Red Oak also Northern Red Oak, Champion Oak
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Distribution
Widely distributed throughout the United States.
The Tree
Oaks can reach a height of 125 ft (38 m), with large diameters.
The Wood
General
The sapwood of oak is white to very light brown, while the heartwood is light to dark brown in the white oak group and reddish brown in the red oak group. Oak wood has a course texture; it is heavy, straight-grained, hard, tough, very stiff, and strong. Fast-grown oak, with wide rings, is stronger and heavier than slow-grown oak.
Working Properties
Oak wood has good working properties. It machines and glues well and holds fasteners extremely well. It tends to split when nailed, unless predrilled. Oak finishes well, but shrinks considerably.
Durability
The oaks are rated with respect to resistance to heartwood decay as follows:
Very resistant--bur oak, chestnut oak, Gambel oak, Oregon oak, post oak and white oak
Moderately resistant--swamp chestnut oak
Slightly to nonresistant--black oak and red oak
Preservation
The heartwood of the white oak group is resistant to impregnation with preservatives, whereas that of the red oak group is more easily penetrated.
Uses
Lumber, railroad crossties, timber bridges, tannin dyes, fuel wood, hardwood dimensions and flooring, furniture, veneer, plywood, barrels, kegs and casks (white oak group), truck and trailer beds, mining timbers, containers, pallets, caskets, boxes, paneling.
Widely distributed throughout the United States.
The Tree
Oaks can reach a height of 125 ft (38 m), with large diameters.
The Wood
General
The sapwood of oak is white to very light brown, while the heartwood is light to dark brown in the white oak group and reddish brown in the red oak group. Oak wood has a course texture; it is heavy, straight-grained, hard, tough, very stiff, and strong. Fast-grown oak, with wide rings, is stronger and heavier than slow-grown oak.
Working Properties
Oak wood has good working properties. It machines and glues well and holds fasteners extremely well. It tends to split when nailed, unless predrilled. Oak finishes well, but shrinks considerably.
Durability
The oaks are rated with respect to resistance to heartwood decay as follows:
Very resistant--bur oak, chestnut oak, Gambel oak, Oregon oak, post oak and white oak
Moderately resistant--swamp chestnut oak
Slightly to nonresistant--black oak and red oak
Preservation
The heartwood of the white oak group is resistant to impregnation with preservatives, whereas that of the red oak group is more easily penetrated.
Uses
Lumber, railroad crossties, timber bridges, tannin dyes, fuel wood, hardwood dimensions and flooring, furniture, veneer, plywood, barrels, kegs and casks (white oak group), truck and trailer beds, mining timbers, containers, pallets, caskets, boxes, paneling.
