Quercus rubra
Red Oak
Harder than European oak and cheaper, with pores open enough to blow air through. An interior wood, and only an interior wood.
- Coltivato fuori dall’Europa e importato tramite depositi europei.
- Gruppo botanico. Le conifere hanno foglie aghiformi, le latifoglie hanno foglie larghe.
- La famiglia botanica a cui appartiene la specie.
Avvisami quando arrivaSpecie di riferimento. Al momento non ci sono pezzi disponibili.
È adatto al tuo progetto?
Ideale per
- Interior furniture
- Flooring
- Cabinetry
- Painted and stained joinery
- Shelving
Nessun pezzo di Red Oak nel lancio attuale
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Al momento non è disponibile Red Oak. Queste specie sono adatte agli stessi progetti e hanno pezzi disponibili.
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Aspetto del legno
Che aspetto ha
Light to mid brown with a distinct reddish or pinkish cast that separates it clearly from the European oaks. Grain is straight and the texture coarse, with very large open pores in the earlywood. Those pores are the defining practical fact about this wood: they run continuously along the grain and are open enough that the species will not hold liquid, which is why red oak was never used for barrels.
- Light to mid brown with a reddish or pinkish cast
- Very large open pores in the earlywood
- Ray fleck present on quartersawn faces but finer than white oak
- Straight grain, coarse texture, very large open earlywood pores that run continuously along the grain. Light to mid brown with a distinct reddish cast.
Lavorazione
Come si lavora
Produces good results with hand and machine tools and it glues and finishes well. It blunts cutters moderately as all oaks do. The dimensional stability is described in the cited source as mediocre, so it moves more than its numbers alone suggest. The very large open pores require substantial grain filling for any smooth finish, more than European oak needs.
Finitura
Takes stain and finish well and is frequently stained to imitate more expensive species, which it does convincingly. The large open pores need heavy grain filling for a smooth surface. The reddish cast can fight a warm stain and go orange, so test on an offcut. Tannins react with iron exactly as in the European oaks, so brass or stainless fittings only.
Essiccazione
Dries reasonably but shares the oak family requirement for a slow schedule, and it is prone to checking and honeycomb if pushed. Volumetric shrinkage of 13.7 percent with tangential at 8.6 against radial at 4.0 percent gives a wide ratio, so flatsawn boards cup. The cited source specifically notes mediocre dimensional stability in service, which is worth weighing against European oak for anything that must stay flat.
Quanto si muoverà?
Il legno si gonfia e si ritira in larghezza al variare dell’umidità dell’aria. Stima il movimento stagionale di un piano in Red Oak prima di progettare i fissaggi.
Movimento stagionale previsto
circa 9,8 mm
Fissa il piano con nottolini o staffe asolate, non con colla o viti serrate.
Modello di ritiro lineare: larghezza × (ritiro ÷ 28 % di saturazione delle fibre) × variazione stagionale dell’umidità. Usa un ritiro tangenziale del 8,6 % per Red Oak. È una stima di progetto, non una garanzia.
Quanto costa
Sicurezza e provenienza
- Coltivato fuori dall’Europa e importato tramite depositi europei.
- Stato nella Lista rossa IUCN: la valutazione globale dello stato di conservazione di questa specie.
Oak is a documented sensitiser and reactions usually include eye and skin irritation. Severe reactions are rare. Repeated exposure to oak dust carries elevated nasal cancer risk, so extraction is not optional in a production setting.
Leggi la guida completaNote approfondite su marezzatura, variazione del colore, lavorazione e stabilità.
What Red Oak actually is#
Quercus rubra is the most commercially important hardwood in the United States and has been planted across Europe since the eighteenth century. European grown material is now common enough in the EU market that buying it does not necessarily mean importing from North America, which matters for both documentation and carbon.
It is harder than European oak, stiffer than European oak, and cheaper than European oak. It is also, in one specific and consequential way, a fundamentally different material.
The pores, which decide everything#
In white oak and the European oaks, the large earlywood pores are plugged with tyloses, balloon like ingrowths that seal the vessels. In red oak they are not. The pores run open and continuous along the grain.
The old demonstration is to take a short length of red oak, dip one end in soapy water and blow through the other. Bubbles come out. You cannot do that with white oak.
Everything practical about this species follows from that:
It was never used for barrels, because it will not hold liquid. It is rated non-durable to perishable with poor insect resistance, so it has no business outdoors. It is recorded in this catalogue as not food safe, unlike the European oaks, because open pores hold moisture and residue that a closed grain wood does not. And it needs far more grain filler than European oak to reach a smooth finish.
Domande degli acquirenti
Domande degli acquirenti
Why is Red Oak not suitable for outdoor use or barrels?
Its earlywood pores are very large and run continuously along the grain, so the wood behaves like a bundle of straws. Liquid passes straight through it, which is why white oak was always the cooperage timber and red oak never was. Combined with a decay rating of non-durable to perishable and poor insect resistance, it should be treated as an interior wood only.
Is Red Oak harder than European Oak?
Yes, measurably. It is 5,430 N on the Janka scale against 4,980 N for European oak, and its elastic modulus of 12.14 GPa is higher too. Hardness is not the reason to prefer European oak; durability, stability and colour are.
Is it safe for a cutting board?
KORENA records it as not food safe, and that is a deliberate distinction from the European oaks. The very large open pores hold moisture and food residue in a way closed grain species do not, and the wood is rated non-durable. For food contact choose hard maple or a similarly dense closed grain species.
How do I tell it from European Oak?
Proprietà meccaniche
Dati tecnici
Valori di riferimento pubblicati. Quando le fonti non concordano, viene mostrato l’intervallo e il valore tipico è usato per le scale sopra.
| Densità (kg/m³)Massa per metro cubo con circa il 12 % di umidità. In genere, un legno più pesante è anche più duro e resistente. | 700 kg/m³ |
|---|---|
| Durezza Janka (N)Forza necessaria per spingere una sfera d’acciaio fino a metà nel legno. È la misura standard della resistenza alle ammaccature. | 5,430 N |
| MOR: modulo di rottura (MPa)Resistenza alla flessione: il carico al quale una trave si rompe. | 99 MPa |
| MOE: modulo elastico (GPa)Rigidità alla flessione: quanto si incurva una mensola o un piano sotto carico. | 12.1 GPa |
| Ritiro radialeRitiro trasversale agli anelli di crescita, dal legno verde a quello anidro. È il movimento delle tavole a taglio radiale. | 4.0 % |
| Ritiro tangenzialeRitiro lungo gli anelli di crescita. È il movimento delle tavole a taglio tangenziale e della maggior parte delle tavole KORENA. |
