Need a little help here

[Michael McKenzie]

I purchased some Oak beams and plan on cutting them into flooring. Someone told me they are white oak. What is the best way to tell? They smell soar when I cut them and will this smell go away in order to use it as flooring in the house. Thanks!

[Paul Greathouse]

Michael

Are your beams freshly cut or have they been cut for several years?
If they are fresh cut, oak will have a pungent smell until it dries.
As for what is the best way to tell, you will need some samples of known species to compare to, if you are not familiar with the differences. White Oak will be a light brown color, almost a choclate appearance, when dry and Red Oak will be more red.

There is also a difference with the grain cells, that make white oak unique compared to other oak species. Thats why White Oak does better outside than other Oaks.

[Michael McKenzie]

The beams are 6x6 and have been cut for at least a year, they are weathered gray. I took the beams to a sawmill and the gentleman there told me they were white oak. He cut them into 1 inch boards and they had a strong soar smell. That has deminished some since the boards have dried some. They did not really seem wet or have a high moisture content even when he cut them for me. They look like white oak but what has me confused is I read in a thread here that white oak smelled sweet and red oak smelled soar.

[Michael Weber]

Michael, take a small piece of the wood an inch or so long and anything small enough to blow through. Straw size or so. Place on end in a glass of water and blow through the other end. If you get bubbles, it's red oak. If not it's white oak. I now this sound nuts but that's really how you can tell. Mike

[Randy Cohen]

can we get a video of this?

[Michael McKenzie]

I assume that you are speaking of the holes in the growth rings of the wood acting as straws, it does have that.

[Michael Weber]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIXZ9iYM4PA&feature=player_embedded And, I may have erred on the length of the wood to use. This SMC thread recommends a piece 12 inches long. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=920882&highlight=blow+oak&page=2

[george wilson]

Blowing through the oak is the sure way to tell red from white. White oak has sealed cells,which they used to demonstrate at the woodwright's site in Williamsburg. White oak lasts longer outdoors,because it doesn't let water run clear through it.

[Jim Andrew]

You don't have your location on your page, but here in Kansas there is a white oak variety called Burr Oak. It is almost the same color as red oak but just doesn't have the redish tint. It stains very well, looks very good natural. The sawmillers east of here call it Black oak. Have seen white oak that has an almost green tint.