Wood species

White Oak

Quercus alba · Fagaceae

The oak that built barrels and boats: heartwood rated very durable, olive-brown color, and the main species behind OCC's cookies. Strong, easy to work and an exceptional value among domestic hardwoods.

Janka hardness: 1350 lbf
Density: 47.0 lb/ft³
Shrinkage T / R: 10.5 / 5.6 %
Origin: Eastern United States
IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Shop White Oak in stock (145)All live edge slabs

(Pre-Built) White Oak Live Edge Tabletop #PB212 114" x 39" - 44" x 1.9" — overhead view — Oak City Customs

Pictured: (Pre-Built) White Oak Live Edge Tabletop #PB212 114" x 39" - 44" x 1.9"

About White Oak

White Oak heartwood is light to medium brown, often with an olive cast, and the paler sapwood does not always stand out sharply from it. Grain is straight with a coarse, uneven texture. It machines cleanly with hand and power tools, but flat sawn boards move more than most hardwoods as humidity shifts, so we dry it slowly and hold it at a low moisture content before it leaves the kiln. Its heartwood is rated very durable; this is the oak that built barrels and boats. It suits dining tables, kitchen islands and cookie tops, and it is the oak to pick where spills are part of life. Ours is milled and kiln dried in Zebulon, NC.

Working & finishing

Machines cleanly with hand and power tools and scores near the top in machinability, but flat sawn boards have mediocre dimensional stability and cup as humidity shifts. Tannin blackens on contact with wet iron, so use stainless or coated fasteners and no steel wool before water-based finishes. Oil or hardwax oil leaves the coarse texture in hand; a grain-filled film finish gives a smoother, more protected kitchen top.

Care

Wipe standing water and spills promptly; the heartwood resists rot but the finish and the wood's movement are what a spill tests. Expect noticeable seasonal width movement in a wide top and a base that allows it. Refresh oil finishes with a thin maintenance coat as the surface dulls.

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