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Thread: Red oak blues

  1. #1
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    Red oak blues

    I’m working on a little stay at home project using some nice straight grained red oak I’ve had in my stash for 10 years. I love lots of things about oak. QSWO is about my most favorite wood. Why does this stuff need to be so miserable to work with hand tools? It’s like working with freaking concrete sometimes. I’m thinking I need to develop an affinity for cherry.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  2. #2
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    Rob, are you saying you don't enjoy working with red oak, that you find it too hard for comfort? Or is there some other aspect of it that doesn't appeal to you?

    I use quartersawn red oak quite a bit (I tend to fume the pieces before finish) and I find white oak to be harder, but 90% of my woodworking is with power tools.

  3. #3
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    Which process is consternating?

    I find chopping Red Oak brutal, but the local stuff planes and saws beautifully. I wouldn't want to cut fine dovetails in it, but otherwise it's workable.

  4. #4
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    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Matthews View Post
    Which process is consternating?

    I find chopping Red Oak brutal
    I would imagine that it's a great analgesic after a long day of office politics.

  6. #6
    There is a lot of variation in red oak. Part of the reason is that a number of different species are dumped into the red oak lumber designation. Here in Pennsylvania we have red oak, black oak, willow oak, scarlet oak, pin oak, and occasionally laurel oak and southern red oak. ( We have a number of species in the white oak group also.) And even within a species there is some variation based on growth rate and other factors. These differences are a little more noticeable when working by hand. I think pin oak is the worst.

  7. #7
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    My wife loves oak. That being said, over the years I worked my fair share. One piece works beautifully the next piece is awful. Warren is right on about species in the mix. A person I worked under years ago called it pallet wood. He opinion was that it sometimes had dual or triple “trunks” and was loaded with a kind of disguised reaction wood. It does help you learn the meaning of sharp because of grain patterns. After the first 20 years I kinda got the hang of it. One piece works like eastern white pine the next works like some of Derek’s stone wood. A surprise in every piece.

  8. #8
    It splits easily and is resistant to compression, so it’s Hard on joinery.

  9. #9
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    Kiln dried or air dried? It makes a big difference when using hand tools. How are your sharpening skills?
    Life's too short to use old sandpaper.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gibney View Post
    Rob, are you saying you don't enjoy working with red oak, that you find it too hard for comfort? Or is there some other aspect of it that doesn't appeal to you?

    I use quartersawn red oak quite a bit (I tend to fume the pieces before finish) and I find white oak to be harder, but 90% of my woodworking is with power tools.
    Just grousing. QSWO is one of my all time favorites. It's a bear to work with but I love the look. I've done a couple projects recently with finer grained and relatively softer woods (cherry, maple) and really got used to how well they worked. Marking is easy, with knife lines are crisp and deep. Paring with a chisel is a joy. Shifting back to oak just took some of the fun out of it

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Matthews View Post
    Which process is consternating? I find chopping Red Oak brutal, but the local stuff planes and saws beautifully. I wouldn't want to cut fine dovetails in it, but otherwise it's workable.
    It saws and planes just fine. This project has a number of hand cut dovetails. These aren't my strong suit to begin with. Cutting a decent knife line is like trying to scribe stone. Glad I learned Mike Peckovich's Blue Tape Trick. Chopping and trimming the waste is a pain. The silver lining here is it's forcing me to be that much more precise on my saw cuts.

    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    It splits easily and is resistant to compression, so it’s Hard on joinery.
    This. Brittle and splits easily, especially around dovetails.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Glenn View Post
    Kiln dried or air dried? It makes a big difference when using hand tools. How are your sharpening skills?
    Kiln first, then 10+ years in my arid basement shop. Sharpening skills are awesome actually. That's one element of my skill set that is exceptionally well honed (pun intended). It's discouraging when a chisel that cuts cherry like soap is brought to bear on hard stringy oak and the whole dynamic changes.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

  11. #11
    Is the aroma of oak that makes working with it such a pleasure. Whether chopping planing or burning. It's smells like wood should smell. Pinch a saw blade and it stinks $0.02

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by kent wardecke View Post
    Is the aroma of oak that makes working with it such a pleasure. Whether chopping planing or burning. It's smells like wood should smell. Pinch a saw blade and it stinks $0.02
    For some pieces of oak this is true. Then you get a piece of pi$$ oak. That reeks to high heaven even when you burn it.

  13. #13
    Broadly speaking, most white oak smells creamy and almost like it could be coffee. Read oak smells of vinegar, which is why people think it reminds them of ketchup, urine, or feet.

  14. #14
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    This thread is making me love cherry even more.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Prashun Patel View Post
    Broadly speaking, most white oak smells creamy and almost like it could be coffee. Read oak smells of vinegar, which is why people think it reminds them of ketchup, urine, or feet.
    I love the smell of White Oak. I use scraps in my smoker for BBQ Brisket. I've used toasted White Oak chips to flavor home brewed beer too. The Red Oaks I've cut down on my property usually smell sour.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

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