much different to me and red oak is cheaper, especially the riff/quarter sawn.

[mac davis]

yep.. they used to grind acorns into a kind of flour... did you get a chance to see any of the grinding rocks while you were there?

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[Duane Bozarth]

Before committing to it for any major project (that is, one that is going to be quite a bit of time, effort or that you really want to come out nice) I'd take a couple sample boards and finish them as you propose. Unless they're different subspecies or unusual samples from what I've seen, their appearance when finished may be markedly different.

[BUB 209]

White oak is basically light brown, without a hint of red. White oak is weather resistant, red is not - red oak turns black pretty quickly when exposed to moisture. White oak is better looking, I think - when quartered, the rays are more prominent.

[Lew Hodgett]

RE: Subject

If you suspect the piece is red oak, cross cut off an end exposing fresh wood.

If it looks like the termites have had a field day, it's red oak.

Red oak is much more porous than white.

HTH

Lew

[JMartin957]

Blow through it. All of the oaks have large pores running the length of the grain.

If it's red oak, the air will go through.

White oak has deposits called tyloses blocking the pores, and the air won't go through. Nor will liquids, which is why white oak is used for barrels.

John Martin