Replies

1. 
   jako17 | Apr 28, 2006 04:24pm | #1

   Read Bruce Hoadley's book on wood identification I think it will be very easy to tell .The significance of tyloses and pore distribution

2. 
   JohnWW | Apr 28, 2006 05:02pm | #2

   The pores in red oak are open throughout their length, the pores in white oak are blocked by tyloses which seal the pores. 

   To test if you have red or white oak, take a straight grained sample maybe 1/2" square and 4 to 6 inches long and blow through it like a soda straw with one end of the piece submerged in a glass of water.  With red oak you will get bubbling at the submerged end, white oak will have few if any bubbles.

   Sodium nitrite is used to make sausage, you may be able to get a smaller amount of the chemical at a farm supply store or a deli that makes it's own sausage.

   John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine 

1. 
   WillGeorge | Apr 28, 2006 06:07pm | #5

   DITTO! I argee!
   BUT I'm a smoker fer Many years and can't even blow up a Baloon!

1. 
   xxxxxxxx | Apr 29, 2006 03:52pm | #6

   Thanks for the postings. I don't usually work with oak but I am making a patio table and chose white oak for its outdoor qualities. That being said I bought a bunch from a sawmill and it wasn't until after I had milled all of the rough boards up that I started to question some of them. I noticed a slight difference in density, color, and poor opening in the ends and that is what got me concerned. I looked online on how to distinguish and all of the above suggestions were given (poor size, color, ray length) but with the caveat that none were 100% definitive. Given that the table is going to spening its life outside here in the Northeast, I wanted to be 100% sure and that is where the sodium nitrite comes in. However, it may be worth my while to invest in the Hoadley book and thereby have a reference for all woods.-Mike

3. 
   notDusty | Apr 28, 2006 05:08pm | #3

    Hi x ,

              Perhaps try a Lab or a store that sells supplies to chemistry or science students try the local high school or community college , maybe a hobby shop.

    As far as visually telling the two woods apart , as was stated the Red Oak is MUCH more open pored than the White Oak is . This can best be seen by crosscutting a paper thin piece of end grain . Usually you can hold it up to the light and clearly see the open pores in Red Oak and quite the opposite in White Oak .

   Many think the specie White Oak refers to color , not necessarily . The White can have a wide range of color , not a lot of Red in it but Brown and Tan and variations of color .

                hope this help                dusty

1. 
   highfigh | Apr 28, 2006 05:38pm | #4

   Also, white oak is more dense than red oak. I have more experience with red oak but the white oak I have seen would burnish to a higher sheen, even from hand planing.xxxxxxxx- if you can see them next to each other, especially if they are cut in various ways (quarter sawn, rift, etc), you'll see the differences. Multiple pieces would be best but by cutting a square and chamfering two of the corners, you can see more examples of the differences in grain.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

   Edited 4/28/2006 10:42 am by highfigh

4. 
   gb93433 | Apr 29, 2006 04:16pm | #7

   I was taught at the NHLA Inspection school to tell the difference is by two things. One is the ray length and the other is by the presence of tyloses.