Pin oak - what's it good for?

[Bibbyman]

 

 

Customer brought in these pin oak logs thinking they were hickory.  He planned to use the lumber to replace the deck boards in his antique truck.  This has to be the worst oak for the customer's intended use.  It's the lest decay resistant of the oaks.



 

You can see the rapid growth rings and see where it's already starting to shell out.  It'll only get worse after sawing and drying.



 

The lumber coming off the mill shows the shelling and cracking already.



 

The lumber is full of knots that usually dry and loosen up or fall out.  It stinks to high heaven - the smell is like a pig lot.

What's it good for?  I woun't even use it for firewood because of the stink.

[Kansas]

Blocking. Pallet lumber. Present for an ex wife. Not much else.

Interesting comment on the smell. On occasion we cut into a cottonwood that stinks to high heaven. Just horrible. Then we will have a customer, most likely a woman, walk into the mill and say  "I just love the smell around here" All the while we are gagging.

[Ron Wenrich]

I've sold it for ties, grade lumber, flooring lumber, and pallet stock.  Everything you say about it is true.  But, you can't let it sit around for a long time.  Those logs have been sitting for at least 6 months.  Probably longer since the sapwood is discolored.  Pin oak is prone to shake.

[jwoods]

In my area of NW Ohio, once air dried and sorted for defects it makes decent construction lumber, but you do have to know how to utilize it.  Lots of houses around here were built from pin oak.

Joe

[Al_Smith]

Joe where you been ? Did you get that ash flooring done ?

[Dodgy Loner]

Hickory is less decay resistant that any oak, so that may have been an even poorer choice. I have only sawed one pin oak, but I was blown away by how hard and heavy it was after drying. It's quite a bit heavier than most white oak I have sawed. It did not smell any different from any other red oak, and the color was quite spectacular - kind of a striped effect. No ring shake, either, and very clear lumber. Basically the complete opposite of what you described :D. Guess I got lucky. It was an old landscape tree from the UGA campus.

[beenthere]

And the smell is bacteria, which can occur in several of the red oaks. Other species can become infected as well. A color change and drying defects can be associated with the bacteria.

[Al_Smith]

       

 

   It stinks to high heaven - the smell is like a pig lot.

What's it good for?  I woun't even use it for firewood because of the stink.

It isn't bad firewood fact I have about 5 cords of it .It's a little tough to split though unless your have a hydraulic splitter .

It really has little commercial market other than cribbing or dunnage boards .I really can't tell any more smell than red oak .Funny stuff you can cut into a creosoted cross tie that layed under a set of tracks for 30 years and still smell the oak .

[sealark37]

I have noticed that pin oak logs that come from tree service sources have the same poor qualities that you describe.  I have seen some that came in with other logs from an overgrown pasture that produced nice looking lumber.  Those good logs were sawed within days of receipt, and stickered right away.  Most of these boards were purchased by hobby woodworkers, who so far have not complained or asked for more.  Most of the pin oak around here ends up as firewood or  mulch.  It is still a very popular, quick-growing tree that landscapers and developers like.  Regards, Clark

[Ron Wenrich]

And the smell is bacteria, which can occur in several of the red oaks. Other species can become infected as well. A color change and drying defects can be associated with the bacteria.

I believe that bacteria is what causes the ring shake.  I've smelled it in black oak, but never as bad as in pine oak growing on a wet site.

[Al_Smith]

Pin oak to me is the odd ball of the oaks .Limbs every where like a pine tree which atrophy and die as the tree gets taller .

They kind of get a shape like a pine tree ,narrow at the top and wide at the bottom .

A white or red oak in the open gets a great big wide canopy but one grown in competition for sun light gets tall and straight .I don't recall seeing many if any pin oaks deep in the woods .Usually around the edges or in fence rows at least in these parts .

[Bibbyman]

I have sawn a few that didn't shell and didn't stink and made beams and we included the lumber in our flooring shipments. But I suspect many of the junk ones I saw come from yard removal or dead trees.

[shelbycharger400]

can I borrow that photo.   for an offsite use?  I call those logs the ring of death, havent seen one in a while so I have no photos of it. 

[fishfighter]

I sawed a bunch of it and stack/stickered it real good. Coated the ends. Most were sawed at 1". I will be using it in my cabin. I been checking it and it's air drying real nice. Now the ones I'm milling, the trees are picked out for the best logs. Once dried, I will be planning down one side and T&G them.

Yes, some did stink to high heaven, but not all.

[bandmiller2]

Pin keeps me warm and happy wile I'am thinking about milling better stuff. Frank C.

[WDH]

Fishfighter,

What people call pin oak in Louisiana is not the same species as the one in the original thread.  What people in the Mid-South commonly call "pin oak" is either water oak, laurel oak, or willow oak.  True pin oak, Quercus palustris, is not native to Louisiana. 

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=74

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

I was about to ask about that WDH. I have had several people with "pin oak" they want sawn, but after a little research I figured it must be willow oak in this neck of the woods. They are all members of the red oak family, are they not? Brian

[fishfighter]

WDH, what we call pin oak, has a leave like a tear drop. Thanks for the heads up.

Here is a couple pictures of what we call pin oak.

 



 



 

[drobertson]

Not uncommon around here to saw stock that would not be the first choice for the intended use, but folks do what the have to do based on the money available.  I'm thinking you are not responsible for the outcome of the product just the piece parts to fit the bill.  I have made mention before in regards to what I believe is good or not for an intended use, but in the end it's up to user to call the ball.

[mesquite buckeye]

Hi fishfighter. If you have a smartphone, all you have to do is touch the screen where you want it to focus and the phone will automatically focus and adjust the exposure for that spot. Also, if you  don't like the exposure, you can slide the little sun thingy to the right of the square that appears where you touched it to make it brighter or darker. Don't know if the other phones do that or not.

Hope this helps somebody. ;D 8) 8) 8)

[WDH]

Brian,

Yes, they are all red oaks.  In he South, we have a whack of red oaks.

Fishfighter,

Your "pin oak" is actually a water oak, Quercus nigra.  Leaves generally tear drop shaped, actually called spatulate.  They can also be lobed, as in your pic.