Panels & Furniture Asia March/April 2018

MATERIALS 47
sound management and natural regeneration – always a true measure of
sustainability. Interactive maps of all American commercial hardwoods
newly launched show that annual growth exceeds annual harvest and
mortality.
Lincoln* describes American red oak as “weighing around 770 kg/m 3
with medium bending properties and very good bending with steam.”
It has “high crushing strength” and is mostly straight grained.
American red oak is classified as non-durable although the
sapwood is permeable and easily treated with preservative, whereas
the heartwood is moderately easy to treat. More recently test projects
have revealed red oak as most suitable for thermal modification – so
TMT red oak is now available for applications such as exterior furniture.
Other properties lead to the harder wood needing pre-boring for nails,
but it machines well and also glues and stains well to a fine finish.
The decorative properties of red oak are derived from its strong grain
patterns and generally warm colour.
Given the sustainability of red oak, specifiers can rest assured that
its use threatens no forests but provides a material with characteristics
that can spell both ‘contemporary’ and ‘heritage’. ℗
Footnotes:
* “World woods in colour” William A. Lincoln ISBN 0 85442 028 2
Michael Buckley at World Hardwoods holds an MPhil for hardwood
research and is a fellow of the Institute of Wood Science in the UK. He
writes widely on hardwood subjects.
Red oak flooring showing typical grain and colour
PANELS & FURNITURE ASIA • Issue 2 • March / April 2018