 Chestnut Oak (Q. alba pictured)
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Common Name(s): Chestnut Oak
Scientific Name: Quercus prinus Distribution: Eastern United States Tree Size: 60-70 ft (18-22 m) tall, 2-4 ft (.6-1.2 m) trunk diameter Average Dried Weight: 48 lbs/ft3 (765 kg/m3) Hardness: 1,130 lbf (5,030 N) Rupture Strength: 13,300 lbf/in2 (91,700 kPa) Elastic Strength: 1,590,000 lbf/in2 (11,000 MPa) Crushing Strength: 6,830 lbf/in2 (47.1 MPa) Shrinkage: Radial: 5.3%,Tangential: 10.8%, Volumetric: 16.4%, T/R Ratio: 2.0 |
Color/Appearance: Has a light to medium brown color, though there can be a fair amount of variation in color. Conversely, Red Oak tends to be slightly redder, but is by no means a reliable method of determining the type of Oak.
Grain/Pore: Has medium-to-large pores and a fairly coarse grain.
Durability: Chestnut Oak has been rated as having very good resistance to decay.
Workability: Easy to glue, and takes stain and finishes very well.
Scent: Has a tell-tale smell that is common to most oaks. Most find it appealing.
Safety: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, oak has been reported as a sensitizer. Usually most common reactions simply include eye and skin irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
Price/Availability: Slightly more expensive than Red Oak, White Oak is in good/sustainable supply and is moderately priced. Thicker 8/4 planks, or quartersawn boards are slightly more expensive per board foot.
Comments: Chestnut Oak falls into the white oak group, and shares many of the same traits as White Oak (Quercus alba). White Oak, along with its brother Red Oak, are commonly used domestic lumber species. Hard, durable, and moderately priced, White Oak presents an exceptional value to woodworkers—which explains why it is so widely used in cabinet and furniture making.
- Black Oak (Quercus velutina)
- Bog Oak
- Brown Oak
- Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
- California Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii)
- Cherrybark Oak (Quercus pagoda)
- English Oak (Quercus robur)
- Holm Oak (Quercus ilex)
- Laurel Oak (Quercus laurifolia)
- Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)
- Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana)
- Overcup Oak (Quercus lyrata)
- Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
- Post Oak (Quercus stellata)
- Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
- Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)
- Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea)
- Southern Red Oak (Quercus falcata)
- Swamp Chestnut Oak (Quercus michauxii)
- Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)
- Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris)
- Water Oak (Quercus nigra)
- White Oak (Quercus alba)
- Willow Oak (Quercus phellos)
Scans/Pictures: There are currently no pictures of this exact wood species, but a similar species within the Red Oak grouping is being substituted (Q. rubra). If you’d like to contribute a wood sample of this specific species to be scanned, (even small pieces of veneer can be sent), please use the contact form.
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White Oak (sanded) |
 White Oak (sealed) |
August 15th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
I am a professional woodworker who had the great privilege and pleasure of working with Chestnut Oak only once in my life. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere since. I was building a set of staircases in the home of a heart surgeon in a small town located in Northern North Carolina – I don’t recall the name of the town. The surgeon, however, was the head of the cardiology department in the local hospital in that town. In any case, the main set of the homes’ stairs which led to the second floor had newel posts made of Ambrosia Maple, (I believe they were box newels, if I remember correctly), rails made of Mahogany, and treads made of Chestnut Oak. This Oak was only similar to White Oak, and that is all. Its’ color was distinctly its own, having a markedly grayish tint to it, and it was most definitely a darker version of its’ white oak kin. I would even say that it had the faintest presence of a greenish quality to its overall look.
BUT the most valuable feature of this incredible wood, in my opinion, was its’ ability to hold the finest of detail in my sculptures and carvings. You see, although I came across this wood only once in my life, I was able to procure enough of the left over stock to provide me with many, many hours of carving bliss. It was really astounding to me how easy it was to produce that which you wanted to in this lumber. It was almost as though it had no preset tenancies to go this way or that way in its’ grains. It seemed to simply go where ever you set your gouges to go!
It really broke my heart when several years after this project was completed I was unable to get anyone involved in that project to recall where that particular wood was purchased! Although I do know it was purchased in Virginia, in a town with the word “Church” in its’ name, that is all I remember about it, and I’ve been nothing but unsuccessful in tracking down any lumber supplier who carries such a wood!! And now I am reading that Chestnut Oak is sold as White Oak, I can only say that a terrible injustice is being done to such a fine, fine wood….not that Whit Oak isn’t, but Chestnut Oak has far too many unique qualities of its own to not merit a spotlight of its own, by itself, and not simply tossed in there with “white oak” as it always and so conveniently seems to be.
August 29th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Hi I accidently came across your post here talking about chestnut oak. I have a 141 acre farm of chestnut oak here in Kentucky if your interested. however don’t contct me by email I lost my password and I’m in the process of retrieving it.
859-248-1912 cannot get me after 4pm. or you can call 606-723-4896 I will be at that number after 5:00pm.
Thanks,
Sandra