I can usually tell the difference but not this time.
This is tongue and groove oak flooring, and, best I can tell, was installed in 1939, about 7/8″ thick, 2.5″ wide and pieces up to 16 feet in length. Dead straight.
I need some white oak for boat building – but red oak would be a disaster. This is quite pale, but… I’m not positive.
Anyone with a good – definitive – way to tell the difference ?
Many thanks,
Gavin
Gavin Pitchford
“Sail fast – live slow” (build even slower)
Edited 8/30/2008 1:46 pm ET by Accelar
Replies
Look closely at the endgrain if it is VERY open pored, it's red. If the pores are plugged, it's the tyloses, and is white. Take a short pc. say 4" long and dip the end in a glass of water, and blow on the other end..bubbles in the water=red.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Awesome. Totally white. Thanks!
Any idea whether steam bending white oak that's 70 years old presents issues ?Thanks again.
Gavin
Gavin Pitchford
"Sail fast - live slow" (build even slower)
It depends. Oak is the opposite of Coniferous woods when it comes to slow growth vs. fast growth. Oaks in general ben better when fast grown, due to the width of the "summer" or more porus parts. When slow grown, it gets "brash" and fractures more easily, due in part to the close proximty of the denser "late, or winter" wood.
Choose pcs. that have wide rings, not closely spaced.
Anyway, just being that old, it may have "set" in a stable way, that with such drying time, may make it brittle. Just steam longer than you expect maybe.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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They kill Prophets, for Profits.
The world of people goes up and
down and people go up and down with
their world; warriors have no business
following the ups and downs of their
fellow men.
Ok, thats cool!
Thats why WO is used for casks and kegs, it's watertight. Most else will leak. Besides the flavor the tannins impart in whisky, and the charred interior.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
The world of people goes up and
down and people go up and down with
their world; warriors have no business
following the ups and downs of their
fellow men.
Thanks for the extra info. I was trying to figure out how I would remember how to test between white and red, and for some sick reason, when you relate it to alchohol, it all becomes clearer to me.
Tee, hee, hee
If you can get a piece up, back then it was quite often stamped on the backside with the source and sometimes the species ...
Jeff