Other names: Northern Red Oak, Southern Red Oak, Spanish Oak, Swamp Red Oak, Cherrybark Oak, Shumard Red Oak
Latin names: Quercus rubra, Quercus falcata, Quercus falcata, Quercus shumardii
Family: Fagaceae
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| American Red Oak |
The heartwood is non-durable and liable to insect attack; it resembles other Oaks with a biscuit to pink colour with a reddish tinge. American Red Oak is mostly straight grained and coarse textured, with a less attractive figure than White Oak due to smaller rays. The Southern Red Oak has a more rapid growth than Northern Red Oak and is also harder, heavier and with coarser texture.
Red Oak timber has medium bending strength and stiffness with high crushing strength and is classified as a very good steam bending wood with a weight about 770 kg/m3 (48 lb/ft3). It has a natural tendency to dry slowly, with liability to split, check or honeycomb, and needs a little care in both air drying and kiln drying process. This Oak also has a moderate blunting effect on cutters which should be always kept sharp. Nailing always requires pre-boring and has gluing properties that are variable. Final wood surface can be easily stained and polished to a good nice looking finish. It is mostly used in flooring, furniture, vehicle construction, interior joinery and plywood manufacture. As a wood veneer it is most often sliced for decorative veneers for all product ranges.
