Red Oak

This very attractive, hard and heavy lumber is widely used throughout the world in furniture, flooring, cabinetry, joinery and architectural millwork. The wood is mostly straight-grained with a coarse texture and slightly less pronounced figure compared to white oak. Our red oak lumber comes from both the Glacial and Appalachian regions. All are graded after kiln drying and planing and offer unique quality consistency compared to commodity oak products. We sort our Glacial and Appalachian red oak by color to help reduce waste and produce cabinets and furniture with beautiful, uniform color tones.

Other Common Names: Quercus rubra 

Sourcing Region: Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada

Color, Pattern, Texture: Heartwood is a light to medium brown, commonly with a reddish cast. Nearly white to light brown sapwood is not always sharply demarcated from the heartwood.Grain is straight, with a coarse, uneven texture. The pores are so large and open that it is said that a person can blow into one end of the wood, and air will come out the other end: provided that the grain runs straight enough.

Common Uses and Applications: Cabinetry, furniture, interior trim, flooring, and veneer.

Working Properties: Produces good results with hand and machine tools. Has moderately high shrinkage values, resulting in mediocre dimensional stability, especially in flatsawn boards. May react with iron (particularly if wet) and may cause staining and discoloration. Responds well to steam-bending. Glues, stains, and finishes well.