Neophyte Opinion: White Oak Better Than Red Oak For Framing Lumber

[WDH]

To add to your point, Mesquite, northern red oak and shumard oak are very similar.  The only difference is the depth of lobes on the leaf and the site they grow in.  The acorns are exactly the same and the bark is almost exactly the same, too.  Shumard is a high quality bottomland oak in the Coastal Plain while northern red oak does not venture below the Piedmont Plateau.  He is a fine shumard oak in the swamp.



 



 

It was just shy of 5 feet in diameter and 141 feet tall.  It was the Georgia state champion.  Sadly, it blew over in a storm.



 

[mesquite buckeye]

Everything goes eventually. Hopefully some fabulous wood came from it.

[WDH]

Nope.  Food for the worms.  Too deep in the swamp to economically salvage. 

[mesquite buckeye]

That is very sad. I'm sure the worms and fungi don't agree.

[thecfarm]

That is too bad.  Was rotten in the middle?

[Kansas]

Soil types and location seem to make a lot of difference. I have had loggers want to mix in black oak with northern red oak on me for grade logs that come out of eastern Kansas. Both are classified red oaks, but the black oaks always had more knots, and a more red color. Then a guy I did business with in Nebraska wanted to bring me down some of his black oak logs. I said no, its never as good. He said trust me, these are. He had a sawmill, and never treated me wrong, so I said, bring it down. You couldn't tell the difference between that and a northern.

When I heard about the smell, the first thing that crossed my mind was pin oak. Which is in the red oak category technically. I don't know if it smells like that the country over, but you could swear every dog in the country stopped by and used that tree.

[drobertson]

Lots going on here, my only thought, for what its worth, if one is using oak for framing lumber either one is fine, so long as it is not rotten or structurally defective, the ole timers used what was available and worked with it to a practical end. Many structures are still standing because of their use and techniques of oak,    david 

[hackberry jake]

Nope.  Food for the worms.  Too deep in the swamp to economically salvage.

This almost brought a tear to my eye  :(

[WDH]

Ray,

Yes, some heart rot was present.



 

[hackberry jake]

If it wouldve been easier to salvage, it probably wouldnt have got so big.

[WDH]

Yes, there is a reason that it was there.