What timber?

[DrPhill]

I was becoming worried that my stock of reclaimed timber was running out. Then I was gifted a six foot high CD rack made from solid hardwood (I am pretty sure its a hardwood- weighs enough). I think the timber is oak, but I am not sure. Could anyone confirm this? (Or make an alternate identification).

That is, if I can upload the image......... ah well, hosted on my website instead:

Sorry about the image size......

 

[carlb40]

Looks like oak to me. What is the end grain like? If it is very open pored?

 

[DrPhill]

I am not sure how to assess 'open grained', so I atttached an image.

.

Does that help?

 

[carlb40]

Yep definitely oak

 

[DrPhill]

Thank you. It is nice to know what I am working with. Will oak hold carved detail nicely, or is the texture too rough?

I have thirteen shelves, but three are comprimised because some pins snapped when I tried to pull them out (one pin on each
of the three shelves why not all three pins on one shelf #-o ). I think that pins and router bits may be a bad mixture.....

The uprights have a few too many dowel holes to useful I may be able to work between them but that is a big 'if'.

 

[carlb40]

I have never carved oak, so cannot help there. Can the part with the pins be put to the back? Something like a scratch awl may help to dig the pins out without damaging the oak too much. They need to come out as the oak will stain around them due to the tannin.

 

[DrPhill]

I could try to remove the pins, or I could try to arrange the job to work around them. Luckily the pins are the outermost in each
case rather than the central one.

I am not sure what I will make yet, though I like making boxes. When I decide, then I can work out how to make best use of the
timber, and whether I can work around the pins.

I am just happy to have some well thicknessed hardwood to work with - saves me some effort (and/or tool purchase).

 

[JakeS]

Will oak hold carved detail nicely, or is the texture too rough?

In my admittedly limited experience, oak is not one of the best woods for carving - it splinters more easily than a lot of tighter-grained woods and the grain makes it more difficult to get a smooth finish. Not impossible by any stretch, but not the easiest wood to carve.
Sharpen your tools carefully, and don't plan anything too fine detail.

 

[DrPhill]

Thanks, it is worth knowing that before I get too ambitious with my plans.

I sometimes think I enjoy the planning as much as the doing....

 

[Nick Gibbs]

Despite the tendency to splinter, oak will take detail well, but you need to take care with grain direction, always working 'downhill'. In some ways, oak's hardness makes it easier to use for detail, but don't expect to be able to remove waste quickly.

Nick

 

[AndyT]

I agree that oak could be challenging if you wanted to carve a delicate spray of flowers, though Grinling Gibbons did work in oak, not just lime.
However, there are many different sorts of carving. In the C17th, a lot of oak furniture was decorated with patterns of gouge cuts. These have the advantage that they don't need hundreds of different tools.
This is the sort of thing I mean:

For a contemporary take on this style, have a look at Peter Follansbee's work.