I good friend in Chico, California died last month, and his widow gave me rights to a pickup truck load of 8/4 quarter sawn white oak. It is about 10 years old, and has been stickered and is about 80% flat and straight. There are some warped boards.
I have never worked with stuff, as it was too expensive, and woodworking is just a hobby with me. What type of projects is this cut of wood excel at?
Structural members (legs, stiles rails); raised panels; table tops?
I have heard it is more stable? Does that mean less expansion?
Do the pores still have to be filled on horizontal surfaces.
I am picking this up next weekend, and would like to know more about this cut of wood and what I should use it on. Thanks for all who respond.
Boris
“Sir, I may be drunk, but you’re crazy, and I’ll be sober tomorrow” — WC Fields, “Its a Gift” 1934
Replies
It's boat wood. Airdried W.Oak in heavy scantling size are perfect for frames...you'll have to resaw and dry for furniture.
Some here may be willing to trade.
http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php
If you have a moisture meter, check its moisture content. If it's been outside, it might be beneficial to move the material inside to a more stable environment.
Quartered white oak is a great material for standalone furniture, built-ins, trim and casing, even doors. It is the primary choice of material for furniture in the arts and crafts style, and 90% of everything I've built has been in quarter-sawn oak.
The 8/4 material gives you the option of using as is or re-sawing and bookmatching thinner pieces for panels. It's fine for all the applications you noted...structural member, panels, legs, etc. Quarter-sawn oak will be more dimensionally stable than plain sawn. Once surfaced, you should see the ray-fleck pattern that's characteristic of white oak when it's quarter-sawn. Much more distinguishing than the arched grain on the plain sawn material. You may or may not choose to use a filler on the open pores when you finish. Unstained, oak will have a yellow or golden hue. I prefer to color with an aniline dye then topcoat. I haven't used a filler yet for any of my work.
At retail, depending on the lengths/widths and general quality of the wood, it might command around $8/bf. Bob's observation about trading for material more to your liking is a great one!
You asked some general questions...and I provided some sweeping generalizations. Hope this helps!
"Hi...I'm Tony. Boris couldn't make it. He sent me to pick-up that lumber."
tony b.
Edited 11/19/2003 5:07:43 PM ET by YOTONYB
Chico calif. for ten years?
It's dry!
I 've been there, it's dry!
This is native grown white oak, rough milled. It has been covered and stored inside a barn for 10 years under the ubiquitous blue tarps. It is very dusty and dirty, but dry, and fairly straight. What I could pull out was about 80% straight (e.g., not cupped). The widest piece is about 8 inches.
Regretably my friend was not in very good spirits nor health to use it. He has now joined God's workshop.
The flatsawn white oak I have used is very "porey" e.g., has a lot of pores which interfere with writing, so it is unacceptable as a table top without filling. Wil the QS oak have the same issues?
So am I correct that it will not expand and contract as much as flat sawn white oak?
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
I grew up writing on a quartersawn white oak desk top.. (an old roll top that dad found at a garage sale) I can assure you that any surface can be made glass smooth... it's just a matter of technique.. In those days (some cars evan had electric start) what was done was to sand it in finer and finer grades of sand paper and when the final sanding was done mix the resulting powder with shellac and wipe it on.. Sand that smooth and give it several coats of laqure. sanding between each coat..
With modern polyeurathanes, some of those steps can be short cutted.. sand between each coat with finer and finer sand paper..
I'm tackling my first "real" project out of quartersawn white oak...a sideboard for my wife. Personally I love the wood. After the sideboard I would like to get some more for a project to be determined.
Consider yourself lucky on two counts...first you got to have a good friend and second, he thought enough of you to leave you some great lumber.
Enjoy,
Michael
"So am I correct that it will not expand and contract as much as flat sawn white oak?" Yep. In the quartersawn boards, the "tangential movement" (which is the greatest) would be across the thickness of the board. In plainsawn boards it is across the face of the board.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Ahhhhhhh.
I notice from looking at the end grain that the the rings don't point up like this: ) or down like this: ( But instead are almost perpendicular with the edge of the board like this:
Interesting stuff.
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Go to any antique furniture store. Should be able to find scads of period furniture made from QS White Oak. Take a digital camera.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
You could make some really high-end outdoor furniture with that stuff. I always wanted to try a "Titannic" style deck chair. Could use it on one of my boats! (just kidding). Ed
Great stuff for outdoor furniture too. That truck-load is a treasure.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Many of my favorite pieces are made with QS white oak. Feature that figure! You can use it on lots of things. Side boards, coffee tables, clocks.....it's stunning wood and works pretty nicely.
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