Red or White?

[xlogger]

A local woodworker drop off this mantel for me to dry. Is it red or white oak?

 

[Don P]

Smallish looking ray ends, red color, I'd guess one of the reds.

[WDH]

I am in the red camp, too. 

[xlogger]

So if the rays where longer it might be white?

[WDH]

The color screams red to me.

[Don P]

Another way to tell is slice off about 1/32" off the end grain of each, a red and a white, and hold them up to the light. You'll see light right through the red oak vessels where the white is blocked by the tyloses in the vessels. When you look at a fresh cut red oak end it looks open pored.

Like Danny said, the color said red, sometimes a white can fool you, the rest would just confirm it.

I guess a chestnut oak, the leaky white oak, can be coarse grained and somewhat open pored but I've never seen one of them pink.

[scsmith42]

Color looks red to me as well.

See the short, dark lines on the face?  Those are the rays.  If they measure 3/4" or less, it's red.  Longer than 3/4" is white.

A little tidbit that I picked up from Gene several years ago.

[xlogger]

That what I thought I remember for a while back on the longer rays.

[bluthum]

Usually you can see the definitive open pores in the end grain of the board [red oak] though some times it's tricky.

[caveman]

It looks like red oak from my house.  The rays (thumb nail looking parts on the face) look short as Scott pointed out.  White oak will have those marks but they will usually be 3/4"-1" long.