Glacial Species & Grades
Red Oak
Other Common Names: American Red Oak, Black Oak, Buck Oak, Eastern Red Oak, Leopard Oak, Spanish Oak, Spotted Oak, Water Oak
NWH’s Red Oak is grown in both the Glacial and Appalachian regions.
Red Oak is a timeless, American classic used in furniture, flooring, cabinetry, joinery and architectural millwork. The sapwood of Red Oak is white to very light brown, while the heartwood is reddish brown. Fast-grown Red Oak, with wide rings, is stronger and heavier than slow-grown Red Oak. We offer Red Oak color sorts to produce cabinets and furniture with beautiful, uniform color tones. It is graded after kiln drying and planing, and offers unique quality consistency compared to commodity oak products.
Red Oak is also used in railroad ties, fence posts, veneer, furniture, cabinets, paneling, flooring, caskets, and pulpwood.
Grades Available:
Properties
- Machining10
- Nailing7
- Screwing7
- Gluing9
- Finishing9
Properties of Red Oak
Red Oak has a coarse texture and is straight-grained, hard, tough, very stiff, and strong. When properly dried and treated, oak wood glues well, machines very well, and accepts a variety of finishes.
Download the Red Oak Technical Bulletin
How does it compare
| Lumber (12 % moisture content) | Machining | Sanding | Finishing | Gluing | Fastening/ Nailing/ Screwing | Weight per bdft | Specific Gravity (Density) | Hardness (Janka) | Bending Strength (MOR) | Bending Stiffness (MOE) | Dimensional Movement (Shrinkage) R (%) | Dimensional Movement (Shrinkage) T (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alder | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 2.45 | .41 | 590 | 9,800 | 1,380 | 4.4 | 7.3 |
| Ash | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3.56 | .61 | 1,320 | 15,000 | 1,740 | 4.9 | 7.8 |
| Basswood | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 2.50 | .37 | 410 | 8,700 | 1,460 | 6.6 | 9.3 |
| Beech | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 3.69 | .64 | 1,260 | 14,900 | 1,720 | 5.5 | 11.9 |
| Cherry | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 3.07 | .52 | 950 | 12,300 | 1,490 | 3.7 | 7.1 |
| Hickory | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4.14 | .67 | 1,820 | 13,700 | 1,730 | 4.9 | 8.9 |
| Hard Maple | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 3.73 | .64 | 1,450 | 15,800 | 1,830 | 4.8 | 9.9 |
| PC Maple | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 2.74 | .50 | 850 | 10,700 | 1,450 | 3.7 | 7.1 |
| Soft Maple | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 3.19 | .55 | 950 | 13,400 | 1,640 | 4.0 | 8.2 |
| Red Oak (Northern) | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 3.64 | .63 | 1,220 | 14,380 | 1,761 | 4.0 | 8.6 |
| Oregon White Oak | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 4.34 | .72 | 1,640 | 10,200 | 1,090 | 4.2 | 9.0 |
| White Oak (Eastern) | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 3.94 | .68 | 1,350 | 14,380 | 1,762 | 4.4 | 8.8 |
| Poplar | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 2.81 | .43 | 540 | 10,100 | 1,580 | 4.6 | 8.2 |
| Walnut | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 3.36 | .56 | 1,010 | 14,600 | 1,680 | 5.5 | 7.8 |
| Yellow Birch | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 3.53 | .62 | 1,260 | 16,600 | 2,010 | 7.3 | 9.5 |
