Oak is one of the most beautiful woods for all kinds of woodworking projects. It is known to be tough, durable, and when finished properly, it can look amazing! However, if you haven’t heard of it yet, woodworking with oak can be a real pain.
Fear not! If you’re really up to the challenge, there are a few things you can do to get the results you want with minimal effort.
Oak types:
There is a lot of difference between oak species. For example, European oak is usually of a higher quality than the American variety that even churches and ships since ancient times have mainly used it. English oak has always been known to be durable and beautiful; today, different concentrations between species are readily available. American oak, on the other hand, does not always have the best notes. However, in some cases, American white oak is preferred over red oak because the latter tends to shrink as it has open grains that make it porous. By contrast, white oak has tighter grains and is almost waterproof.
Oak joinery:
Now that you’ve learned a bit about the differences between varieties, the first rule of thumb is to remember that when working with this type of wood, you have to be very patient. Oak requires more finesse than simply relying on brute force. To give you a better idea, when you’re routing the edge of the wood, instead of going through the entire profile in one pass, it’s actually better to cut it in two or even three passes. Because of its grain, oak splinters or splits easily when you mill its edges, and you’ll end up removing unnecessary bits of material rather than a few small chips. This result can often be frustrating.
The second piece of advice if you are working with oak is to always make sure all your tools are sharp. Since oak is a hardwood, it can easily dull tools more often than other materials, so always make sure your woodworking tools are sharp any time you work with oak.
Oak also has a history of being susceptible to burning, so in addition to keeping all of your woodworking tools at their sharpest point, adjust operating tools like your router bit to the proper speed to avoid this problem.
Oak finish:
Most carpenters prefer to have a minimal finish to fully show the character of the oak. Anyone who takes the minimalist approach should also consider taking some time to sand. You should use fine grit sandpaper and work progressively to prevent sand lines from forming. As for shellac, it is often used to seal oak. In most cases, you can apply shellac after oil staining to better seal in your color. Once you have done this, you can cover any visible blemishes with the help of a grain filler paste, followed by the gel stain. The final touch you can do when woodworking with oak is usually an application of a few coats of polyurethane to perfect the look.