The surprising benefits of White Oak

3 benefits of White Oak

The 3 benefits of White Oak are Health, Style and Strength.

Health benefits of White Oak

While most people think of White Oak for use in fine furniture, this hardwood species is also known to have excellent health benefits, whether applied topically or orally. It has antibacterial properties which can help to heal burns, the liver, stomach issues and is even effective against forms of drug resistant bacteria. Due to its high ellagitannin content it can help to protect from free radicals, and can even cure skin ailments.

But even though White Oak can have such great health benefits, it is not advised that you go to your local park and start gnawing on the nearest member of the Fagaceae family. It is recommended to consume wood under the care of a qualified health professional, which usually involves pre-made supplements.

Style

White Oak has tremendous style: with its sleek appearance and varied colors, a White Oak furniture piece can add great style to any room. Its tight cellular structure allows it to be sanded to an immaculately smooth surface, making it one of the smoothest hardwoods. This surface can then be more effectively stained with a myriad of stain choices.

White Oak has colors ranging from grey to muted tones. One of the reasons why people like White Oak so much is its cool tone color palette. Its colors vary from grey brown to a golden color, and it has an understated yet classy aesthetic.

Strength

White Oak has a particularly dense cellular structure which makes it very strong, perfect for high use furniture such as beds, cabinets and dressers. This dense construction gives White Oak a very moisture resistant quality, making it highly favored for wine barrels and also furniture. It is one of the hardest hardwoods, and that is saying something!

White Oak Tree Pros and Cons

But why is Oak used for furniture? What are the pros and cons of a White Oak tree? Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:

1. 1. White Oak is a long-lasting wood species.
   2. It is very durable and strong.
   3. White Oak is very dense.
   4. This type of wood is quite water-resistant.
   5. White Oak looks amazing!

Cons:

1. White Oak is particularly dense and heavy.
2. It will probably rot within the next couple thousand years.

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Red Oak vs White Oak for Furniture

There are two varieties of Oak commonly used in hardwood furniture: Red Oak and White Oak. Red Oak and White Oak are two very different but related wood species. While they may both be called Oak, they vary greatly in constitution: White Oak is dense and heavy, while Red Oak is porous and light(er).

Now to be clear, Red Oak's pores are not large and are only visible to the naked eye at very close range, but they do have an impact on the wood. The porousness of Red Oak has three major effects: firstly, it creates a surface that cannot ever be sanded to a perfect smoothness. No matter how hard you sand it, Red Oak will always be slightly rough, while White oak can be sanded down to buttery smoothness.

Finally, because it is porous Red Oak is not nearly as water resistant as White Oak. Wine is often stored in barrels made from White Oak, because this wood's dense nature allows it to make an effective container that will not spill liquid. However, if you were to construct a wine barrel out of Red Oak, all the wine would seep out through the pores!

Therefore, we can reasonably conclude that Bilbo and the drawrves escaped the halls of the Woodland King in barrels made of White Oak. If the barrels had been made of Red Oak then the whole company would have certainly drowned in the river, and Tolkien would have probably never bothered writing The Hobbit. But as it is the barrels were White Oak, and therefore we have this gem of western literature.

The colors and looks of these two types of woods also differ from each other: White Oak tends to have more muted tones such as grey, brown and, you guessed it, white. But Red Oak tends to have more vibrant tones like Red and Yellow.

Red Oak has a very distinctive look and can bring back memories for many people, as it was reasonably popular in the 1980s. If you were to venture into an office constructed in the 80s, you would probably find that most of the cabinets and desks were made out of Red Oak (or at least imitation Red Oak).

So, if you want an extremely sturdy piece of furniture with a very smooth finish, choose White Oak. But if you want a lighter but still strong furniture piece with a more rustic surface, go for Red Oak.

Fun Facts about the White and Red Oak Trees

White Oak furniture sounds alright, but we need some fun facts! So you may be wondering: what are some fun facts about the White Oak tree? We got you: here are 3 fun facts:

1. White Oak Trees can live a very, very long time: the average lifespan of a White Oak tree is about 200-300ish years old, with some specimens being even older! Wow, that's old! That means that the oak tree you grew up climbing on as a kid could be the same one that George Washington climbed on when he was a kid! Or more likely the tree you grew up with could have been used to hang a bandit back in the wild west of the 1870s! Cool!
2. The Wine barrels that Bilbo and the 13 dwarves used to escape from the halls of the Elvin Woodland King were almost definitely White Oak. Bilbo probably even checked to make sure that they were White Oak before stuffing his companions into them, because as an avid arborist and devoted disciple of horticulture he was likely well aware of White Oak's exceptional waterproof properties.
3. Red Oak was popular in the 1980s. The kids these days seem to be obsessed with the retro fad, including everything from original game consoles to neon clothes. But they probably are not aware that Red Oak was also big back in the 80s. All you need to see this is to go to your grandma's house, and you will quickly discover that the kitchen cabinetry is Red Oak, or at least imitation Red Oak.