Quercus cerris

Turkey Oak

Harder than European oak and considerably cheaper, for one reason: it is difficult to dry. Buy it already stable and it is a bargain.

Få besked när det kommer inReferensträslag. Inga plankor i lager just nu.

Passar det ditt projekt?

Passar bra för

Rustic tabletops
Flooring
Interior joinery
Cladding under cover
Decorative slabs

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Få besked om Turkey Oak

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Träets utseende

Så ser det ut

Denser and harder than either European oak, with a coarser and more open texture. Colour is a light to mid brown, generally plainer and less olive than Quercus robur, with wide rays that produce a bold but less silvery fleck on quartersawn faces. Its reputation in the trade is poor, earned by a strong tendency to check and distort in drying rather than by any weakness in the finished wood.

Light to mid brown, plainer than European oak
Coarse open texture with very wide rays
Bold but less silvery ray fleck on quartersawn faces
Straight grain, coarse open texture with very wide rays. Light to mid brown, plainer than European oak, with a bold but less silvery quartersawn fleck.

Bearbetning

Så bearbetas det

Works similarly to the American oaks according to the source cited here. It is harder and denser than Quercus robur, so it blunts cutters faster and demands more power in the cut, but it machines cleanly once dry and stable. The very wide rays can lift on a quartersawn face if the cut is heavy. Grain filler is needed for a smooth finish given the coarse open pores.

Ytbehandling

Takes stain and finish much as other oaks do, and the plainer colour actually accepts stain more evenly than the olive cast of European oak. The coarse open pores need filling for a smooth surface. The same tannin and iron reaction applies as in every oak, so brass or stainless fittings only and no steel wool.

Torkning

This is the species specific problem and the reason Turkey Oak is cheap. It is markedly prone to checking, honeycombing and severe distortion during drying, considerably worse than Quercus robur or petraea, and volumetric shrinkage at 16 percent is the highest of any hardwood KORENA lists. Tangential shrinkage of 10 percent against 6 percent radial compounds it. Slowly air dried stock that has already stabilised is the only version of this timber worth buying.

Hur mycket kommer det att röra sig?

Trä sväller och krymper över bredden när luften blir fuktigare och torrare. Beräkna årstidsrörelsen hos en skiva i Turkey Oak innan du utformar infästningarna.

Skivans bredd800 mm

Sågsätt

Miljön där den ska stå

Förväntad årstidsrörelse

cirka 11,4 mm

Fäst skivan med sargar eller beslag med spår, inte med lim eller hårt åtdragna skruvar.

Linjär krympningsmodell: bredd × (krympning ÷ 28 % fibermättnad) × årstidsvariation i fuktkvot. Använder 10 % tangentiell krympning för Turkey Oak. Ett planeringsvärde, inte en garanti.

Vad det kostar

Säkerhet och inköp

Oak is a documented sensitiser, with reactions typically including eye and skin irritation and asthma-like symptoms. Repeated exposure to oak dust carries elevated nasal cancer risk, so extraction is not optional in a production setting.
Quercus cerris is the oak of southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, dominant through the Balkans, Hungary, Italy and Turkey. It grows fast on poor dry soils where the northern oaks struggle, and it has been planted widely outside its range. Balkan sourced material is common and inexpensive in the EU market.

Läs hela guidenFördjupning om ådring, färgförändring, bearbetning och stabilitet.

What Turkey Oak actually is#

Quercus cerris is the oak of southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. It dominates through the Balkans, Hungary, Italy and Turkey, growing fast on poor dry soils where the northern oaks struggle, and it has been planted well outside that range.

It has a poor reputation in the trade, and that reputation is worth understanding precisely, because it is only half deserved. The finished wood is not inferior. At 720 kg per cubic metre it is denser than European oak, and its modulus of rupture of 114.3 MPa is well above the 97.1 MPa of sessile oak. The problem is entirely in getting it from log to stable board.

The drying problem, which is the whole story#

Turkey Oak checks, honeycombs and distorts during drying far more readily than Quercus robur or petraea.

The numbers explain why. Volumetric shrinkage is 16 percent, the highest of any hardwood in this catalogue. Tangential shrinkage of 10 percent against 6 percent radial gives a ratio that guarantees flatsawn boards will cup hard. Combine high total movement with a wide differential and a fast schedule, and the wood tears itself apart.

A significant proportion of what is cut degrades before it becomes usable timber, and the price of the survivors carries that loss. That is why Turkey Oak is cheap.

The practical consequence for a buyer is simple and important: the risk lives in the drying, not in the service life. A slab that has already been slowly dried and has stabilised is a hard, dense, durable board at a fraction of European oak money. A slab that was rushed is firewood that has not finished failing yet.

Köparnas frågor

Frågor som köpare ställer

Why is Turkey Oak so much cheaper than European Oak?

Not because the finished wood is weaker. It is denser and harder than Quercus robur. The discount reflects how badly it behaves in drying: it checks, honeycombs and distorts far more readily, and volumetric shrinkage at 16 percent is the highest of any hardwood in this catalogue. A large proportion of what is cut degrades before it is usable, and the price carries that loss.

Is the Janka figure reliable?

It is published as an estimate derived from specific gravity rather than a measured test, and KORENA records it that way in the source note on the species record. Treat 5,340 N as indicative. It places Turkey Oak above European oak at 4,980 N, which matches its higher density of 720 kg per cubic metre, but it is not a laboratory measurement.

