What is Northern Red Oak and why is it Good for Furniture?
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
You may have noticed that the majority of the furniture we sell is made from Northern Red Oak from New York State. Why is this? Is the wood cheaper to use or is there another reason? I will go into more detail on why we use this type of wood and what the benefits are in this article.
Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) is a type of tree typically found in the United States and southeast Canada. This type of tree typically grows anywhere from 90 to 140 feet tall. It is considered to be a hardwood. It grows straight and tall (along with the wood grain), making it easier to cut into wood sheets for furniture. The tree itself is very hardy, capable of living in soils of varying conditions.
The wood of the Northern Red Oak has a reddish brown color to it, hence the name Northern Red Oak. The tree is sometimes simply called Red Oak, but it is not to be confused with the Southern Red Oak (aka Spanish Oak), which is a different type of tree. Spanish Oak is considered to be a lower quality wood for furniture.
Northern Red Oak is considered to be a highly valuable wood and considered to be high quality among woodworkers. Northern Red Oak is not only used for furniture, but is commonly used for flooring, veneer and interior trim.
We don’t use New York Northern Red Oak in our furniture because it is cheap or inexpensive to use, but because it is of high quality and reserved for the most valuable furniture. Our church furniture, as previously mentioned, is almost all made from this type of wood. Our furniture, even before it is stained, radiates quality and has an almost regal appearance to it.
You can find our entire selection of church furniture here.
We are pleased to announce our new 2010 church furniture catalog, now available upon request. Best of all, it’s free! This new catalog features our current lineup of church furniture and also includes several new products that will be available online in the coming weeks.