WoodwoodHardwood
Oak
Ring-porous hardwood, dense and hard wearing. White oak is the traditional choice for barrels, boatbuilding and heavy furniture; red oak is more common in cabinetry and flooring.
Properties
- Family
- Wood
- Category
- wood
- Species
- Quercus spp.
- Density
- 0.75 g/cm³ · 750 kg/m³
Densityhow oak compares
Applicationswhere oak is normally specified
FurnitureFlooringCabinetryBarrelsBoatbuilding
Practical notes
- Density is for air-dried stock at about 12% moisture content
- Varies roughly ±10% with species, origin and growth conditions
- Green timber can be 50% or more heavier than air-dried
- White oak is notably denser than red oak — check which is specified
Lumber sizeswhat oak weighs in each nominal size
Lumber size databaseDressed sizes are the same for every species — a 2x4 is 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 in in oak as much as in spruce. What changes is the weight, and that is derived here from oak's density of 0.75 g/cm³.
Tools used on itmatched on the wood family, not on this page
All toolsCircular SawCountersinkDrillHole SawImpact DriverJigsawMitre SawRandom Orbit SanderRouterTwist Drill Bits
Which tools work a material is a property of the family (Wood), not of the individual species — so this list is the same on every wood page, and changes when the tool data changes rather than when this paragraph does.