Prime Grade A European Oak

Specification

Prime A Grade European Oak is highly desired as a decorative wood.

Appearance

  • Colour – Heartwood is yellowish brown or light tan to deep brown. Typically it has bands of large-pored early wood and dense late wood. The sapwood is the same but lighter. Silver grey figure on sawn quarter.
  • Grain – Usually straight, but may be irregular or cross. Distinct growth rings and broad rays produce an attractive figure when quarter-sawn.

Characteristics

  • Strength – Bending strength in air dried is high. Crushing strength or compression strength parallel to grain is also high. Hardness medium.
  • Ease Of Drying – Dries very slowly, liable to splits, checks, warps and honeycomb especially during the initial drying stages. A yellow stain, which eventually disappears, is also common during drying. Illingworth Ingham (M/cr) Ltd supply kiln dried stock.
  • Movement In Service – Moderate dimensional stability after seasoning. Exhibits medium movement in use.
  • Preservative Treatment – Heartwood’s exceptionally resistant to preservative treatment. Sapwood permeable.

Working Properties

  • Machining – Satisfactory
  • Sawing – Satisfactory
  • Blunting effect on cutters – generally moderate
  • Planing – When planing a reduced angle of 20 degrees is recommended for cross and irregular grained woods.
  • Carving – Good
  • Turning – Good

  • Gluing – Good
  • Nailing – Difficult, should be pre-bored
  • Screwing – Difficult, should be pre-bored
  • Steam Bending – Very good.
  • Moisture content should be reduced to 25% before steam bending. The best material should be dried slowly during the setting period.

Finishing

  • Takes a high polish and good for staining.