Which Oak?

[ByronBlack]

I'm going to be buying some oak for a display cabinet:

But I am uncertain of which to go for. I'll be buying PAR boards from SLHardwoods and they do American Red, American White, and Euro - I don't know a great deal about the difference in these other than a few basic facts found on the web.

I'm looking for more 'hands-on' advice - what are the differences in terms of difficulty to work with, movement, and finish?

Any input appreciated.

 

[jasonB]

As You are using it with MDF carcase it has really got to be American white to give a close match.

Though as its going into an alcove the outside won't show so you could get away with a slightly lighter looking inside.

Red would have the biggest contrast, not worked it myself. European has a lot more character so you could get the odd small knott or cluster and slightly more varied grain direction but a lot will depend on the board. It also finishes a bit darker.

Jason

 

[woodbloke]

AO and AR oak are available in long straight, knot free boards, usually kilned. I've used both for one or two pieces and both are unpleasant to use (in my view anyway) AO won't plane cleanly...it tears and needs to be scraped and sanded. The AR is just that...red.
Out of choice, I'd always now go for European oak of whatever denomination as they're all pretty much the same..again probably kilned - Rob

 

[Karl]

I'd agree to a certain extent with Rob on the AWO point (not used red oak) - it can sometimes be brittle and difficult to plane. Deep tearout can be a problem.

As Jason says, with EO, you can get grain reversals which can be tricky to deal with. But I found a sharp blade and 60deg EP sorted it (ie 15deg back bevel on your QS 4).

Cheers

Karl

 

[yetloh]

+1 for EO. AO is pretty horrible in my opinion.

Jim

 

[wizer]

BB, consider Morgan's down in Rochester. Very good old fashion style wood yard with helpful staff.

 

[WoodAddict]

Hi Byron,

sorry to digress slightly, but was that drawn with the free version of scetch-up or the pro one that you have to pay for. I only ask because I see that lots of you guys using scetch-up, I've downloaded it but never given it the full time to learn it as I wondered about its capabilites........

At the minute I draw 2d drawings on autocad, but they would look better if I could bring them to life to something like the drawing you've shown here.
8)

Thanks

 

[RobertMP]

I've just bought some American white Oak from E Roberts on the north circular in Edmonton. £27+ per cu ft. They also have 9mm A/B (veneered both sides, one good one good enough) AWO veneered ply in 4mm and 9mm. I bought 1 9mm sheet for £23+.

I bought 1" sawn board but they said they had PAR as well. Don't know the price of that.

 

[OPJ]

You're buying PAR? :shock: I thought you were a hand tool-galoot, now??? :wink:

 

[ByronBlack]

Hey chaps - thanks for the feedback. Jason; I think you have hit the nail on the head, and the obvious issue that I failed to realise; the MDF carcass will have to match the face frames, so this limits me to White oak - unless anyone knows of a supplier of euro-oak veneered MDF (Tom - do Morgans to Veneered sheet goods? I would also need them to cut it for me as I currently don't have a rail setup).

Has anyone here used SLHardwoods? Are their PAR boards likely to be straight/unwarped?

Karl - I'll be ordering a spare blade for the QS4 specifically for the purpose of higher EP as you mention, so hopefully that will help with the oak.

Wood Addict: I used the free version of sketchup (version 7.1), so far I have yet to find a need to upgrade to the Pro version. It's very easy to use, and gives you all the tools needed to do pretty much anything. I've done all the joinery on this unit too - and with the 'cutlist' plugin, it will even work out how many sheets and boards I need, with cutting diagrams to get the most out of each board.

I was resistant to it for a long-time, I could never seem to 'get it', but I followed some tutorials from DaveR on the design forum, and a some of video tutorials direct from sketchup - within a couple of hours I was creating almost anything I could think of.

Rob: thanks for the info, I was thinking of using 19mm for the carcass, but that is double the cost, I might be able to make the carcass out of thinner material and brace it to save some cash.. i'll have to look into that.

Olly - I maybe a galoot these days, but as this is for mum I don't have months and months to build it , so I'm expediting the donky work by getting PAR - I'm also going to have them cut the MDF to size - how lazy is that? ;-)

 

[RobertMP]

Hi Byron,

sorry to digress slightly, but was that drawn with the free version of scetch-up or the pro one that you have to pay for. I only ask because I see that lots of you guys using scetch-up, I've downloaded it but never given it the full time to learn it as I wondered about its capabilites........

At the minute I draw 2d drawings on autocad, but they would look better if I could bring them to life to something like the drawing you've shown here.
8)

Thanks

I went from Autocad at work to sketchup for home projects and it is a painful transition

The hardest thing to get your head around is not to use layers in sketchup. Work with 'components' instead.

Took a lot of head scratching to get into sketchup but I wouldn't go back to autocad for home projects now. I use the free version as it does all I need.

Post in the design section if you need help.

 

[Max Power]

Love the design BB Im sure it will look good in whatever wood you go for.
I fancy something like that myself, but with glazed sides and a mirrored back

 

[ByronBlack]

Love the design BB Im sure it will look good in whatever wood you go for.
I fancy something like that myself, but with glazed sides and a mirrored back

Thanks Alan, I have Jason and the other chaps from the Design section to thank for helping me refine the design, my initial efforts were a bit less uninspiring. If it's any use to, I can send you the sketchup file to edit to your taste.

 

[BTR]

I am useing American oak for the dining table i am making and so far it has been through the planer a treat going to get it glued and jointed today so will let you know how it goes on the jointer.
I think that is a real nice cabinet design you have there that will be my next project.

 

[jasonB]

SLH do have a few other options for Oak veneered board, in AWO they have both crown & quater sawn, the crown has a bit more going on than the qtr which looks a bit straight, you don't seem to get the pattern from the medular rays on the qtr veneer. They also have a pippy oak which would go well with euro oak. I would stick with 19mm for the carcase and a 6mm back. And for those that don't like MDF they have a small range of blockboard.

As to their solid timber, I mostly buy sawn from them and I always used to get them to get it in as their storage was not idea but now they are in the new place they have it all stored inside and its far easier to see whats on the racks.

I have also had quite a bit of PAR from them but again get them to machine up what I need and thats been fine. I only buy the odd bit of off the shelf PAR from them when I want something quick, really needs sorting through as its sometimes a bit cupped.

Jason

 

[ByronBlack]

Jason - thanks for the feedback mate, much appreciated. I'm going to give them a call tomorrow, as I need to find out how much they charge for cutting the MDF (or blockboard; I didn't realise they did that, and might use that instead). As I'll be buying blind and having it posted, I'll get them to machine the wood as i don't want too much faffing about with cupped boards if it can be avoided.

 

[WoodAddict]

Wood Addict: I used the free version of sketchup (version 7.1), so far I have yet to find a need to upgrade to the Pro version. It's very easy to use, and gives you all the tools needed to do pretty much anything. I've done all the joinery on this unit too - and with the 'cutlist' plugin, it will even work out how many sheets and boards I need, with cutting diagrams to get the most out of each board.

I was resistant to it for a long-time, I could never seem to 'get it', but I followed some tutorials from DaveR on the design forum, and a some of video tutorials direct from sketchup - within a couple of hours I was creating almost anything I could think of.

I went from Autocad at work to sketchup for home projects and it is a painful transition

The hardest thing to get your head around is not to use layers in sketchup. Work with 'components' instead.

Took a lot of head scratching to get into sketchup but I wouldn't go back to autocad for home projects now. I use the free version as it does all I need.

Post in the design section if you need help.

Thanks chaps, I'll spend a bit of time on it this week and see what I can do! I may just be a regular in the design forum for a while