Red Oak vs Walnut

[Paul]

Which is the harder wood?

[dpb]

Pretty similar and I don't have table at hand to look it up (and google would work as easily there as here :) ).

I'd guess the oak probably is slightly harder on average; both work very nicely and leave a crisp edge w/ _sharp_ tools but are hard enough that anything less is a pain for sure.

[SonomaProducts.com]

Google says...

Oak is supposedly harder than North American Black Walnut (the typical type of walnut for woodworking).

Woodworkers will tell you Walnut is harder to work with than Red Oak in terms of how it feels to drill or edge shape. I think hardness is determined by how deep a dent is made by a specific weight spherical ball dropped from a certain distance. So walnut dents deeper but it feels harder to work (IMNSHO)

[SonomaProducts.com]

ok, i read the wiki and it is not just a dent from a distance drop, it is how much force to embed the ball half way. Kind of cool actually.

[krw]

Red Oak. American Walnut isn't all that hard.

table can be expanded)

[Paul]

Thanks guys, appreciate it.

[dadiOH]

The red oak. And white oak is harder than it. And hickory is harder than the white oak. Why?

[Leon]

Red Oak, Walnut is relative soft like Poplar.

[Leon]

Correction, Walnut is about twice as hard as poplar but Red Oak is about 30% harder than American Walnut.

[Larry Jaques]

Pride. Hickory is proud to be used for hammah handles. ;) Or maybe it just works out with wood hardeners on the side.

I think the reason is the difference in the cellular structure of the wood. Seek Hoadley for enlightenment.

ultimate result of shielding men from folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer

[dadiOH]

than another.

[SonomaProducts.com]

I guess some guys are just worried about how hard their wood is.

[krw]

Well it's got to be harder than the piece of ash.

[Max]

Well I definitely prefer to have a hard wood... at the appropriate time.

[Father Haskell]

Dunno 'bout hardness, but red oak is tougher, harder to snap.

[Larry Jaques]

Which reminded me of this joke:

Once upon a time, a little boy was born without a penis. (hey, no girl jokes here, OK?) His parents went to doctors all over but nothing could be done. Later, around the boy's 17th birthday, a doctor called his mother and told them that technology had progressed enough to do a replacement surgery. They tested the whole male side of the family and found them to be compatible. The boy's brother, grandfather, and father could all donate parts of their penises. The surgery went well and the boy healed nicely. About a year later, the boy visited the doctor with downcast eyes. When the doctor asked what was wrong, the boy exclaimed "The dick works OK until I'm with a girl, Doc. Why in the hell did you have to put Grandpa's section in the _middle_?

-- Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. -- Albert Einstein

[Scott Lurndal]

[Scott Lurndal]

I find walnut to be much easier to work than Oak. Amost as nice as Mahagony. Unfortunately, not as inexpensive. Where I'm at, Claro is more accessible (and prettier).

scott

[-MIKE-]

Walnut is a joy to work with. Cuts smooth as butter, doesn't splinter like oak. While they both have a deeper grain than other hardwoods, Walnut's is more uniform. To me, it's a no-brainer between Walnut and any Oak.