How Do You Tell Red Oak And White Oak Apart?
White oak and red oak are both varieties of oak. Although the name implies that they are certain colours, you cannot tell them apart by using this method, especially if the timber has been stained.
Red oak is also known as Quercus rubra. Although this is the true red oak, others such as Water Oak (Quercus Nigra) and Black Oak (Quercus velutina) are broadly grouped as red oak.
Quercus alba is the Latin name for White Oak. It is the true white oak but others such as English Oak and Bur Oak are also considered white oaks.
This means that you are not always purchasing an exact species - more the characteristics of the white or red oak group.
The two groups are not the same and if you know what you are looking for you can easily tell them apart.
If you have the luxury of seeing the leaves still on the wood, they will help you identify which wood you have. The leaves of White Oak usually have rounded lobes, but those of the Red Oak are pointed. This isn’t true in every single case though.
In a lot of cases you won’t have the leaves to assist you so one way to tell the timbers apart is to look at the rays (the dark brown lines in the wood). White oak usually has longer rays - often longer than three quarters of an inch, but Red oak usually has short rays.
You can also look at the endgrain (if the timber has not been painted, rough-sawn or sealed). Ensure that the wood is free from dust then take a closer look. If you are looking at heartwood, the endgrain of red oak will show open pores. White oak heartwood pores are filled with what are known as tyloses - a bubble-like formation. An exception to this is Chestnut Oak, a white oak that has large and open pores.
The quickest and perhaps most reliable method of working out if timber is red or white oak is to use a 10% solution of sodium nitrite on the heartwood. Brush it onto the wood and wait for a colour change. Red oak will only change slightly (sometimes with a greenish hue) but white oak will change colour very noticeably in only a few minute, showing a dark reddish brown and then finally an inky black.
When you can tell the timbers apart you can make sure that you use the right wood for the right things. White oak is good for outdoor furniture and boat building because it is resistant to water (because of the tyloses). It is also more resistant to rot and therefore a little more expensive.
Red oak is great for indoor furniture and has the benefit of being lighter than its cousin. Oak furniture looks so elegant in the home so it is a great choice, although other solid wood furniture also looks good because each variety of tree has its own characteristics.
Both are amazing timbers that will look beautiful for years.
Terms You May Come Across When Shopping For Solid Oak Furniture
When you are choosing oak furniture you may come across a few terms that you’re not sure about. The purpose of this article is to explain some of them so that you can make an informed choice on the best oak furniture for your purposes.
Some of the terms are specific to oak, others to certain groups of wood and some are more general wood terms.
Quercus: This is the Latin name for oak. Quercus is also a subgenus of the genus Quercus.
White oak: The common name for Quercus Alba. The bark of the tree is most commonly grey, despite the name. White oak is also a group of Quercus trees, including Quercus Alba. The pores on the growth rings are blocked.
Red oak: The common name for Quercus Rubra. Red oak is also the name of a group of Quercus trees, including Quercus Rubra. The pores on the growth rings are open and therfore allow water in.
Hardwood: All oaks are hardwoods. A hardwood is simply the wood from a deciduous tree. It doesn’t mean that the wood is physically hard, although oak actually is.
Medullary rays: Ribbons extending vertically through the wood, perpendicularly to the growth rings. Not all woods show these but oak does. Plane trees also show them well. They show up on the wood as flecks.
Quarter sawn: Wood has been cut at right angles to the growth rings. The grain will be in straight lines. This sort of cut is the one used to show the medullary rays. It is structurally more sound than wood sawn in other ways but more difficult to cut and therefore more expensive.
Plain sawn: The wood has the growth rings of the tree parallel to the board’s broad face. It is also known as ‘slabbed lumber’.
Grain: The texture produced by wood fibres. You can get interesting grain patterns with red oak.
Unfinished: The furniture will not be coloured with any stains and it will not have any sort of top coat. It is cheaper to buy unfinished oak but it will then need some sort of finishing to be applied to it.
French polish: Lots of very thin layers of shellac are rubbed onto the furniture to produce a very high shine surface with a deep colour.
Shellac: A resin created by the female lac bug which is processed and dissolved in ethyl alcohol to make a liquid to glaze the wood.
Seasoned: Seasoned wood has had the moisture content reduced to make it stronger and more reliable. It can be air dried or kiln dried.
Buying oak furniture can be good fun but in order to get the right piece for you it helps if you understand the terminology you may come across.
