American White Oak

American white oak wood has more varied grain figure

The American white oak is a hardwood timber that is commercially available in America. Although not as much as red oak, white oak is also found abundantly in this country. Woodworking industries in the United separate the white oak from the red oak, even though both have very similar properties. Simply, the red oak differs from the white oak by its grain and pores; the red oak has open pores, while the white oak has closed pores. The other properties, such as the grain pattern, base color, hardness, and other physical properties, also show a little bit of difference. The white oak has a more wide grain pattern and more varied figure than the red oak. This timber has a varied base color ranging from white in the sap wood to greenish brown in the heartwood.

The white oak is also available in other regions, mainly in Europe and some in China. The American white oak has more similar properties with the oak wood that is available in other countries. Oak wood is widely cultivated in developed countries where the planting and felling process is carried out with good management. so that the availability of this wood is reliable. The oak wood is one of the most popular  wood in the woodworking industry
 
The properties of American white oak.
 
The white oak is considered a hard and heavy wood; the shorter white oak is faster to grow and tends to have wide growth rings. This wood dries slowly and tends to split and check when the drying process is not properly done. He has high shrinkage volume, making it not really suitable for uses in a tight construction.
White oak wood is widely used in the woodworking industry for various purposes, such as furniture, flooring, architectural joinery, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, bridges, coffins, etc. This wood is also much used for the manufacturing of veneer. The oak veneer is mostly made from white oak.

The white oak is preferred for the manufacture of furniture and paneling because the color is more even and has an interesting grain pattern and figure. Most of the white oak wood and veneer is exported to Asian countries such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam to be used as raw materials for furniture.

Here are the properties of white oak.
 
Specific gravity (12% MC)                                        :    0.68
Average weight                                                          : 769 kg/m3
Average volumetric shrinkage (green to 6% MC)  : 12.6%
Modulus of elasticity:                                                 :12.273 MPa
Hardness                                                                    : 6049 N
Data is taken from: www.americanhardwood.org

the oak wood with two color finish

Finishing for white oak.
 
Although its name is white oak, it doesn't mean that the wood always has a white color. Its base color varies ranging from white to greenish brown, and even sometimes red color is also found in this timber. The white oak has a strong grain character with a unique pattern; in general, this wood has open pores and grains, although not as big as the red oak.
The finishing with transparent colors is the best choice for this wood. A natural finish or transparent finish with light color is the most common. A simple finish with application of wax or oil can produce an interesting finishing look as well as natural color with a sealer and top coat application. The transparent colors with dark colors can also be used, producing a nice and interesting appearance. Since it has a varied base color, the equalizer stain and sap stain application is recommended to produce an even color appearance.
Though it is considered a close-pore wood, it still has pores and grain. The filer application is still needed to make close pores finish. One-time filler application is usually enough to fill its pores and grains to produce a close-finish pores.
The white oak wood can also be finished with a solid color (paint finish). The solid color finish, which is still showing its grains and pores structure, is mostly found. Antic solid colors with the use of glaze to fill in and coloring inside the wood grains and pores will produce an interesting finish look.
This wood can also be finished with antique models. A variety of antique finishings are found to make antique reproduction furniture products.