Questions about Oak

[Doug Herzberg]

I was back in Iowa for the weekend and learned about an oak that was taken down about two weeks ago. Most of the pieces were too large for me to lift, but I managed to get a load of the smaller stuff.

From what I've read here:

a. Oak tends to check a lot.
b. As a result I should plan to turn mostly from green to finish and still be prepared for disappointments.

Questions:

a. This appears to have some kind of fungal staining in a radial pattern. Also the bark is loose and shows some signs of a boring insect in the cambium layer. You can see some loose bark in the close up photo. I moistened it to make the stains more visible. Does anyone recognize this? Have I transported a dangerous pest across state lines?

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b. Some of the pieces have a lot of branch inclusions. I'm tempted to try something endgrain which would put the branches in a pattern around the sidewalls of the vessel, much like people do with NIP. Am I just asking for trouble?

c. I'm assuming this is red oak. The sapwood is white, but the heartwood is dark.

I figure it's good firewood if it isn't good turning wood, but I'll appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[Doug Herzberg]

More questions:

Should I cut out the pith and seal the ends to buy more time for turning? That's my plan.

How long can I put it off before checking becomes an issue?

[Prashun Patel]

Checking can become an issue within hours or days with oak. I would cut the pith out and Anchorseal it immediately.

I've had luck twice-turning oak. Just drench the roughout in Anchorseal and possibly brown bag it for the first couple weeks. Inspect for tiny cracks, and fill them with CA when/if they happen.

My 'win' rate with oak is about 50/50. If the cracked stuff is still pretty, I'll turn it to completion, anyway.

[Richard Coers]

You sure that's oak? I don't see any medulary rays on the end grain, but it is a chainsaw cut. I've never seen oak with a red color to the bark either, but I sure ain't seen all the oaks that there are. Knots in oak is an almost certain checking issue. Turning from green to finish would be the only way I would try it. No idea about the pests identity, but I would worry about bringing them into the house, both while turning, and when it's sitting on the shelf.

[John Beaver]

The piece in the back against these at looks like oak. I've never see oak like the other logs.
Oak does check quickly, and worms love it. Cut pith out quickly, even better rough turn quickly. Like Prashun, I seal outside with anchor seal and bag for a while. I have had tons of success with this method. It tends to warp like crazy so leave a little extra meat. If you turn green to finish be prepared for movement. Try to center log and you can get some great rays and patterns.

[Doug Herzberg]

You sure that's oak?

Pretty sure. I saw some larger pieces that had been ripped by the tree cutters. Classic oak slab cathedral arch grain patterns. I have one up on the lathe now, very open grain. With the staining, it looks a lot like the beetle killed pine I've been working with.

Got called away, no heat in an apartment building, but I'll try to take another picture and post later.

[Roger Chandler]

I concur......cut the pith out, and get them sealed........turn to rough size soon, and then seal again with AS, wrap with newspaper and put in a paper bag to dry slowly! You could use a DNA soak as well.......but also wrap and place in a bag to finish dry slowly. I usually weigh mine at bagging then about every week until it stops loosing weight........should be stable enough to finish turn then.

[Steve Doerr]

Doug,
I have done a lot of oak and have many pieces with the black stain and the "grubs" that stay in the cambium layer. I use paraffin instead of Anchor Seal to seal the ends. Yes, oak will check on you. However, I have found that filling the cracks with granular Inlacy turquoise and CA adds some real character to the turning. I find the women really like the turquoise and the pieces sell very quickly. I have turned green to finish and have had some unique warping take place. I have also rough turned and soak in DNA and then wrapped in paper. Like Roger I weight and then finish turn when it has reached equilibrium. I have also used the stained oak to make pen blanks, The pens turn out very nice, with lots of pretty grain and color. The oak that I have had the stain in, usually comes from oak trees that are 50+ years old. The knots in the sides will crack, but again I have filled with CA and turquoise and it looks good. I have attached some pictures so that you can see what I have done with it.
Happy turning,
Steve
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[Philip Duffy]

--- what Roger and Steve said. My white oak bowls and pens are just plane wonderful to look at and to use. Philip

[Doug Herzberg]

The piece in the back against these at looks like oak. I've never see oak like the other logs.


John, you called it. There were two stumps there. I was told they were oak, they are in the middle of an oak and walnut forest just off Oak Street, I saw oak, and then I just started picking up all the logs I could lift. The reason some of them look like beetle killed pine is that they ARE beetle killed pine. I have got to start paying attention.

Steve, those are some beautiful pieces. I hope I can do as well.

Thanks everyone.

[Thomas Canfield]

The beatle killed pine turned thin endgrain and soaked with a oil mix will make a dramatic piece. There are a large number of lims that can produce eye like features and somewhat similar to Norfolk Island Pine. On the oak, I agree that you need to liberally cut the pith out of it and seal it for twice turning.

[Baxter Smith]

Good luck with the oak. At this time of year, you could probably put the cut up up blanks in garbage bags and leave outside and out of the sun. As long as they are sealed and cold, they should last through the winter without checking.

[Sid Matheny]

Oak.... The most wonderful wood I hate to turn. When things go right it can make some wonderful turnings. But I have had so much oak turn ugly from checking, cracking and at times hard to get a good finish on. Not my pick of woods although it can be an eye catching project. I don't turn much down anyway!

Sid

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I have turned a bit of both Red and White Oak, I didn't have much problem with the Oak I used, the main thing is to turn it fresh and to make sure there are no splits in it before you start turning, hard to see often, so taking very thin slices off the end of the blanks and carefully bending it will show if there's any splits, keep cutting till there isn't any splits showing anymore.

Turn it in one session and place in a brown paper bag immediately, bag goes in a cool place with no draft etc.

Outcome shown below :) , I have a bunch more pictures :D

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[Steve Peterson]

I have cut up a few 8-10" diameter white or live oak logs and have learned a few things.

If it was cut in the summer, then it is probably more likely to crack. I have had better luck with trees fallen in the winter. I have even found a tree that fell about 2 winters ago and I only recently cut it up. One log had a pie shaped rotten section that apparently allowed the rest of the wood to dry without much cracking. It has a lot of bug holes, but otherwise has a really nice color. About 10' of the tree was like this. The rest was full of cracks.

If you make a bowl from half a log (like Leo's Oak5.jpg) then it may crack near the pith. I find that 1/4" thick bowls still have enough strength to hold together quite nicely even with a few cracks. I try to work some epoxy into the crack and keep turning.

It is easy to turn green and may spray you with a bit of water. It becomes hard as a rock when it is dry.

Steve

[Doug Herzberg]

Leo, those look great. I am encouraged. I roughed a couple and wrapped them in plastic and put them in the fridge "kiln." Will try to get out an seal them, too, just to slow it down a little more. I wish now I had fired up the saw and cut up some of the larger pieces, but it was 6:30 am in a residential area of my hometown. Wouldn't have been prudent.

Thanks again, everyone, for the advice. I forgot about the rust on the ways. Boy, that was quick. Add that to my to do list.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Doug, plastic is not a good idea, you will get mildew, as you don't want to stop the evaporation/drying all together, just too slow it down so that the inner water can keep up with and move at the speed the outside water is evaporating.

The brown paper bag will let the moisture from the evaporation inside the bag slowly escape, this will prevent the stresses that would build up when wood dries too fast on the outside.

Cool place with no drafts and heating is what you need, if the fridge has that, then you're all set, good luck.