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Why Oak?

3K views 27 replies 19 participants last post by  BentheViking 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi I'm new but have liked looking for some time. My question is why does everyone want things to be built out of oak? I'm thinking of starting a small shop here in Iowa to make ends meet. I've been woodworking for years but never as a business. My biggest problem is that everyone wants things made from oak until I show them that there is more and to my eye, more beautiful woods out there. When I build, I love the character of the wood and try to make it the main feature. Do all of you run into the same thing?)
 
#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Oak is plentiful, it's available, it's affordable, it's popular, it's strong, and it looks "OK". But I agree….there's got to be a piece of oak in just about every dwelling in North America! It's rarely my first choice, but sometimes it's the only choice that matches the other furniture or fixtures.
 
#4 ·
I think it is due to a lot of people liking arts and crafts or mission style furniture which is fairly simplistic and fits with a wide range of households; much of it tends to be oak or associated in people's minds with oak. Personally I find white oak to be a very uninspiring wood for me to work with though admittedly it can be interesting when quarter sawn, I also won't turn it down when it is .30 cents a BF like the last time. Red oak is nice IMHO and looks nicer finished. Cherry or apple are my preferred woods followed by maple and any number of exotics.
 
#5 ·
Around here oak a lot of time is just expensive as black walnut. What I guess what I dislike about oak is the perception people have with oak. It is not perfect but people expect it from the woodworker. When I build, I like to figure out how best to use what I have and not worry if it's perfect.
 
#7 ·
loneduck…depends on what your customers want…black walnut has the strength but not usually the highly figurement (I'd add cherry to that list as well). If people want "wild", then oak is the best choice on the cheaper domestics. If more subdued, then tell them that.

and since I am in Wisconsin, where do you find black walnut at the same price as red oak? I'm ready to start the truck!
 
#8 ·
Teejk, if you spend the time looking you can find some really amazing looking cherry with wild figure. Quarter sawn can have some interesting flecks that shimmer while flat sawn can produce amazing swirl effects to the grain. Too many people think cherry should have perfectly straight grain but I like the pieces that those people prefer to leave behind.
 
#9 ·
i agree that oak is somewhat cheap and readily available. With that said, mahogany and cherry are my choice for any furniture grade work. On the other hand, if you're just going to paint a piece, why spend more? Go to a big box store and buy a load of pine…it's easy to work with and doesn't break the bank.
 
#10 ·
I would like to explain a little further. I had someone ask me to make a set of kitchen cabinets but when they explained that they did not want any defects, understand I hate to waste wood and that when I tried to explain how much more it would be because of the waist involved in meeting what they wanted. Also with the time involved to get what they would like, they couldn't understand. I ended telling them that I could not meet their expectations. Just starting a business and having to turn people away because they have this idea that oak comes perfect. How would you have and do handling a situation like this?

Fairfield Iowa on craigslist $1bf all hardwoods oak, hickory, black walnut. Cut to order. A lot of people I know consider walnut a pest tree. I'm going to cut 5this big ones from the yard because they cause to meany problem. It's used as firewood.
 
#12 ·
Oak is so '70's-ish…....
People want it because it's 1} Easy to say , 2} been seen in relatives kitchens , 3} don't know that there are so many other choices out there…....4} will probably want you to stain it a different color , 5} Unedumacated…LOL
 
#13 ·
I have asked myself the same question and here is what I have come up with.
Oak is easily recognisable and somewhat common in North American furniture, flooring, mouldings and kitchen cabinets. I personally do not particularly like working with red oak (white oak in some applications is ok)
Has a creative craftsman it is my job to try to convince the customer of their best options but at the end of the day if they want Oak then oak it is.
 
#15 ·
Everyone seems to be in love with Oak. I agree, even locally there are much more beautiful woods. If you're in Iowa, you have many choices there. Oak is traditional, but if you show people what's available you can usually win them over. And if you don't, you have plenty of oak trees :)
 
#16 ·
>How would you have and do handling a situation like this?

LDC, I would suggest they provide the wood. I did that with the ball project I did a few months ago. It worked out great. My client ended 'up close and personal' with the suppliers of the wood so they could experience first-hand how much wood costs. The whole job worked out great.

If your client is not willing to do that, then they can find someone else(as you politely told them).
 
#17 ·
Loneduck, why would send a customer away that wanted defect free cabinets? I would want defect free cabinets too if they were oak. How many tons of oak get burned for firewood each year? It isn't a precious resource that you need to conserve, it literally grows on trees (hardee har). You're not going to stay in business long that way.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
Wormil is correct!

A lot of pallets are made out of oak and a company back in Illinois would deliver a dump truck full of cut offs for FREE!

Many small pieces but some very useable after planing, however, most of these deliveries were for firewood!

I disagree with Dusty56, no wood goes out of style, the style may have gone by but not the wood!
 
#19 ·
I find it perversely amusing that some people with quite a bit of coin fill their houses with oak, blisssfully unaware that oak was what the poor guys had centuries ago when the rich dudes had mahogany and walnut. Oak is just one of many useful hardwoods it seems to me.
 
#21 ·
From a business standpoint I always tried to sell what had the biggest profit margin so if I could buy Oak, or Walnut, or hard Maple at a BARGOON, then that's what I encouraged in sales cause at the end of the day, one needs to make more money then they spend.

In business, the EGO should be left at home. If a customer wants to have a kitchen made out of cherry, and they want it painted (what a crime )………..then paint it.
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
"In business, the EGO should be left at home. If a customer wants to have a kitchen made out of cherry, and they want it painted (what a crime )………..then paint it."

Sad but true.....I almost had to do the very same thing until I convinced the customer to go with Poplar if they wanted to paint the project in the end. : )
 
#24 ·
The average person doesn't know one wood species from the next. To a lot of people Oak is the best because it's all they know. The same person looks for dovetails on the drawers to see how well it was made.

In the end the guy paying the bill gets to decide but it's up to the woodworker to provide them with their options.
 
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