Pin Oak Questions

Robert R · March 01, 2005, 06:54:11 PM

I learned the hard way that mills don't want pin oak except for pallet lumbar. Do you have any idea as to its durability and weather resistance. I planning a pretty big fencing job this summer and if it won't rot fast, I would like to use since it isn't really marketable for me. Any thoughts?

footer · March 01, 2005, 07:02:22 PM

Robert,
I could't tell you for sure how long, but the red oaks don't last long out side. I wouldn't expect it to last more than a couple years. Red elm would outlast the red oak. Don't remember if you said that you had any of that. Have you thought about using it to build your barn? It could be used for anything under cover, and not in ground contact.

Furby · March 01, 2005, 07:12:28 PM

Lots of guys here on the froum cut red oak for fence boards.
I can only assume that they are painted or treated at some point.
Maybe someone that cuts/sells fence boards will see this and speak up.
I'm interested in knowing myself.

HORSELOGGER · March 01, 2005, 07:14:55 PM

I like pin oak in flooring, think the color finishes real nice.

Buzz-sawyer · March 01, 2005, 07:25:37 PM

Horselgr
Do you run into problems with pin checking badly or excess defects?

HORSELOGGER · March 01, 2005, 07:42:30 PM

Buzz, I only get in to it occasionaly, but i cant recall ever having any trouble with it. It is a amber and brown color up here, and a fast grower. I seem to remember one batch I tried was a little ring shakey.

Buzz-sawyer · March 01, 2005, 08:11:00 PM

I have had poor results so far with it down here, but have a 36 incher I am thinkin of quartering and makin some lumber ;)

ronwood · March 02, 2005, 12:06:00 PM

I been using pin oak for perlens on a shed that I built. Worked pretty well for that. It is hard around here to get one that does not have any metal or not a lot of limbs.

Frank_Pender · March 02, 2005, 12:24:19 PM

I just put about 1000 bd ft in the kiln this morning of Pin Oak. It will be installed for a dance floor, in a friend home. She said she would try and teach ol' guy to dance. I just :D.

Stephen_Wiley · March 02, 2005, 01:48:41 PM

Frank, you should of had her work a day around the ranch with you.

She would have seen you already know the:

"Sawdust Ballad Waltz"
"The Pickeroon Boogie" (stay away from your nose :D)
"Log Deck Two Step"

Besides once you started that MD..........the music to your ears would have had you asking?
Kiln, I have this Dance. ;D

Tom · March 02, 2005, 01:54:13 PM

HA! Great Stephen. :D

I maight ad that he may find himself "dogging the boards".

Greg · March 02, 2005, 03:08:57 PM

I have heard two things about pin oak.

It is very susceptible to ring shake.

And after milling it really stinks.

Greg

Larry · March 02, 2005, 03:44:21 PM

Gregg, that lovely rotten egg smell is shake. Sometimes you don't see the shake until it starts to dry but ya can always smell it.

Shake is a bacteria infection...think the reason pin oaks are so susceptible is because they are fast growers and full of water??

Frank_Pender · March 02, 2005, 04:01:08 PM

Wiley, have you nothing better to do than set around all morning, giving folks a bad time. There are some fine titles for songs however in you list. I will check with a couple of students that play in bluegrass band and see if they can come up with some lyrics. 8)

Boy we sure are getting this thread off the rail track. ;D

Greg · March 02, 2005, 04:24:49 PM

Quote from: Larry on March 02, 2005, 03:44:21 PM
Gregg, that lovely rotten egg smell is shake. Sometimes you don't see the shake until it starts to dry but ya can always smell it.

Shake is a bacteria infection...think the reason pin oaks are so susceptible is because they are fast growers and full of water??

I've never heard this before.

I though shake in a tree was caused by wind stresses which cracked the interior of the wood, along the growth rings.

Pin oak and hemlock are known for this, and as a result are well regarded for making lumber.

Maybe the structural cracks appear first (from wind?) then the fill with water/bacteria.

I dunno.

greg

woodmills1 · March 03, 2005, 07:47:12 AM

the smell is a bacteria infection and it can happen to any oaks. My fence company customer will buy all the red oak of any kind, for horse fencing. Just the boards, they use pressure treated posts

Robert R · March 03, 2005, 09:02:16 PM

So I could still make use of my pin oak as fence rails but it would needed to be painted since it wouldn't last as long as white oak or hedge? What is this smell--how objectionable is it. The pin oaks I have cut just smelled like oak to me and after 24 hours or so, the cut ends discolored a bit, turning dark. My stalls are going to be tongue and groove with metal covering all exposed edges so I am not to concerned about the horses chewing it up--but if it is going to stink my wife just might chew me up.

footer · March 03, 2005, 10:26:46 PM

Robert, The smell, you will notice when sawing. I don't think you would smell it after it is air dry.

woodmills1 · March 03, 2005, 11:26:29 PM

smells like stinky cheese or feet and it only happens on some trees. If you have one you won't miss it. Put it this way on an infected tree you wouldnt want the fire wood outside your bedroom window.

populus · March 03, 2005, 11:45:17 PM

Ring shake is caused mostly by mechanical stress. It is somethimes associated with wetwood, and wetwood is sometimes associated with bacteria, so it's easy to see some connection between bacteria and shake. Wetwood ring shake mostly occurs in elm. The ring shake commonly seen in pin oak is probably the result of wind stress. We see a lot of ring shake in urban pin oaks.

The smell of pin oak is interesting. I've gotten to like it, but my wife won't even let me hang my coat in the front closet any more for fear of contaminating her coats. And she's a veterinarian! I was showing some beautiful pin oak to a committee planning a new building. The wood was fresh because I didn't have any out of the kiln yet. Every man in the room sort of sniffed it and smiled or made a slight grimace. Every woman in the room had all she could do to keep from retching.

Around our house, it's known as vomit wood. But I've convinced my wife that it's just the smell of money. Still have to hang my clothes in the basement, though.

Robert R · March 05, 2005, 12:09:56 AM

Just for fun, I took a 30 inch long chunk of pin oak and sawed in lengthwise with my chainsaw to see what it looked like. I really liked the dark grain structure, I thought it was quite attractive. Will the wood darken like it does on the end cuts and if so, is there a way to prevent that? I'd like to be able to just put a clear coat on or leave it as is. What about Thompsons water seal, will that protect it and retain it original appearance? I may have to make some pin oak boards just because no one else around seems to think it is worthwhile--have a thing about being different.