Shingle Oak

[Jim Baker]

I have a shingle oak log available to me to be cut into lumber if I want it. I understand that it is a type of red oak. Does anyone know if shingle oak lumber is comparable to "regular" red oak?

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Jim, the Shingle Oak is very comparable to Red Oak. Although it is not harvested at readily as Red Oak for lumber, most Lumber Buyers will show an interest in large log trees. The wood is mostly indistinguishable from Red Oak, (Quercus Rubra) after it is sawn. The Shingle Oak, (Quercus Imbricaria) gets it's common name, the Shingle Oak, from the fact that early settlers found that the wood could be split very easily, like Red Oak, and was valued for that charactaristic for Shakes, or Shingles. So, now you know where the common name for the tree was derived from. If the log is of good size, by all means have it sawn for lumber. (Just some more mostly useless information stuck in my brain from years of Horticultural Schooling!) :D

[Jim Baker]

Kevin,

Thanks for the help, Kevin.

Isn't it interesting how often that "useless information" we learned in high school and college is starting to become more valuable? As I look back, I wish I had taken a few horticulture classes while I was at the U of I.

[Rob Russell]

Save yourself some time. You need to seal the ends of the boards with Sealcoat or something similar to prevent checking. It's easiest to seal the 2 ends of the log before you cut it up. Going back afterwards is far more time consuming, messy and a waste of the product that ends up dripping on the ground and not on the wood.