Can I use it for a tabletop?

Yes, provided the slab is already properly dried and stable. Buy air dried stock that has had time to settle rather than freshly kilned material, check the measured moisture value on the listing, and let it acclimatise in the room before flattening. Once through drying it is a hard, durable surface. The risk is entirely in the drying, not the service life.

How does the figure compare with European Oak?

Mekaniska egenskaper

Tekniska data

Publicerade referensvärden. När källorna skiljer sig åt visas intervallet och det typiska värdet används i skalorna ovan.

Densitet (kg/m³)	720 kg/m³
Janka-hårdhet (N)	5,340 N
MOR: böjhållfasthet (MPa)	114 MPa
MOE: elasticitetsmodul (GPa)	10.8 GPa
Radiell krympning	6.0 %
Tangentiell krympning	10.0 %

Not listed in the CITES Appendices, and reported by the source KORENA cites as not assessed on the IUCN Red List, so no IUCN status is shown rather than one being assumed. It is abundant and fast growing across southeastern Europe and is often treated as a low value species, which makes it both inexpensive and easy to source with documentation.

So buy stable stock. Prefer air dried material that has had time to settle over freshly kilned. Check the measured moisture value on the listing rather than trusting a description, and let the slab acclimatise in its final room before flattening.

Reading a Turkey Oak slab#

Colour is a light to mid brown, plainer and straighter than European oak, without the olive cast of robur. Texture is coarse and the pores are large and open.

The rays are very wide, wider than in the other oaks here, and on a quartersawn face they produce a bold fleck. It reads differently from the fine silvery ribbon of sessile oak: larger, more assertive, less lustrous. Whether that is better is a matter of taste, but they are not the same figure and one will not pass for the other.

Inspect the end grain for honeycomb, look along the length for cupping and twist, and check for surface checks. On this species those defects are common enough that they should be assumed present until ruled out.

The cited source describes it as working similarly to the American oaks. It is harder and denser than European oak, so it blunts cutters faster and asks more of a machine, but a dry stable board machines cleanly.

The very wide rays can lift on a quartersawn face under a heavy cut. Lighter passes and sharp tooling handle it.

As with all oak, the coarse open pores need a grain filler if a smooth surface is the goal, and the tannin content means iron contact produces blue black staining. Brass or stainless fittings only, no steel wool, and no steel clamp bars left on damp work.

A note on the hardness figure#

The Janka value shown for this species, 5,340 N, is published as an estimate derived from specific gravity rather than a measured laboratory test, and KORENA records that qualification in the source note on the species record rather than presenting the number bare.

Treat it as indicative. It places Turkey Oak above European oak, which is consistent with its higher density, but it is not the same class of evidence as a measured value.

It takes stain and finish much as other oaks do, and the plainer, less olive colour actually accepts stain more evenly than European oak, which can go muddy under a warm tone.

Grain filler for a smooth surface, standard oak finishing otherwise.

Where Turkey Oak is the right answer#

Rustic tabletops, flooring, interior joinery, cladding under cover, and decorative slabs where a hard dense oak is wanted and the budget will not carry European oak. At decay class 2 it is durable, so protected exterior use is reasonable.

It is the wrong answer if you are buying unseasoned or freshly kilned stock, if the project cannot absorb the risk of movement, or if the classic silvery quartersawn fleck of European oak is specifically what the design calls for.

Not listed in the CITES Appendices, and reported by the cited source as not assessed on the IUCN Red List, so no IUCN status is displayed rather than one being inferred.

It is abundant and fast growing across southeastern Europe and is often treated as a low value species locally, which makes it both inexpensive and straightforward to source with proper documentation. Balkan sourced material is common in the EU market, and KORENA listings record the originating yard and region.

Plainer overall. The colour is a straighter light to mid brown without the olive cast of Quercus robur, and while the rays are very wide, the quartersawn fleck reads bolder but less silvery. If you want the classic silvery ray fleck, sessile oak delivers it better.

Does it stain black on contact with iron?

Yes, exactly as every oak does. Tannins react with iron to form a blue black stain. Use brass or stainless fittings, keep steel wool away, and do not leave steel clamp bars in contact with a damp glue-up.

Naturlig beständighet (EN 350)	Class 2 — Durable

Källor

The Wood Database — Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris). Janka value published as estimated from specific gravity, not measured.(hämtad 2026-08-12)
Meier, E. — WOOD! Identifying and Using Hundreds of Woods Worldwide (2015)(hämtad 2026-08-12)

Styrkor

Tänk på

Tryck på en etikett för mer information.

I korthet

HårdhetMedelhårt

Janka: 5 340 N

7 % hårdare än europeisk ek

ViktMycket tung

720 kg/m³

StabilitetRör sig mycket

16,0 % volymkrympning

BearbetningMåttligt

3,7 / 5 i genomsnitt vid bänken

UtomhusbrukUtomhus

EN 350 klass 2

Vad virke i Turkey Oak säljs för i Europa just nu, per kubikmeter före moms. Tryck på ett pris för mer information.

Vanliga stockar per land

Varför kostar en planka mer än detta?

Detta är priser på råvirke. En planka är det bästa snittet ur en stock, torkat i minst ett år och därefter kontrollerat och uppmätt planka för planka. Bara en liten del av varje stock blir en planka.

Källa: KORENA Timber Index · Senaste uppgifter 24 sep. 2026

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