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Blunting Effect Boring Carving Common Names Common Uses Countries of Distribution Cutting Resistance Distribution Overview Drying Defects Ease of Drying Environmental Profile Family Name Gluing Grain Heartwood Color Kiln Drying Rate Kiln Schedules Mortising Moulding Movement in Service Nailing Natural Durability Numerical Data Odor Planing Polishing References Regions of Distribution Resistance to Impregnation Response to Hand Tools Routing & Recessing Sanding Sapwood Color Scientific Name Screwing Staining Steam Bending Strength Properties Texture Trade Name Tree Size Turning Varnishing		Scientific Name Quercus palustris Trade Name Pin oak Family Name Fagaceae Common Names Cucharillo, Encino, Encino negro, Mamecillo, Oak, Pin oak, Red oak, Roble, Roble amarillo, Roble colorado, Roble encino, Roblecito, Spanish oak, Spanish swamp oak, Swamp oak, Water oak Regions of Distribution Mediterranean Sea Region, North America Countries of Distribution  [VIEW MAP] Canada, Iran, United States Common Uses Baskets, Bent Parts, Boat building, Building materials, Cabinetmaking, Canoes, Chairs, Chests, Cooperages, Core Stock, Decorative veneer, Desks, Dining-room furniture, Domestic flooring, Drawer sides, Excelsior, Figured veneer, Fine furniture, Flooring, Food containers, Framing, Fuelwood, Furniture , Furniture components, Furniture squares or stock, Hatracks, Interior construction, Interior trim, Joinery, Kitchen cabinets, Lifeboats, Living-room suites, Millwork, Office furniture, Pallets, Paneling , Parquet flooring, Plain veneer, Tables , Veneer, Woodenware Environmental Profile Rank of relative endangerment based on number of occurences globally. May be rare in some parts of its range, especially at the periphery Demonstrably widespread, abundant, and secure globally Data source is World Conservation Monitoring Center Data source is Nature Conservancy Suspected to be either Extinct, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Rare within its natural habitat in the state of Wisconsin. It is also officially classified as Vulnerable in Ontario, Canada Distribution Overview This native North American oak occurs from extreme southern Ontario to Vermont, south to central North Carolina, west to north-eastern Oklahoma and north to southern Iowa. It grows from sea level to elevations of up to 1000 feet (305 m). tolerant of poorly drained, wet sites, including clay soils on level uplands. It is also found, but less frequently, on deep, well-drained bottomland soils. Pin oak is also planted in private estates and parks in Great Britain. Heartwood Color Red Brown White Pink Pinkish to light reddish brown Light brown The wood may also show a pronounced cast of flesh color Sapwood Color Red Brown White Whitish to grayish brown Pink to pale reddish brown Grain Even Figure Straight Open Generally straight, but not always Plainsawn lumber has a plumed or flared grain pattern, while riftsawn material usually has a tighter grain pattern and low figuring. Quartersawn red oak boards usually exhibit a flake pattern, sometimes called tiger rays or butterflies. Color and grain vary considerable between boards, and are often a function of the origin of the wood and the corresponding differences in growing seasons. Since upland red oak trees tends to grow more slowly in general, they usually have a more uniform grain pattern than lowland species Texture Fine Medium Like other red oaks, the texture of Pin oak depends upon the rate of growth of the tree. Red oak grown in the north are less coarse textured than the faster-grown red oaks from the southern states. The wood is flake figured when quartered but the figure is less prominent than in the white oaks Natural Durability Susceptible to insect attack Non-durable Perishable Non-resistant to powder post beetles Non-resistant to marine borers Non-resistant to termites Moderately durable Heartwood has very little natural resistance to attack by decay fungi and other wood destroying insects Odor No specific smell or taste Kiln Schedules US=Lowland T2-C1 Drying Defects Splitting Distortion Checking Collapse Internal Honeycombing Possible Ring failure Honeycombing possible Defects include:uneven moisture, chemical stains, iron stains, and are attributable to wetwood (usually in old growth) Defects found in both upland and lowland red oaks Red oaks from upland areas are also prone to collapse during drying Ease of Drying Moderately Difficult to Difficult Fairly Easy Slowly Difficult Kiln Drying Rate Slow Drying rate is slow Naturally dries slowly Tree Size Tree height is 10-20 m Tree height is 0-10 m Bole length is 0-10 m Tree height is 20-30 m Tree height is 30-40 m Trunk diameter is 100-150 cm A popular lawn treeIts form is described as compact, and boles are usually straight Blunting Effect Moderate dulling effect on cutting edges Boring Fair to good results Fairly easy to very easy Easy Bored surfaces are smooth Carving Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Cutting Resistance Easy to saw Gluing Fairly Easy to Very Easy Fair to Good Results Satisfactory gluing properties Mortising Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Mortises