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.

Properties

  • Machining5
  • Nailing4
  • Screwing4
  • Gluing4
  • Finishing5

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.

How does it compare

Lumber
(12 % moisture content)
Specific Gravity
(Density)
Dimensional
R
(%)
Movement
T
(%)
Hardness
(lbs)
Compression
Parallel
(ps)
Bending
Strength
(ps)
Bending
Stiffness
(kps)
Grain
Alder, Red (Western).414.47.35905,8209,8001,380Fine
Ash.604.97.81,3207,41015,4001,770Fine
Basswood.376.69.34104,7308,7001,460Fine
Beech.645.511.91,3007,30014,9001,720Fine/Medium
Birch, Yellow.627.39.51,2608,17016,6002,010Fine
Cherry, Black.503.77.19507,11012,3001,490Mod/Coarse
Hickory.664.98.91,8207,85013,7001,730Mod/Coarse
Maple, Hard.634.89.91,4507,83015,8001,830Fine
Maple, PC .483.77.18505,95010,7001,450Fine
Maple, Soft.473.07.27005,2208,9001,140Fine
Oak, Red.634.08.61,2906,76014,3001,820Coarse
Oak, White.684.48.81,3607,44015,2001,780Mod/Coarse
Poplar, Yellow.424.68.24505,2909,2001,500Fine
Walnut, Black.555.57.81,0107,58014,6001,680Medium