White Oak (Quercus spp.)
Description: The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium to coarse texture, with longer rays than red oak. White oak therefore has more figure.
Main Uses: Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork, mouldings, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, barrel staves (tight cooperage) and caskets.
Physical Properties: A hard and heavy wood with medium bending and crushing strength, low in stiffness, but very good in steam bending. Great wear-resistance.
Availability: Readily available but not as abundant as red oak.
Working Properties: White oak machines well, nails and screws well, although pre-boring is advised. Since it reacts with iron, galvanized nails are recommended. Its adhesive properties are variable, but it stains to a good finish. Can be stained with a wide range of finish tones. The wood dries slowly.
| Machining | Nailing | Screwing | Gluing | Finishing |
| Excellent | Good | Good | Poor | Excellent |
Strength and Mechanical Properties: (inch-pound)
| Moisture Content | Green-12% |
| Specific Gravity | 0.57-0.88 |
| Static Bending: Modulus of Rupture (lbf/in^2) | 7,200-18,400 |
| Static Bending: Modulus of Elasticity (10^6 lbf/in^2) | 0.88-2.05 |
| Static Bending: Work to Maximum Load (in-lbf/in^3) | 9.4-19.2 |
| Impact Bending to Grain (in) | -- - 50 |
| Compression Parallel to Grain (lbf/in^2) | 3,290-8,900 |
| Compression Perpendicular to Grain (lbf/in^2) | 530-2,840 |
| Shear Parallel to Grain (lbf/in^2) | 1,210-2,660 |
| Tension Perpendicular to Grain (lbf/in^2) | -- - 940 |
| Side Hardness (lbf) | -- - 1,620 |
Source: American Hardwood Information Center, Species Guide