How hard is quartersawn red oak?

Red oak has a Janka hardness of 1220 lbf, a side-hardness measurement, per USDA Forest Products Laboratory values at 12% moisture content. That places it above cherry and below hard maple.

Can quartersawn red oak be used outdoors?

No. The heartwood is non-durable to slightly durable in ground contact and the large open earlywood pores pass liquid through the end grain, so quartersawn or not, red oak is not water-tight and is ruled out for tight cooperage and exterior service without treatment.

Where does Raw Heartwood's red oak come from?

Raw Heartwood sources urban-salvaged logs from the Chicago area and kiln-dries its lumber to 6-8% moisture content. Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) is one of the most abundant managed commercial hardwoods in North America, is not on CITES, and is rated IUCN Least Concern.

DomesticQuercus rubra

Red Oak, Quartersawn

Quartersawn — the medullary rays as fleck across the face. Mission furniture's whole identity.

Red Oak, Quartersawn (Quercus rubra) is a domestic hardwood with a Janka hardness of 1220 lbf. Its heartwood is light to medium reddish brown, and the quartersawn cut lays the medullary rays out as fleck across the face.

Category: Domestic
Janka: 1,220 lbf
Botanical: Quercus rubra
Shipped at: 6–8% MC

Quercus rubra Quercus rubra · Eastern and central United States and southeastern Canada; from Nova Scotia and Maine south to northern Georgia and Alabama

Eastern and central United States and southeastern Canada; from Nova Scotia and Maine south to northern Georgia and Alabama.

Quartersawing turns the medullary rays into fleck across the face. Heartwood light to medium reddish brown.

Detail of Red Oak grain — figured wood texture, photographed at Raw Heartwood — A close read on the grain. Detail of this specimen

What you see.

Heartwood light to medium reddish brown. Sapwood nearly white to light tan, not always sharply separated. Color runs uniform across boards. Cathedral figure on flatsawn faces — but you are looking at the quartersawn cut, which lays the rays out as fleck across the face.

Heartwood color detail of Red Oak (Quercus rubra)

Heartwood, this specimen

How the grain runs.

Generally straight. Coarse, uneven texture from the strongly ring-porous structure. Big open earlywood pores. That is why red oak passes liquid through end grain.

Closer in

On the bench.

Heartwood non-durable to slightly durable in ground contact. Bugs find it. The open pores rule it out for tight cooperage and exterior service without treatment. Machines well. Takes any fastener, glue, stain, or finish you put on it. Iron and damp will turn it blue-black — use non-ferrous fasteners around moisture. Slight tannic smell at the cut. Goes away on drying. Oak dust is a known respiratory sensitizer. Hardwood dust generally is IARC Group 1 — carcinogenic to humans with long occupational exposure. Asthma, eye and skin irritation. Run dust collection.

The numbers, looked at directly.

Janka Hardness

0lbf

5,430 N. Side-hardness — force to embed a half-inch steel ball halfway into the wood.

Average Dried Weight

0lbs/ft³

700 kg/m³. At 12% MC.

Specific Gravity

0.56/ 0.63 at 12% MC

Basic over green volume; second number at 12% moisture content.

Hardness, in context

A side-hardness measurement. Higher number, harder wood.

Shrinkage — radial / tangential / volumetric

4.0%radial

8.6%tangential

13.7%volumetric

On sourcing

Where this wood comes from matters.

Not on CITES. IUCN Least Concern. Northern red oak is one of the most abundant managed commercial hardwoods in North America.

What it's for.

Mission furniture
Arts & Crafts cabinetry
Premium flooring
Architectural millwork
Paneling
High-grade veneer

Worth knowing.

Quartersawing turns the medullary rays into fleck across the face. That is the figure people pay for. The cut also cuts the in-service tangential movement roughly in half — width is governed by the radial number (~4.0%) instead of the tangential (~8.6%). Less cupping, more even wear. The end grain is still porous though. Quartersawn or not, red oak is not water-tight.

Sources & references.

Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-282) — USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (2021)
Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) — FPL Tech Sheet — USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory
Silvics of North America: Quercus rubra L. — Northern Red Oak — Sander, Ivan L. (USDA Forest Service) (1990)
Quercus rubra — IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — Wenzell, K.; Kenny, L. (2017)
Quercus rubra — Wikipedia contributors
Red Oak (Quercus rubra) — The Wood Database
American Red Oak — Species Guide — American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC)

Common questions.

How hard is quartersawn red oak?: Red oak has a Janka hardness of 1220 lbf, a side-hardness measurement, per USDA Forest Products Laboratory values at 12% moisture content. That places it above cherry and below hard maple.
Can quartersawn red oak be used outdoors?: No. The heartwood is non-durable to slightly durable in ground contact and the large open earlywood pores pass liquid through the end grain, so quartersawn or not, red oak is not water-tight and is ruled out for tight cooperage and exterior service without treatment.
Where does Raw Heartwood's red oak come from?: Raw Heartwood sources urban-salvaged logs from the Chicago area and kiln-dries its lumber to 6-8% moisture content. Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) is one of the most abundant managed commercial hardwoods in North America, is not on CITES, and is rated IUCN Least Concern.

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