White Oak-Red Oak?

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by Winingar, Jun 6, 2007.

  1. Winingar
    Joined: Jun 2007
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    Location: Oklahoma

    Winingar Junior Member

    Got a quote of $6 per foot for 1x6 White Oak...

    Should I keep looking?:confused:
     
  2. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    I usually get it at about $5 a board foot. Did you try "WoodFinder"?
     
  3. alan white
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    Location: maine

    alan white Senior Member

    That's expensive. I pay maybe $4.50, any quantity, in the rough. Realize, however, that white oak is a bargain because wooden boat builders are such a small market that the attributes of white oak relative to boat use aren't effecting the price like mahogany and teak. It is sold generally for furniture because of it's appearence when quarter-sawn, and otherwise as a secondary hardwood so far as I know. I've seen pallets with white oak pieces mixed with maple, ash, etc..
    Bottom line is, I'd pay $6.00 if I had to because it's worth it. I wouldn't build a business around such prices, but a single project/boat won't break the bank.
     
  4. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Agreed, I usually do get better pricing, but I posted the "retail" rate, most would find. White oak, will be cheaper to a person in Maine, then us poor southerners.
     
  5. alan white
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    alan white Senior Member

    I think about you poor southerners every time I drop another red oak log into the woodstove. :))
     
  6. ROUGE
    Joined: Dec 2007
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    Location: maine

    ROUGE Junior Member

    Rebuilding old frederick geiger

    Hello experts. I've been in the tall ship world for 6 years and helped out on some rebuilds, and now I've purchsed a headache of my very own. The steamed white oak frames on this 27' ketch have rotted away right at the turn of the bilge due to galvinized bolts being used and expanding with rust. I'm now faced with time and money constraints and have developed some sort of plan.
    Does this sound crazy?
    replace all the old galvy bolts, sister all the frames from the 5 oak stringers down into the keel, and splice the bottom halves of several completely gone frames (rather than replace them).

    Obviously the boat would be quite a bit heavier from all this extra oak, but what I'm really concerned with is weather splicing a steam-bent frame will be sturdy enough even with a sister overlapping it.
     
  7. JJcurrach
    Joined: Mar 2008
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    Location: Ireland

    JJcurrach Junior Member

    Could someone tell me what would be the best treatment to use for larch on oak rib members for a sailboat in saltwater?
     
  8. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Can you define your needs (question) a little better? You may also consider starting a new thread as this is a relatively old one.
     
  9. alan white
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    Location: maine

    alan white Senior Member

  10. JJcurrach
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    Location: Ireland

    JJcurrach Junior Member

    Thank you Alan, while the info you've presented w as informative it wasn't exactly what I was trying to ask.
     
  11. alan white
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    alan white Senior Member

    I wonder what it was you wanted to know?
     
  12. nordvindcrew
    Joined: Sep 2006
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    Location: Marshfield massachusetts usa

    nordvindcrew Senior Member

    white oak?

    Ok, then , back to the issue. I want to buy some white oak from my friendly local saw mill to make ribs and stringers for a skin on frame fabric covered boat. some where on the forum there is a way to test with a common chemical to positively identify white oak. Can any one help me with this? thanks, Jeff
     
  13. alan white
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    alan white Senior Member

    Luckily, white oak is pretty easy to identify. Red oak, freshly planed, is pinkish while white oak is more yellowish. That's simplifying greatly, though I've never seen white oak look pink.
    The grain looks quite different too. How, i can't describe exactly. In any case, white oak in general has lot more prominant medullary rays, meaning when the cut of the face goes from inside to outside of the tree (quarter-sawn), white oak becomes georgeous with translucent ribbons, while red oak is only rarely so, usually showing only fine lines.
    Any cabinet maker would know the difference.
    I'm sure there's a chemical test, but the real easy test is to ask your yard for a sample of each, red and white, and see how they differ.

    Alan
     
  14. alan white
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    Location: maine

    alan white Senior Member

    Also, is Holt and Bugbee still located down your way? They should have all kinds of hardwoods, and they know their woods.

    A.
     

  15. nordvindcrew
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    Location: Marshfield massachusetts usa

    nordvindcrew Senior Member

    holt and bugbee

    Holt and Bugbee rings a bell very distantly. The name is familiar but I can't place it as to where it is. I need fresh cut green wood to steam bend into ribs. Would they have access to that kind of wood? There are two local sawmills around here and I hoped to go buy some fresh cut and sawed local wood. I've got a lot of white cedar that is quite clear, but I'm afraid that wouldn't have enough strength fot my needs. The book I have on kayak building specifies clear spruce, but I'm building a larger boat to be rowed and feel the strength of the oak would be worth the weight. I could scale up the scantlings for cedar but would prefer the oak. Jeff
     
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