Oak - Just Curious

[Ned Ladner]

Just got through reading a thread discussing a beautiful oak bowl a gentleman had turned. That prompted a question I've had for a long time.

Why do we seldom see reference to turning oak?

I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and we have an abundance of oak: red oak, white oak, water oak, willow oak, Live Oak, pin oak, etc. I've never turned oak because I assumed there was something negative about it even though I don't know any specifics. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the tannins from oak might possibly stain the lathe bed.

What is your opinion about turning oak? Am I missing out, or not?

[Robert Hayward]

What is your opinion about turning oak?

Oak is my favorite wood to turn. Like your area, mine is full of various types of oak. Live Oak and Laurel Oak are so plentiful at the tree trimmer dump sites that I am very picky about what I take. I especially like Laurel Oak that has been standing dead for a while. Excellent spalting if caught at the right time.

[Alan Trout]

I use a lot of live oak burl in my pieces. Tough stuff to turn but incredibly beautiful.

Alan

[russell dietrich]

Ned,
I also live in Baton Rouge. Oak is too easy to find. I prefer red cedar or any other wood to oak because of grain pattern (other than spalted oak).

[Bob Bouis]

Combination of factors, mostly because it's a "low prestige" wood, and because it's unpleasant to work. It's very hard and it warps and cracks a lot.

[Prashun Patel]

I think it's wonderful. The prominent grain and Medulary rays that can be present give some wonderful effects that you can't get with other woods. Interlocking rings

It can be prone to cracking.

People don't like oak because they think it looks dated and have an aesthetic prejudice to how it looks flatsawn. My 2cents

[Terry Kilgore]

I enjoy turning oak. Its very easy to acquire in my area and I think it turns nice. I have used it segmented projects and was very pleased with the outcome.

Terry

[daryl moses]

The only thing I don't like about oak is the fact that it is so full of tannins that it will oxidize any metal it comes in contact with fast!! Especially if turning green. I keep a large can of WD40 close and keep the ways of my lathe saturated and keep the shavings wiped off. The black oxidation wipes off easily but if left on for any amount of time it will form rust.

[Mark Greenbaum]

I have both good and bad experiences turning a variety of oak. I turned a beautiful perfectly round bowl from a limb of fallen 365 year old Bur Oak - 2 weeks later it was so twisted it looks hand hewn. And it had been sitting drying on a pallet for 2 years after the tree fell.

Then I've turned kiln dried red oak for a platter, and it ended very well. I've turned a few cylindrical boxes from oak dunnage (what some call piss oak, because of the odor that emanated from it while turning) - and they have stayed very uniform for a few months. The pieces don't like to have beading tools worked on them, and I did get tear out. But the grain and rays are quite impressive.

Oak in a green non-kilned form moves more than most other woods, so turn twice if you're looking to maintain cylindricity. I just haven't had the patience to turn twice so hence my bad green wood experiences.

[Bob Bouis]

To elaborate on why I don't like turning it, oak is hard to cut cleanly and hard to finish. It dulls tools fast, is very grabby with dull tools, and it holds poorly because it's very weak when cut thin. When left thick it cracks. It's when green, oak is corrosive, stains everything black, and makes it sticky.

[Prashun Patel]

i have grown to love the acidic, vinegary, ketchupy aroma of red oak and the creamy, mossy, hay like aroma of white oak. I do believe both turn best when green.

Give it a try. There is lots to love despite (because of) it's challenges.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ned, I think it really depends on what it is that you want to turn. I have turned oak burl for hollow forms and it is strong enough that you can go pretty thin and not worry. I agree with everyone that turning green is easy but if you twice turn, when it comes time to finish the blank - prepare to go much slower as the stuff when dry turns like concrete!

One thing that I have not seen anyone mention is that the wood is open grain - meaning it basically looks like a bunch of hollow straws when you look at the end grain. Not a big deal unless you are turning a bowl for soup! My experience is that open pores can be a problem on some types of finish as it will weep when using oil based products.

[Stan Calow]

Thanks for this thread. I've never tried oak because I assumed it would be ugly and hard to get a smooth surface because of open grain. Red oak is so common around here that it is easy to overlook.

[Peter Blair]

I second these comments but I am not sure which type of Oak I turned but will never turn green or wet oak again because of the corrosive stain. It was a real pain to clean up my lathe and tools!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I have turned both Red and White Oak many times, and can tell you from 50 years of turning experience, (unlike the new turners ) that Oak is a nice wood to turn, can be very nice looking and where I like the smell of White Oak, neither smells after it has dried.

If you start with wood that has NO splits when you start turning it, it is not really any worse than most woods for splitting, or even for warping, here are two pictures, one is a small box I turned in 2005, we kept it and after all these years the lid fits snug as it has for all these years, the other is a twice turned deep bowl that shows the shrinkage it did on the rim as I left the outside as it was when turned green, you can see it isn’t much, it is right up there with with most woods and is stable when dried.
Oak box from 2005.jpg 2005 turned Oak box.jpg Twicw turned Oak.jpg

Oak has a nice grain and with the medullary rays it can be really eye catching even when Ebonized with the Iron in vinegar treatment.
Red Oak bowl.jpg Ebonized Oak.jpg

Curly and burly Oak has something special above the regular good looks of Oak, filled with Copper powder or just left as is.
Red Oak with Copper.jpg Red Oak.jpg

And again like Steve mentioned, it can be turned thin with no problem, and BTW all these pieces where turned twice, green, dried and returned.
Thinwalled Oak plate.jpg

So if you have some nice green Oak of any kind, take it and turn it, just make sure it has no splits, and that can be hard to detect for all the lines in Oak, so slice a very thin layer of the end an bend it carefully, if there is a split it will show readily.

Oh before I forget, White Oak is good for liquids as the pores are normally closed with tyloses, while in Red Oak the pores are open, so not good for liquids