American Oak Wood (White Oak)

About White Oak

At White Knight Consulting Ltd, our American Oak timber wood is sourced from trusted partners and manufacturers. We are engaged in the processing of harvested Oak wood logs and supply Oak sawn timber to our customers all over the world. Our premium quality White Oak is liked and trusted by wood merchants, carpenters, furniture makers and builders all over the country (UK) and in many parts of the world. We have oak timber available in many dimensions and varieties: planed all round, oak beams, timber, decking, cut to size, skirting, external cladding, flooring, and more. Our lumber comes ready to use for a vast range of applications.

Description

American Oak, also called White Oak, is primarily sourced from the Eastern United States, where it grows everywhere from Ontario to Southern Quebec, Iowa, the Atlantic and eastern Minnesota. Oak hails from the Quercus genus, which produces more than two hundred species of oak, including the famous European Oak. Quercus alba is the scientific name given to European Oak. Oak trees are about 20-25 m tall and have a 1-1.2 m trunk diameter. The average dried weight of European Oak is 755 kg/m3 and it has a Janka rating of 1,350 lbf (5,990 N), which indicates that the wood is both strong and hard. It is a very durable wood and is particularly preferred for boatbuilding due to its outstanding resistance to decay.

American Oak has a light to medium brown coloured heartwood, while the sapwood is almost white to light brown and not always distinguishable from the heartwood. The presence of an olive cast in the heartwood is common. Ray fleck patterns can be observed in a quarterly sawn oak piece. The wood grain is generally straight and the texture is coarse and uneven. It is rated as very durable and has good resistance to decay, which makes it suitable for marine applications such as boatbuilding. Oak dries slowly and may be prone to split, check and honeycombing.

Uses

Oak is easy to work with both hand and machine tools. It can sometimes cause staining or lose colour when in contact with iron, though it stains, glues, bends (steam-bending), and finishes rather well. White Oak is widely grown and easily available throughout the US in a wide range of widths and dimensions. The price is rather low for locally-grown timber, but imported wood can be more expensive. Because of its high durability and decay resistance, Oak is suitable for both marine and exterior applications, such as flooring, barrels and boatbuilding. It is also extensively used for furniture making, veneers, cabinetry, and interior trim, among other things.