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black oak

Joined
Mar 3, 2009
Messages
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Location
Madison, Indiana
A friend of mine is removing a couple black oak trees and wanted to give some to me to turn. I am not a great lover of red oak for it wants to split while drying but I know nothing of black oak. Any takers? Thanks Gary
 
Puts out a lot of BTU's when it's in the fireplace.😀
That's about the knowledge of it that I have.
 
you may want to put blanks of oak in cardboard barrels/boxes for 4 to 6 months before turning
 
Nice wood, with warm red and yellow tones

great for natural edge bowls with the heavy dark bark that holds on well. Spalts nicely after 6-12 months. Relatively forgiving and stable on cracking after turning. Great utility wood for fixtures, tool handles and mallets with straight grain and a nice texture for the hand.

I like it, especially because my area in the Sierra foothills of CA is over-run with it, so it is always available. Here is a picture that typifies its nature, about 11"D.
 

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I am with Walt on this one. Except I use Black Oak not Red Oak.

Black Oak moves but I love the stuff. Dry it properly and it seldom cracks. I also agree about the White Oak - in this case Valley Oak. I have tried to turn it and end up with something but: what a pain in the neck it is. It moves, it warps, it cracks. A lot of yard art there.
Hugh😀😀😀
 
I made a half dozen bottle stoppers and some weed pots from a black oak limb which came down in my yard. Puts red oak to shame.
 
anybody got any pictures of black oak turnings?????
 
nice burl, wanted to see just a black oak turning to see differance from
red oak and white oak which i have turned 😀
 
Turned Black Oak

Here are a couple that show Northern California Black Oak turned (green) and finished.
 

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Hi Charlie,

I have some California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) turnings that are from the dryer Sequoia region further south than Grass Valley and some of it has some rose colored marbling and some black streaking almost like Zebra wood. They are packed away right now for some remodeling so it may be a while before I can rediscover them and get some photos. It doesn't seem difficult to dry and may be a close relative of the black oak you have back east.

Best regards,
 
I've turned a lot of Valley Oak and, like Hugh, I have a lot of failures. It is so plentiful in the California's San Joaquin Valley, it's hard to pass up. Anything over 6-7" is really dicey because the warp is extreme.
 
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