American Red Oak, the Most Popular Wood in the Woodworking Industry

 American red oak wood

Oak trees are abundantly available in America. The oak wood is the most available commercial hardwood in the US and maybe in the world. This wood has been widely used for various purposes since many centuries ago by many generations. Instead of his excellent ideal properties, the good forest management in Europe and America has encouraged the uses of oak wood in the woodworking industry.

There are several species of oak trees, but the commercially available oak wood is classified into 2 groups: American red oak and American white oak. The wood classification is made according to the needs of the woodworking industry in there. Although the oak seems very similar, there are some species with some specific different properties. The easiest way to classify the oak wood is that the red oak is considered an open-pore wood, while the white oak has close pores. The red oak is also more in the straight grain compared with the white oak.

American red oak is a lot available in America. This wood grows and can be found easily in all areas of this country. Even though it is named red oak, it does not mean that the wood has always had a red base color. It is named the red oak since it has red-colored leaves in the autumn. It is the most popular wood used in the American woodworking industry. Some of them are also exported to various countries.

oak veneer table

The properties of American red oak. 

The properties of the wood will vary depending on the area where it grew. The woods from the northern region generally have more solid mass structure and are harder and heavier than the wood from the south. In general, the oak wood is hard and heavy. This wood must be dried slowly to prevent the crack. This wood has a high volume shrinkage; it is better for use in the product, which is susceptible to a movement in performance. This wood has strong grain character with large and big pores and grains. It has a variety of basic colors, from white in the sap wood to the reddish brown in the heartwood.

Various household products can be produced from the American red oak wood, such as furniture, flooring, architectural interiors, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, etc. This wood is also a lot of use to the veneer manufacture to make plywood. The wood is also has high durability, that makes it quite common for outdoor uses such as for garden furniture, fens, doors, etc.

The properties of oak wood: 

Specific gravity (12% mc)                                          : 0.63 to 0.68
Average weight (12% mc)                                         : 705-753 kg/m3
Average volumetric shrinkage (green to 6% mc)    : 10.8
Modulus of elasticity                                                    : 12, 549 MPa - 15.721 MPa
Hardness                                                                      : 5738 N - 6583 N
The data are taken from: www.americanhardwood.org
 

Finishing for the American red oak wood.

This wood has a grain and pore pattern that is unique and interesting. Therefore, the transparent colors are the best-suited finish for this wood. The transparent finish will enhance its beauty, grain, and pore look. The light stain or no stain with sealer and top coat application to make natural finish is the most used finish for this wood. The transparent finish with dark colors is also much obtained. With proper stain application, a dark transparent finish that shows his beautiful grain and pores can be generated. .
This wood has a varied base color ranging from white to reddish brown. To produce an even color, then a color equation is needed before it is coated with a clear coating. The use of sap stain and equalizer stain is highly recommended to make an even color finish.
This wood has deep, big, and open grain and pores. Since then, it is not very suitable for a closed-pore finish. A tough filling process is needed to fill its pores and grains to produce a closed-pore finish. The open pore finishes with accentuates the beauty of its grains, and pores are more suitable for this wood. With the proper finishing, its unique grain and pores pattern can be enhanced to produce an unique, beautiful, and attractive-looking wood product.
Some paint finishes are also good choices for the red oak. It has big open pores and grains; the application of a base coat or paint usually cannot cover the grain and pore totally. The base coat application still shows its pores and grain structure. The combination of base coat and glaze will produce a nice finished life and an attractive look.
The paint finish with clean and closed pores is not recommended for this wood. Its big pores and grains will be a big handicap to make the close pores paint finish. Antique-style solid color finish is a better choice for this wood.