Red Oak or White Oak

[Paul Snowden]

I'm planning out some closet built ins and my wife wants them to be the same as our floors. I'm pretty sure they're White Oak but before buying six sheets of veneered plywood I thought I would get a second opinion.


219273

219274

[Andrew Hughes]

Looks like red to me Paul.The only way to be sure is by looking at the end grain red has a open cell.White is closed.You may need a magnifier if your eyes are as bad as mine.Look for small holes like pores.

[Darrin Davis]

I've worked with red oak and white oak every day of my life for the last ten years. Red oak has a pinkish color to it while white oak is a light tannish brown color. The pictures you've provided don't really provide enough detail to tell.
219279219280

[Kent A Bathurst]

Would be easier to tell with a couple of close-up shots - especially photo #2, the three darkish boards in the bottom left-hand corner, and photo #2 the pair of boards in the bottom dead-center - the left one of the pair has dark wood on the left-most 2/3, and lighter sapwood on the right 1/3.

To be honest, Paul, it looks more like RO to me - coarser grain - but I'm not promising anything for now.

Also, IIRC, RO is much more common for flooring, but that doesn't mean anything in your specific situation.

[Scott T Smith]

Based upon the course grain, it appears to be RO to me as well. Hi res close up pix would help.

If you want to be 100% sure, find a spot where you can either sand the finish off or remove the finish with a spade bit (such as the corner inside a closet), and put a drop of 5% Sodium Nitrite solution on it. If it turns a dark, chocolate / purplish brown, it's white oak. A light tan/brown is RO. This test is 100% accurate.

I can send you some powder to mix if you need it.

Scott

[Todd Burch]

The second picture shows a couple quarter sawn boards, but that (from this angle) is inconclusive.

More pictures please - closer up, and perhaps without a warm incandescent light.

I do see tell-tale signs of red oak streaking (mineral staining). I'm going with red oak.

[Kevin Godshall]

If you can get a piece of scrap from somewhere, burn it against your sander. White oak has a noticeably different smell then red.

[Prashun Patel]

I don't know that it'll matter much.

However, note that a wide swath of flatsawn oak grain on a cabinet face or shelf has a far different visual effect and appeal than in narrow, random strips on a floor. Make sure yr parents want it prominent like that. If you want a a less pronounced grain pattern, then I humbly submit that another fine choice would be birch plywood. You should be able to get a reasonable color match with an amber top coat over a dye.

[Kent A Bathurst]

And, if you decide to go with the RO ply..........I strongly recommend the few extra bucks per sheet to get flatsawn ply, rather than rotary....rotary always looks weird to me. But - if you are cutting it into chunks, like for cabinet sides, the rotary effect disappears.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Based upon the course grain, it appears to be RO to me as well. Hi res close up pix would help.

If you want to be 100% sure, find a spot where you can either sand the finish off or remove the finish with a spade bit (such as the corner inside a closet), and put a drop of 5% Sodium Nitrite solution on it. If it turns a dark, chocolate / purplish brown, it's white oak. A light tan/brown is RO. This test is 100% accurate.

I can send you some powder to mix if you need it.

Scott

No foolin. Huh. I learn something every time you post, Scott...............

thanks for the expertise,

Kent

[Mike Monroe]

Looks like my floor, which is red oak.

[michael case]

Looks like white to me - lots of brown, but its a photo.

[ed vitanovec]

I read once to tell Red Oak from White Oak is to take a piece and dip one end grain side in water and blow from the opposite end, if you make bubbles its Red Oak. If I have this backwards someone tell me I wrong, Red Oak is more porus.

[Gary Pennington]

I've used the info in this link to ID a pile of what was suposed to be QSWO:

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Distinguishing_White_Oak_from_Red.html

Here's a pic copied from that page, red oak is on top. The capilliaries are dramatically larger in red oak and easily visible without magnification.

219421

Gary

[Danny Hamsley]

If it is this hard for you to tell whether it is red oak or white oak, what does it matter? Decide what you think it is, tell your wife that you are 100% sure, and go with it!

Scott,

I have never done that test, but I need to try it!

[Larry Browning]

If it is this hard for you to tell whether it is red oak or white oak, what does it matter? Decide what you think it is, tell your wife that you are 100% sure, and go with it!


+1 for this answer! At the end of the day it really does not matter. You should be able to pretty well match the color of the floor with either. Around here RO is quite a bit cheaper than WO and eaiser to find as well.

I have a chest of drawers in our bedroom that I made with a mix or red and white oak. Only a real expert could tell which parts are which.

[Scott T Smith]

I read once to tell Red Oak from White Oak is to take a piece and dip one end grain side in water and blow from the opposite end, if you make bubbles its Red Oak. If I have this backwards someone tell me I wrong, Red Oak is more porus.

Ed, that is correct *most* of the time; however there are a few species of white oak (I recall three) that are also open pored (Chestnut oak being one of them).

[Scott T Smith]

If it is this hard for you to tell whether it is red oak or white oak, what does it matter? Decide what you think it is, tell your wife that you are 100% sure, and go with it!

Scott,

I have never done that test, but I need to try it!

It's a great way to be 100% sure. Sometimes it's hard to tell just by looking....

[Curt Harms]

And, if you decide to go with the RO ply..........I strongly recommend the few extra bucks per sheet to get flatsawn ply, rather than rotary....rotary always looks weird to me. But - if you are cutting it into chunks, like for cabinet sides, the rotary effect disappears.

I agree with flat sawn plywood vs. rotary cut. Rotary cut can have large cathedral grain which is pretty distinctive. Flat sawn ply can look like solid wood to the casual observer. Of course you're unlikely to get flat sawn ply at a borg for $39/sheet.