Wood species
Chestnut oak wood
Chestnut oak is a hardwood (Quercus montana). At 12% moisture content it has a Janka hardness of 1,130 lbf (5,026 N) and it weighs about 46 lb/ft³ (739 kg/m³), 3.8 lb (1.74 kg) per board foot.
Also called: Quercus montana.
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, 12% MC
- 1,130 lbf (5,026 N)
- Green: 890 lbf (3,959 N)
- Weight at 12% MC
- 46 lb/ft³ (739 kg/m³)
- 3.8 lb per board foot
- Specific gravity (oven-dry weight)
- 0.66 at 12% MC volume
- 0.57 on green volume
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 10.8% tangential
- Radial 5.3%, volumetric 16.4%
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, the authority for species properties it measured
Why: Measured by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory; chestnut oak's density is worked from its specific gravity with the Handbook's own equation.
How much chestnut oak moves
A 12 in wide flatsawn board of chestnut oak that goes from 6% to 12% moisture content swells about 0.28 in (about 9/32 in, 7.2 mm). Quartersawn, the same board moves about 0.13 in (about 1/8 in, 3.4 mm). Flatsawn faces move 2 times as much as quartersawn ones, because the wood shrinks 10.8% around the growth rings but only 5.3% across them.
Worked from the Wood Handbook's shrinkage values (Table 4-3) with its Eq. 13-4. Individual boards vary: the Handbook gives shrinkage a coefficient of variation of about 15% (p. 4-11).
Color, grain and working
- Color
- Generally grayish brown heartwood; nearly white sapwood about 1 to 2 in. wide.
- Grain and texture
- Heartwood pores usually plugged with tyloses; broad, conspicuous rays on quartersawn faces.
- Working and character
- Somewhat heavier than red oak, and its heartwood has good decay resistance. Unlike most white oaks, many of chestnut oak’s heartwood pores lack tyloses, so it is less suited to tight barrels.
- Uses
- White oak goes into tight barrels, boat planking and bent parts, furniture, flooring, doors and millwork.
The Handbook describes the white oaks as a group; this page gives this oak’s own tested figures.
Adapted in our own words from the Wood Handbook, Chapter 2, p. 2-9.
Strength
Bending strength is the modulus of rupture (MOR); stiffness is the modulus of elasticity (MOE). Clear, straight-grained samples of chestnut oak tested by the Forest Products Laboratory (Wood Handbook Table 5-3b). Knots and cross grain make lumber weaker than these clear samples (Handbook Chapter 5).
| Property | Green | 12% MC |
|---|---|---|
| Bending strength (MOR) | 8,000 psi (55 MPa) | 13,300 psi (92 MPa) |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,370,000 psi (9.4 GPa) | 1,590,000 psi (11 GPa) |
| Crushing strength (compression parallel to grain) | 3,520 psi (24 MPa) | 6,830 psi (47 MPa) |
| Compression perpendicular to grain | 530 psi (4 MPa) | 840 psi (6 MPa) |
| Shear parallel to grain | 1,210 psi (8 MPa) | 1,490 psi (10 MPa) |
| Tension perpendicular to grain | 690 psi (5 MPa) | — |
A dash means the Handbook prints no value; none is filled in.
Dust and health
- Wood dust is classed as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, chiefly for cancers of the nose and sinuses.
- NIOSH recommends keeping wood dust exposure to 1 mg/m³ of total dust, as quoted in OSHA's sawmill guidance.
This is what the named authorities publish, not medical advice.
Compare with
Buying and finishing chestnut oak
Work it out for your project
- Rank woods for furniture with the species picker
Weigh chestnut oak against other woods on hardness, weight, movement and color, every figure from the Wood Handbook.
- Plan a finish for furniture in chestnut oak
The finishes whose makers name that use, and a dated coat schedule from each product’s own sheet.
Why these numbers
Why these numbers?
The situation
The USDA Forest Products Laboratory measured chestnut oak at 1,130 lbf of side hardness at 12% moisture content, on clear, straight-grained samples (Wood Handbook Table 5-3b).
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, the authority for species properties it measured , sources [1]
What that means
Side hardness (Janka) is the load needed to press a 0.444 in (11.28 mm) steel ball halfway into the wood across the grain; a higher number dents less (Handbook p. 5-5).
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, the authority for species properties it measured , sources [1]
So
Density at 12% is water's density × specific gravity × (1 + 0.12) (Handbook Eq. 4-14): 62.43 × 0.66 × 1.12.
Arithmetic: exact by definition , sources [1]
The number
About 46 lb/ft³, or 3.8 lb per board foot (1/12 ft³), at 12% moisture content.
Arithmetic: exact by definition
Sources