what would you do with 6/4 and 8/4 red oak?

[Richiep]

Hey All,
Dad and I were turning some Red Oak logs into lumber with our Wood Miezer the other day and had a disagreement about how to cut it.  We currently have a bunch of 4/4 Red Oak so I wanted to cut some 6/4 and 8/4 boards to have on hand. He didn't like that idea saying "nobody is gonna want that, there's no market for it" so we compromised and cut most of it to 6/4.

I'm gonna personally make a floor lamp out of some of it but I'm curious to know what kind of stuff you could build with 6/4 and 8/4 Red Oak.  Trestle table comes to mind.

Puttin the feelers out.

Rich

[Cheeset202]

Can make anything you want like most other species.  People make beautiful furniture out of oak, especially if you quarter saw the white oak, lot more waste but worth more money.

[drzaius]

Personally, I wouldn't build anything out of red oak unless it was something for the shop. It just isn't very attractive. White oak, on the other hand, is quite beautiful, especially if quarter or rift sawn.

I did build a fireplace mantle for my daughter that was painted black & it looked pretty good. The open grain showed through the paint & the effect was just what she wanted.

[mat60]

I cant say I like the look of red oak or big women and everyone should feel that way.

[Eric.]

The problem with red oak, aside from how it looks, is that it has little value right now.  At my yard it's barely more expensive than poplar.  You might figure out what the going rate for red oak is in your area before you invest a bunch of time into milling it.  You might find it's not worth it, especially if you're planning to sell it rough and/or air dried.  If you plan to have it kiln dried remember that the thicker the lumber, the longer it takes, and therefore the higher the kiln cost will be.

[wtnhighlander]

On the other hand, at a clients request, I am making a 100 mile drive tomorrow, to purchase some 30" wide x 2" thick slabs of clear red oak.

 

I must say that the coarse grain of red oak is more appealing to me in a massive piece, so your idea of 8/4 makes sense. But it is still red oak, almost the crabgrass of hardwoods, at least in the south.

[wtnhighlander]

Oh, I've seen some QS red oak that looked amazing, but it seems not every log produces good ray fleck when quarter sawn.

[Mick S]

Wood species come into and go out of vogue. Red oak was huge in the '70s and early '80s. Not so much now. I would use it for shop tables, benches, etc.

[wdwerker]

Red oak is still popular as strip hardwood flooring in homes as well as hardwood flooring in cargo trucks . Most of the furniture & cabinets made of red oak are inexpensive or builder grade.

[Ronn W]

Red Oak works well and looks nice in arts and crafts type porjects with slats and straight lines.

[drzaius]

55 minutes ago, Ronn W said:

Red Oak works well and looks nice in arts and crafts type porjects with slats and straight lines.

But white looks so much better. If I'm going to the effort of making a decent piece of furniture I wouldn't use red just to save a few bucks. White isn't that much more expensive.

[Sawdustdad]

I take the question is more about 8/4 and 12/4 boards and not so much about red oak as a wood species. When I buy lumber, I buy large lots and always include 5/4, 8/4, 12/4 and sometimes, if I can get it, 16/4 boards. The thicker lumber has lots of applications--table legs, bracket feet, cabinet corners,  larger spindles, and to be resawn for book matched panels. 

I don't even use red oak as wife is allergic to oak and pine. 

[Barron]

I actually like the look of red oak, and 8/4 is actually handy when doing chair legs in mission and arts and crafts style furniture. Straight grained red oak makes good legs for staked chair legs al la Anarchist Design Book.  Both 8/4 and 6/4 can be riven to make spindles and arms for Windsor chairs.  Red oak also makes a great bench top, at least I love my Roubo made from 8/4 red oak. 

[Eric.]

If I could find some gnarly red oak with a little character I might be more interested in it.  All we get at the yard is primo FAS which is absolutely clear and boring as hell...and pink.  If I'm ever in an oak mood I always default to white, which is superior in every imaginable way.

But yeah...6/4 and 8/4 is absolutely useful.

[Pwk5017]

Rich, i agree with you entirely, and think you should slap your colleague. Im not a 30 year pro, but it's my understanding 4/4 is cut almost exclusively for the cabinet industry. Who is making cabinets out of red oak right now? As steve alluded to, only the lowest priced cabinets would be red oak. On the other hand, 5/4+ is usable furniture thickness. In my opinion, sawing strictly 4/4 is dumb. Thicker and more robust styles are popular now, and i would saw 8/4-12/4. Yes, it takes longer to dry, but 8-16/4 commands a higher price per bdft, less cutting time, and should have much less competition in the market. Your friend's opinion reinforces this last point. He is right, everyone does cut 4/4. Personally, i think sawing thicker leaves options open for your customers. You can always take away, it isnt ideal to add. An example of this is a few of the guild projects ive watched where Marc glues up 8/4 to make leg blanks. He does it to be relatable to the masses where 8/4 is more common than 12/4, but thats exactly my point. Red oak is common and cheap, so make your sawing less common and more unique. Thicker, live edge slabs if it makes sense, quartering or rift sawing as previously mentioned etc. flatsawn 4/4 might as well be sold as firewood. 

[BillyDoubleU]

I don't get the dislike for red oak. 

I actually like the way it looks. I don't know what I'd do with a bunch of it. Make some boxes...

 

idk...

[drzaius]

7 minutes ago, BillyDoubleU said:

I don't get the dislike for red oak. 

I actually like the way it looks. I don't know what I'd do with a bunch of it. Make some boxes...

 

idk...

I think it's a number of things, for me anyway. There is such a strong association with cheap, mass produced kitchen cabinets & residential millwork that is generally of very uninspired design. The grain of flat sawn boards is garish. The grain is so open that, in order to keep it from collecting crap, needs to be filled, which is extra work & tends to make the finished surface look plasticy. The unstained color is not very good. And it stinks something terrible when cut.

But that's my opinion.

[BillyDoubleU]

4 hours ago, drzaius said:

I think it's a number of things, for me anyway. There is such a strong association with cheap, mass produced kitchen cabinets & residential millwork that is generally of very uninspired design. The grain of flat sawn boards is garish. The grain is so open that, in order to keep it from collecting crap, needs to be filled, which is extra work & tends to make the finished surface look plasticy. The unstained color is not very good. And it stinks something terrible when cut.

But that's my opinion.

I kind of like the smell <_<, >_>

[wdwerker]

I've learned it takes all kinds to make a world . If we all liked the same things it would quickly get boring.  I built a red oak bar for a client a few years ago and it turned out pretty nice. If I'm going to use oak in a personal project white oak would be my preference, there's a slight sweetness to my nose.

[drzaius]

2 hours ago, BillyDoubleU said:

I kind of like the smell <_<, >_>

Ya, I actually get that. It's a smell that I could like if I didn't hate it  

[Eric.]

Vile weed!!!