Oak - red or white?

Here’s a good site for wood ID,

White oak is supposed to withstand the elements better, but I think it’s ground contact, like fence posts , or railroad ties.

I think with the proper finish. Red Oak will hold up outdoors.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Red oak is not rot resistant while white oak is. That’s the reason you don’t want to use red oak for outdoor applications.

One way some boat builders use to identify which oak you have is to try to blow a mouthful of smoke through a piece 6 or 8 inches long. If you can blow the smoke through it, it’s red oak.

-- Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

Try this link for some tips on telling them apart:

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Distinguishing_White_Oak_from_Red.html

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Wow – nowt is simple.
A lot on Charlie’s site seems to involve comparisons. For example – “Look for the rays (long horizontal marks), which will be longer in white oak”, which won’t work since I have only one sample. Much seems also to be about growth rate.
My oak

seems to look more like the white than the red – but that’s in someone’s part of the country.
Perhaps someone with experience…?

That is white oak. A closer shot of the face grain and end grain would confirm it 100%. The growth rings are too close together for commercially available red oak.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

White oak has occlusions in the vessel elements called tyloses. These basically plug the pores enabling white oak to be used in barrel making. Red oak does not have tyloses and cannot be used for barrel making. If you look closely at a fresh, clean cut on end grain, red oak will have open pores while white oak will have pores that are plugged. The “blowing smoke” trick is also a function of the pore structure. Hmmm, haven’t used some of those words for over 25 years. Back to lurking.

-- CutNRun - So much wood, so many trails, so little time

I agree with Daren. It looks like white oak to me. Another variation of blowing through a piece is to stick one end in water. You can blow bubbles with red oak, but not white oak.

-- David, Southern Indiana, http://www.freedhardwoods.com

This is definetely white oak. I am 99.9 per cent sure of this.

-- Chantal L., Montreal

I can tell by the smell when you cut it. White oak has a pleasant, woody smell. Red oak smells like bad cheese.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

How funny. I was going to say by the smell to. Only I think the red oak smells better. It is the only oak I use to smoke with. I agree on the oak white oak having a woody smell.

Yup… white oak… end grain is plugged.

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Red oak does not like moisture hence is not used for exterior projects. Water will turn it black. White oak is more resistant to water & in Eastern Canada is often used for decking to take advantage of the wear characteristics.

-- Lee