very well Bores readily with ordinary tools, with very good results Moulding Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Movement in Service Medium Fair dimensional stability Nailing Pre-Boring Recommended Fairly Easy to Very Easy Holds nails well Good resistance to splitting while nailing Planing Fairly Easy to Very Easy Fair to Good Results Very Good to Excellent Results Planed surfaces are usually clean and smooth Good planing properties Red oak is regarded as one of the most beautiful woods to work with because of its grain pattern and character Resistance to Impregnation Resistant heartwood Resistant sapwood Response to preservative treatment is fair. Response to Hand Tools Easy to Work Responds Readily Works well with hand tools Routing & Recessing Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Sanding Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Responds very well to preservative treatment Screwing Fairly Easy to Very Easy Good screwing properties Turning Fairly Easy to Very Easy Fair to Good Results Fairly Difficult to Very Difficult Yields smooth, clean surface. Responds readily to preservative treatment by either open tank or pressure methods Steam Bending Very good Polishing Fair to Good Results Very Good to Excellent Results Staining Like other red oaks, Pin oak has an open grain which makes it responsive to a wide range of finishing products. A darker stain preceded by a light filler is reported to produce the popular 'lime' appearance. The wood can also be treated with ammonia to produce an almost black 'Jacobean' finish because of the high tannin content. Ray pattern on quarter-sawn boards can also yield a truly unique look. Tip: To avoid conspicuous differences in stained, edge-glued members, separate quarter-sawn and flat-sawn boards and use one or the other consistently for a given project Varnishing Very Good to Excellent Results Fair to Good Results Fairly Easy to Very Easy Strength Properties Weight = high Moderately hard Bending strength (MOR) = high Pin oak is a member of the Red oak class whose trees are found mainly in eastern Canada and the United States. The other class is the White oaks. The Red oak class consists of several very similar species which include American red oak or Northern red oak (Q. rubra ); Southern red oak (Q. falcata ); Spanish oak, Swamp red oak, or Cherrybark oak (also Q. falcata ); Shumard oak or Pin oak (Q. palustris ); Nuttal oak (Q. nuttallii ); Scarlet oak (Q. coccinea); and sometimes Black oak (Q. velutina ). Wood produced by the red oaks tends to have a plainer figure than those from White oak because of their smaller rays. Red oak timbers are also less watertight than those of White oak because of the open pores. Red oak compares favorably with White oak in strength, and are both used in steam bending applications. Red oaks are less resistant to decay than White oaks or European oaks. Also, Red oak acorns are much more bitter in taste than White oak acorns. Numerical Data Item Green Dry English Bending Strength 7595 13720 psi Crushing Strength 706 1000 psi Hardness 1480 lbs Impact Strength 45 44 inches Maximum Crushing Strength 3415 6684 psi Shearing Strength 2038 psi Stiffness 862 1695 1000 psi Work to Maximum Load 14 15 inch-lbs/in3 Specific Gravity 0.57 0.61 Weight 61 41 lbs/ft3 Radial Shrinkage 4 % Tangential Shrinkage 9 % Volumetric Shrinkage 14 % Item Green Dry Metric Bending Strength 533 964 kg/cm2 Crushing Strength 49 70 kg/cm2 Hardness 671 kg Impact Strength 114 111 cm Maximum Crushing Strength 240 469 kg/cm2 Shearing Strength 143 kg/cm2 Stiffness 60 119 1000 kg/cm2 Work to Maximum Load 0.98 1.05 cm-kg/cm3 Specific Gravity 0.57 0.61 Weight 977 657 kg/m3 Radial Shrinkage 4 % Tangential Shrinkage 9 % References Boone, R.S., C.J. Kozlik, P.J. Bois and E.M. Wengert. 1988. Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Woods: Temperate and Tropical. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, General Technical Report FPL-GTR-57, Madison, Wisconsin. Kaiser, J. 1990. Wood of the Month - Red oak:From Bitter Acorns Red Oaks Grow. Wood of the Month Annual, Supplement to Wood and Wood Products, September, 1990. Page 26A. Kaiser, J. Wood of the Month: Red Oak - A Plentiful Species. Wood & Wood Products, December, 1992. Page 50. Laidlaw, W.B.R. 1960. Guide to British Hardwoods. Published by Leonard Hill [Books] Limited, 9 Eden Street, N.W.1, London. Little, E.L. 1980. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees - Eastern Region. Published by Arthur A. Knopf, New York. NWFA. 1994. Wood Species Used in Flooring. Technical Publication No. A200. National Wood Flooring Association, Manchester, MO. Panshin, A.J. and C. deZeeuw. 1980. Textbook of Wood Technology, 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill Series in Forest Resources. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. USDA. 1987. Wood Handbook - Wood as an Engineering Material, Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 72, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. USDA. 1988. Dry Kiln Operators Manual, Preliminary Copy. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.