Why You Should Use Cedar Hangers For Your Clothes
Your wardrobe contains your best clothes and you love wearing them, but how long will they remain in good condition? Just because your hang your clothes nicely so that they don’t crease, they aren’t automatically safe.
The threat to your garments is the clothes moth, Tineola Bisselliella. It will chomp its way through natural fabrics leaving unsightly holes. In some cases the damage can be extensive. It’s not the moth itself that actually does the damage, it’s the caterpillars. The moth leaves eggs on your clothing and when they hatch, the young eat the fabric.
A great non-chemical way to get rid of or prevent clothes moths is to use cedar. The oil in the wood kills small larvae and so your clothes are protected.
Buy cedar hangers to put your clothes on, and when you find the strength of the oil diminishing (usually at between 6 and 12 months), lightly sand back the wood to release more. Another plus point of the wood is that it helps prevent mildew too.
Wooden hangers look a lot nicer than the plastic ones that High Street clothes come with. They are also more durable because they are made of solid wood, not thin plastic.
Of course cedar hangers come at a price, compared to High Street hangers which are free, but if you want to protect the garments you have just bought and keep them looking nice for years to come, cedar hangers are definitely worth thinking about.
As well as hangers, you can also buy blocks of cedar to put in your chest of drawers, and cedar discs on ribbon to hang on your wardrobe rail.
Using cedar as a moth repellent is preferable to using chemical moth balls if you want to keep things as natural as possible and the cedar smells much more pleasant too - a lovely woody smell.
Of course avoiding infestation in the first place is the goal, so if you are lucky enough to be moth free at the moment, try to keep things that way. Look over second hand clothing to make sure there are no silvery looking threads (about an inch long), and only put clean clothes in wardrobes or drawers. Of course you can also buy clothing covers which provide an extra layer of protection to your clothing and they have the added bonus of keeping dust off too. Of course you can also buy clothing covers which provide an extra layer of protection to your clothing and they have the added bonus of keeping dust off too. A quality wardrobe is also a good idea - it should be made to a high standard so that it is difficult for the moths to get inside. Quality oak wardrobes are a good idea because they look good and if made properly are worth the money. One I like is from the Con-tempo Furniture Quercus furniture range which has contemporary style. They have some beautiful solid oak bedroom furniture but it’s up to you who you buy from - just make sure that’s it’s good quality furniture. It can even be made from cedar if you want!
If you do discover moths, don’t panic. Put new cedar wood in with your clothes to kill off the small larvae and regularly take your clothes into the light and shake them. The larvae do not like the sunlight and will drop off. You can also wash clothes in a hot wash to kill the larvae. Anything that can’t be hot washed might be able to be frozen - wrap the items carefully in plastic and pop in the freezer for a day.
With a bit of care, all of your gorgeous clothes should stay looking in good condition and your wardrobe will be a safe place to house them.
Wonderful Oak Trees
The oak tree is an iconic tree and a particular favourite of the English. There are more than 300 species and they live happily all over the world. The best known British oak is the Common Oak (Quercus Robur) which is also known as the English Oak. This beautiful tree is deciduous, broad leafed and grows to an average height of 15-25 metres.
Some oaks are actually evergreen such as the Golden Oak (native to Cyprus) and the Coast Live Oak (native to California).
We have made use of oak trees for many years. It has housed us, helped feed us, clothed us, kept us warm, helped us travel the seas and decorated our homes.
Oak has always been a highly prized timber and it was used a lot in the days of timber ship building and is still used today in house building because it is very strong. It also has high levels of tannin which protect it from insect attack or fungal attack. As well as the timber, other parts of the tree are also useful to us. The acorns have been used for pig food to help fatten them up and the bark has been used in the leather tanning process. It has also been used ceremonially and as an emblem (such as the National Trust emblem of an oak sprig complete with acorns).
These days you are most likely to find oak in the form of gorgeous furniture. The grain looks stunning and oak furniture will last for many years which is why it is so popular, although not as prevalent as the cheaper pine furniture options. Because of the inherent sturdiness of the wood, sizeable items of furniture can be made such as beds, desks and tables.
If you are thinking of purchasing oak furniture yourself, make sure that it is solid wood because an oak veneer will give you some of the beauty of the oak but not the strength and added to this the long term value will also not be as good.
If you visit any stately homes it is likely that you will come across oak panelling as well as furniture. Panelling was popular in notable buildings and showed wealth and class.
Oak is a tree that we have loved and made use of for many years and a tree that we continue to be closely linked with. It is a tree that we really wouldn’t want to be without.
