Saturday 2 November 2013

MUSICAL CHAIRS: Some more ideas of what I could do on my holidays.............


I am still pondering the possibilities!

My budget is as yet unknown, although I suspect I will have enough for a modest amount of fun.
Here are some newer ideas...
Musical instrument making
 STURT School
I'm tempted by the stool making but I think I may have the basic skills. What I probably want is a green wood-turning course, or a course in Windsor chair making. I wish the Wisdom through course was closer than Tasmania. Perhaps next year!

LEARNING ABOUT TIMBER AND TREES

RED OAK

Everywhere I look these days I see "Red oak" mentioned. The large number of U.S.Asian blogs and pages I look at and of course "The Woodrights Shop" may go some way to explain this, but I have recently found this timber at the masters warehouse store near Canberra airport.
 Being  me I wondered what it was, where it came from, how useful it is to me and of course is it being produced sustainably?

Here is what I have found out:Quercus rubra at Kew Gardens

Red Oak
 Quercus Rubra  Family FAGACEAE
American Red Oak sapwood is white to light brown and heartwood is pink to red-brown. It is becoming increasingly popular for furniture, flooring and joinery around the world.
Red Oak
    Scientific name: Quercus rubra L.
    Common name(s): red oak, northern red oak
    Synonym(s): Quercus borealis F.Michx.
    Conservation status: Least Concern (LC) according to IUCN Red List criteria.
    Habitat: Valley floors to mid-slopes of hills and mountains Quercus rubra is native to south-eastern Canada and north-central and eastern USA.
  
Red oak is hard timber from a rapidly growing tree, which naturally make it a good plantation tree.   It is straight grained with with large open pores. Apparently the grain is so open   that smoke can be blown all the way through a flat-sawn board.
 

American Red Oak sapwood is white to light brown and heartwood is pink to red-brown. It is becoming increasingly popular for furniture, flooring and joinery around the world.
Red Oak


How does it compare to Quercus robur?  (European/English oak)

  Density:
  • Q. rubra :770 kg/m³
  • Q. robur: 670-720 kg/m³ 
 Shrinkage:  
  •  Q. rubra:  Radial: 4.0%, Tangential: 8.6%, Volumetric: 13.7%, T/R Ratio: 2.2
  • Q. robur: Shrinkage:Radial: 4.7%, Tangential: 8.4%, Volumetric: 13.0%, T/R Ratio: 1.8
Average dry weight:

  •  Q. rubra:  44 lbs/ft3 (700 kg/m3)
  • Q. robur: 42 lbs/ft3 (675 kg/m3)  
  It would appear from these statistics that the two timbers are very similar in all but colour.

References: