Is all red oak the same???

[taandctran]

I am going to redo our kitchen cabinets in the near future. I dont really have alot of room for alot of wood so I was going to build them in sections. I was wondering if The red oak that I get comes from diffrent areas, will it still be the same. I know each piece of wood has difrent grain patterns and such but will it be close enough in color that you wont think it is a completly diffrent species of wood. I plan on using hardwood ply-wood for the sides(it will just be alot simpler). Will this also be close enough to the solid wood?? If not I will need alot more red oak lumber. This may seem like a stupid question but I have never built anything large out of Red oak and I thought it may be a potential problem and thought I would ask before I really got into the plannng and preparing stage. :help: Thanks alot for your help and all ideas are welcome. :gar-Bi

 

[tom hintz]

There can be substantial differences in coloring even when you buy all of the wood from the same place at the same time. to get a really good color match plan on spending some time sorting and arranging no matter where or how many places you get the wood from. It's just part of working with a natural material.

 

[taandctran]

So you recommend buying the first batch trying to get them to match as much as possible, then taking along a piece of that with me and trying to find a match for the next batch and so on???

 

[tom hintz]

So you recommend buying the first batch trying to get them to match as much as possible, then taking along a piece of that with me and trying to find a match for the next batch and so on???

I supposed that would help as well. I usually just buy some extra wood and match for my parts out of that if I can. I have gone back for more on occasion though to get a good match on critical (high view) parts.

 

[taandctran]

I dont think you will really be able to tell the diffrent if it is on the other side of the kitchen. I just didnt want a door to look completly diffrent then the one beside of it. :gar-Bi

 

[tom hintz]

Remember also that you can do some balancing of color in the staining stage as well.

 

[taandctran]

I wasnt going to stain it. I just love the color of natural wood. But I bet my wife will want a little stain on it. :gar-Bi I tell her a piece of wood is pretty and she says "I dont think so, It looks like wood to me" :rotflm:

 

[taandctran]

Thanks for you help Tom... Now atleast I can sleep without this on my mind.:gar-Bi

 

[JimmyC]

Thanh,

Red Oak will definitely vary tree to tree, but definitely area to area. The nutrients in the ground will change the woods appearance. The only way to get it all to match is to get it from one tree.

Good Luck.

 

[taandctran]

Thanks, I will proably just try to get it to match as much as possible. maybe take a sample with me to buy the wood.

 

[CarvedTones]

Here are 3 pictures of the worst offender in my cabinets (builder provided):

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/thumbs/HPIM0619.JPG [url=http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/HPIM0620.JPG]

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We were given a credit for accepting them. They don't jump out at you; you have too look close. But I would avoid it.

 

[CrealBilly]

Nope there are at least 8 local native species that I can think of that will make red oak lumber (Black Oak, Pin Oak, Cherry Bark Oak,,Live Oak, Northern Red Oak, Southern Red Oak, Scarlet Oak and Willow Oak). Each species will have different color - even the same species of tree will have color variation based on what kind of soil it has grown in. About the only way I know to get a consistent color is to buy lumber from the same tree but even then there will be some color variation based on what section of the tree the lumber came from and how it was process and dried.

You'll never get a "perfect color match" that's the beauty of wood - if you want exact color go with a man made material like plastic.

 

[CarvedTones]

You'll never get a "perfect color match" that's the beauty of wood - if you want exact color go with a man made material like plastic.

That's true, but you can get it looking a lot more consistent than our cabinets. There are other doors that are lighter where the really light piece would not have contrasted so much. We have an oak entertainment center that is done sort of butcher block fashion even though it is all oak. Contrast looks fine there. Most of our cabinet doors are either bookmatched or from sequential slices. The credit was not because they are low quality. It was because they weren't top quality, which was what they sold/promised. I didn't have to complain; they offered.

 

[Gofor]

Nope there are at least 8 local native species that I can think of that will make red oak lumber (Black Oak, Pin Oak, Cherry Bark Oak,,Live Oak, Northern Red Oak, Southern Red Oak, Scarlet Oak and Willow Oak). Each species will have different color - even the same species of tree will have color variation based on what kind of soil it has grown in. About the only way I know to get a consistent color is to buy lumber from the same tree but even then there will be some color variation based on what section of the tree the lumber came from and how it was process and dried.

You'll never get a "perfect color match" that's the beauty of wood - if you want exact color go with a man made material like plastic.

You forgot "Water Oak". I wonder how many species are REALLY called "Red Oak". Kind of like calling Hickory and Pecan both Hickory when it comes to the mill.:wconfused::wconfused:

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