Tell me about these woods please...

[jeff...]

Jeff,
Why do you dislike black walnut?
Todd

Where would you like for me to start?

 

[Toddler]

:grommit:
Anywhere. I was planning to use it for part of a guitar body and am wondering if that'd be a mistake.

Todd

 

[jeff...]

Nah your not making a mistake, it's just me. I hope you can understand where I'm coming from. But see when I'm milling any wood, I end up eating the dust, breathing it, getting covered in it and it get in your eyes. I have to admit, it used really affect me bad, but now after cutting so much of it, it really does not bother me much anymore. Now that I think about it, I must be getting used to it. So maybe I should change my tune to a more positive note. After all it is a very pretty wood and has a very rich tone, so all in all it's not all that bad as I recall with my first experience with milling it. But I still don't like coming away from the mill covered in black dust. :eusa_booh I know, I know, stop your belly aching already :slap: there I smacked myself so you don't have too.

 

[Kyle]

white oak is a much harder wood than red oak.

Basswood: 410
Cherry: 660
Walnut: 1010
Purple Heart: 1860
Jatoba: 2653
Ipe: 3684

Kyle,

On the overall scale of things, 1360 vs 1290 doesn't seem like a MUCH harder wood.

http://www.exotichardwoods-northamerica.com/oakwhite.htm

http://www.exotichardwoods-northamerica.com/oakred.htm

(I love that site!)

Todd

There is a lot more to it than just Janka hardness. That is one aspect. Most oak around here is post oak or swamp white oak as the true Quercus alba is generally left standing and most red oak in NC is southern lowland. There are over 20 species of red and white oak in this area but those seem to be the most common that I saw and I can tell you from experience I can saw a 1/3 more red than I can white before getting a dull blade.


oh..
END hardness is also typically MUCH harder than the impact on the flat surface. The closed tyloses and high silica content in white oak make it very dense not as bad a hickory or locust but pretty stinkin hard.

 

[jeff...]

white oak is a much harder wood than red oak.



There is a lot more to it than just Janka hardness. That is one aspect. Most oak around here is post oak or swamp white oak as the true Quercus alba is generally left standing and most red oak in NC is southern lowland. There are over 20 species of red and white oak in this area but those seem to be the most common that I saw and I can tell you from experience I can saw a 1/3 more red than I can white before getting a dull blade.


oh..
END hardness is also typically MUCH harder than the impact on the flat surface. The closed tyloses and high silica content in white oak make it very dense not as bad a hickory or locust but pretty stinkin hard.

I'm with you Kyle. I don't know about Janka scale but I can say WO is some rough stuff to cut, not as bad as hickory but still rough. When I'm cutting WO or Hickory, I make sure the blade setter and sharpener is tuned up cause I know I'm gonna need it. I've actually bent a tooth sawing poplar (to quick on forwarding the head) and left the tooth alone. Next log was white oak, one cut and that bent tooth straightened right up, now that's some hard wood there hu? Red oak is just so much kinder on tooling and so much easier to work.

 

[Toddler]

Dust

So Jeff and Kyle,

Do you guys wear dust/particle masks when you saw?

Todd