Hardwood Floors June/July 2019

SPECIES SPECS Wh i t e Oa k RESOURCES

Quercus alba ORIGIN:

produce a slight brown discoloration, whereas white oak will turn dark brown to black. GRAIN: • Grain is straight, open, and medium to coarse in texture, with longer ray patterns. Quartersawn white oak can have very pronounced figure, which can include crotches, swirls, burls, and ray fleck patterns sometimes referred to as tiger rays or butterflies. HARDNESS (JANKA): • Averages 1360 DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: AVERAGE • White oak has a dimensional stability factor of 5.6 percent (radial) and 10.5 percent (tangential), meaning this species may shrink/swell up to 10.5 percent of its given width, depending on how it’s cut when going from green (30 percent MC) to oven-dried.

The Quercus alba (white oak) group contains several species of oak that share many similar characteristics. This group includes subspecies such as chestnut oak (Q. prinus), bur oak (Q. macrocarpa), post oak (Q. stellate), swamp oak (Q. bicolor), live oak (Q. virginiana), overcup oak (Q. lyrata), Oregon white oak (Q. garryana), English oak (Q. robur), and others. • White oak trees also grow throughout much of eastern Canada and the United States, but are more prominent in the South, South Atlantic, and Central states, including the southern Appalachians. USES: Commonly used in flooring, furniture, millwork, and cabinetry and for decorative veneers, boatbuilding, cooperage/barrels for wine and whiskey, shingles, and railroad ties. COLOR: • Heartwood can vary from light to medium brown to pale yellow-brown or dark pale brown, commonly with an olive cast. White to light brown sapwood isn’t always demarcated from the heartwood. White oak can have a broad range in color variation. DIFFERENTIATING WHITE OAK FROM RED OAK: • Other than color, there are a couple of other ways to differentiate between red oak and white oak: - When viewing the endgrain, the large earlywood pores found in red oak are open and empty. The pores of white oaks are plugged with a bubble-like structure called tyloses. This tyloses is why white oak works so well as wine and whiskey barrels. - Sodium nitrite (NaNo 2 ) as a reagent in a 10 percent solution of water, when applied to oak, will quickly distinguish red oak from white oak. Red oak will only

DIMENSIONAL CHANGE COEFFICIENT: • Averages .00180 (radial), .00365 (tangential) SPECIFIC GRAVITY: • Averages .68 NAILING: No known issues with nailing white oak. SANDING:

Sands satisfactorily when following the correct sanding sequence. White oaks stain and finish well. Tannic acid, very prominent in white oak, can react with some liquids. This is often used intentionally to create unique customized effects, but can also cause unintentional consequences with some types of finishes.

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