White Oak
Quercus Alba
White Oak is a long-lived oak, native to eastern North America, from southern Quebec west to east Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens are known to have lived over 600 years. Normally not a very tall tree, typically 65-85 ft tall at maturity, it becomes quite massive and its lower branches are apt to reach far out parallel to the ground. The tallest known white oak is 144ft tall. It is not unusual for a white oak tree to be as wide as it is tall.
White oak is relatively rot resistant. It was a signature wood used in mission oak furniture by Gustav Stickley in the Craftsman style during the Arts and Crafts movement. White Oak's have cellular structures called tyloses, which does not allow water to pass. The white oaks, with tyloses, are used in making wine and whiskey barrels which prevent leaking. Other uses for white oak include interior construction, and ship building; most notable the USS Constitution build in 1794 and known as “Old Iron Sides”.
Red Oak
Quercus Rubra
Red oak is a native of North America, in the northeastern United States and southeast Canada. It grows from the north end of the Great Lakes, east to Nova Scotia, south as far as Georgia and states with good soil that is slightly acidic. In forests, the northern red oak grows straight and tall, to 115 ft, exceptionally to 140 ft tall, with a trunk of up to 3 ft diameter; open-grown trees do not get so tall, but can develop a stouter trunk, up to 6 ft in diameter.
Red oak has stout branches growing at right angles to the stem, forming a narrow round-topped head. It grows rapidly and is tolerant of many soils and varied situations, although it prefers the glacial drift and well-drained borders of streams. Red oak is one of the most important oaks for timber production in North America. The wood is of high value.
Red oak wood grain is so open that smoke can be blown through it from end-grain to end-grain on a flat sawn board.
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