White Oak
White Oak is a strong, hard, versatile lumber, white oak is a favorite in furniture, flooring, doors, kitchen cabinets, millwork and even railway sleepers; is strong, beautiful, rot-resistant, easy-to-work, and economical, representing an exceptional value to woodworkers. Long favored in Europe, US white oak is similar in color and appearance to European oak. The sapwood is light colored and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White oak has more figure than red oak, with a distinctive open grain and coarse texture. We offer white oak lumber from two regions, Appalachian and Glacial.
Other Common Names: Quercus alba
Sourcing Region: Eastern United States
Color, Pattern, Texture: White Oak has a light to medium brown color, commonly with an olive cast. Nearly white to light brown sapwood is not always sharply demarcated from the heartwood. Quartersawn sections display prominent ray fleck patterns; Red Oak tends to be slightly redder. Its grain is straight, with a coarse, uneven texture.
Common Uses and Applications: Cabinetry, furniture, interior trim, flooring, boatbuilding, barrels, and veneer.
Working Properties: Produces good results with hand and machine tools. Has moderately high shrinkage values, resulting in mediocre dimensional stability, especially in flatsawn boards. Can react with iron (particularly when wet) and cause staining and discoloration. Responds well to steam-bending. Glues, stains, and finishes well.
White Oak FAS, or Select and Better
The FAS grade, which derives from an original grade "First and Seconds", will provide the user with long, clear cuttings - best suited for high quality furniture, interior joinery and solid wood moldings.
Grades: FAS, Select & Better
Length and Width: Minimum board size is 6" and wider and 8' and longer. The FAS grade includes a range of boards that yield from 831⁄3% (10⁄12ths) to 100% clear-wood cuttings over the entire surface of the board. The clear cuttings must be a minimum size of 3" wide by 7' long or 4" wide by 5' long. The number of these cuttings permitted depends on the size of the board with most boards permitting one to two. The minimum width and length will vary, depending on species and whether the board is green or kiln dried. Both faces of the board must meet the minimum requirement for FAS
White Oak #1 Com
The #1 Common grade is often referred to as the Cabinet grade in the USA because of its adaptability to the standard sizes of kitchen cabinet doors used throughout the United States. #1 Com is widely used in the manufacture of furniture parts as well for this same reason.
We grade after drying and surfacing, and against all natural drying or surfacing defects (pin knot no defect).
Grades: #1 Com
Length and Width: #1 Common grades includes boards that are a minimum of 3" wide and 4' long and will yield clear face cuttings from 662⁄3% (8⁄12ths) up to, but not including, the minimum requirement for FAS (831⁄3%). The smallest clear cuttings allowed are 3" by 3' and 4" by 2'. The number of these clear cuttings is determined by the size of the board. Both faces of the board must meet the minimum requirement for #1 Common.
White Oak #2 Com
This grade is designed to yield shorter cuttings, with the best face yielding a minimum of 50% clear-face cuttings with sound backs.
Applications: Panels, drawer fronts, picture frames, toys, flooring, table leg