Pin Oak

[Steve Trauthwein]

Any one ever turn any pin oak? There is some free stuff in the area and I was wondering if it is worth going after.

Regards, Steve

[Jeff Nicol]

Steve, Here in Wisconsin we have tons of the stuff!! It is also called black oak by the loggers. It is a member of the red oak family and looks like red oak. It just has lots of little limbs on it and they will sprout out all over. That is where the pin oak name comes from. I use it all the time and get some nice lumber and lots of nice turnings out of it as it will have more crotch wood than a true straight and tall red oak. Free is free so have fun with it.

Jeff

[Belton Garvin]

I recently turned a hollow form from it. Beautiful wood! Turn as much as possible while green, It gets really hard once dry. I some small cracks during drying but was able to stop them with a little CA glue. Take your time if finishing with oil, it will soak up into the open fibers common to oak and won't dry completely. I used an air hose in the opening to blow the excess oil back out of fibers.

[Jim Underwood]

I turned some platters out of a crotch piece not too long ago. I can't wait til they dry and I finish them up. It sure looked pretty in the rough...

If you think Red Oak is hard stuff when dry, sharpen your tools....:p

I once saw Stuart Batty turn one of his signature long, thin stemmed goblets out of some kiln dried red oak once. Didn't even need to sand it...:rolleyes:

[David Hostetler]

It's free. Make sure there's no metal in it, chuck it up and get after it. You'll know pretty quick if you don't like turning it... If not, it certainly works well in a fireplace...