Oak
Oak is a dense, ring-porous hardwood (QURO/QUPE under EN 13556, species terminology per ASTM D9), stocked green, air-dried or kiln-dried at 12% moisture in white oak and red oak.
Reference datasheet — Oak is not in the instant-quote catalog. Upload your part and an engineer will quote it in this grade or suggest the closest stocked equivalent.
Oak tempers and conditions
Oak is supplied in 3 conditions, soft to hard.
Compare all 3 conditionsHide
| Condition · open for datasheet | Best for | Yield MPa | Tensile MPa | Elong. % | Hardness | Conductivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Freshly sawn, MC above fibre saturation | Choose only for wet-service or riving/steam-bending work; strength and stiffness are 30–45 % below dry values and shrinkage is still to come. | 70 | 1.4 | 0.35 W/m·K | ||
Red oak | Cheaper, slightly softer and more open-pored than white oak; fine for interior furniture and flooring but not for wet or outdoor use. | 92 | 1 | 0.17 W/m·K | ||
White oak | Pick white oak when liquid-tightness, steam-bending or outdoor decay resistance matters (tyloses-blocked pores, DC2 heartwood). | 100 | 1 | 0.18 W/m·K |
Supply forms, finishes and certifications
Ways Oak is supplied — form, process route, surface or paperwork — without a datasheet of their own. The property values above apply.
| Option | What it is | Type |
|---|---|---|
AD | Air-dried, 15–18 % MC | Surface finish |
KD12Default | KD 12 % MC | Surface finish |
What is Oak?
Oak is a dense, ring-porous hardwood (QURO/QUPE under EN 13556, species terminology per ASTM D9), stocked green, air-dried or kiln-dried at 12% moisture in white oak and red oak. Engineers specify it for strength, wear resistance and grain figure, with 0.72 g/cm³ density, 95 MPa tensile strength, 12.3 GPa modulus and 0.17 W/m·K thermal conductivity. It is hygroscopic and moves with humidity, service is limited to about 90 °C, and tannins corrode plain steel fasteners; ash and beech are the usual substitutes. Oak has a density of 0.72 g/cm³ (0.026 lb/in³), heavier than 61% of natural material grades. Oak has a tensile strength of 95 MPa (13.8 ksi), stronger than 78% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1% and the elastic modulus is 12.3 GPa (1.78 Msi).
What is Oak used for?
- Flooring
- Furniture
- Cabinetry
- Barrel staves
- Structural beams
Advantages
- Conducts heat well — 0.17 W/m·K (0.0982 BTU/hr·ft·°F), better than 76% of natural material grades
Oak properties
Typical room-temperature values; bars are the position among natural material grades.
Physical2
Oak has a density of 0.72 g/cm³ (0.026 lb/in³), heavier than 61% of natural material grades.
Mechanical10
Oak has a tensile strength of 95 MPa (13.8 ksi), stronger than 78% of natural material grades. Elongation at break is 1% and the elastic modulus is 12.3 GPa (1.78 Msi).
Thermal5
Oak is rated for continuous service to 90°C (194 °F). It conducts heat at 0.17 W/m·K (0.0982 BTU/hr·ft·°F), better than 76% of natural material grades. Thermal expansion is 4.5 µm/m·K (2.5 µin/in·°F).
Electrical2
Oak is an electrical insulator with a dielectric strength of 4 kV/mm (101.6 V/mil) and a resistivity of 1×10¹⁰ Ω·m.
Chemical & Environmental1
Corrosion resistance is fair (50/100), better than 63% of natural material grades.
Sustainability4
Producing a kilogram of Oak takes about 11 MJ of energy and emits 0.55 kg of CO₂ — more than 56% of natural material grades. Typical recycled content is 5%.
Manufacturability2
Oak's machinability is very good (70/100, worse than 67% of natural material grades).
Common Calculations4
Values are nominal handbook figures for design screening. Certified mill or lot data ships with every FabDigit order on request.
Working with Oak
Is Oak easy to machine?
Cuts, turns and bores cleanly with carbide tooling and 20–25° rake; high silica-free but abrasive tannin/density causes moderate tool wear, and torn grain around rays needs sharp knives and light finishing cuts.
Can Oak be welded?
Not weldable — joined by PVA/PU/epoxy adhesives or mechanical joinery; pre-bore for screws and use stainless or hot-dip galvanised fasteners because tannins corrode plain steel and cause black staining.
Can Oak be formed, bent or molded?
White oak is one of the best steam-bending hardwoods (radius down to ~2–3× thickness with a compression strap); red oak bends poorly and splits, and all oak must be dried slowly to avoid honeycomb and surface checking.
Oak chemical composition (wt %)
Limits by weight percent from the governing specification, written the way the spec states them — a single maximum for impurities, a range for alloying elements, and the base element as balance. Nominal is the typical mid-range value.
| Element | Spec limit (wt %) | Nominal |
|---|---|---|
| celluloseoven-dry wood basis | 40 – 47 | 44 |
| hemicellulosemainly glucuronoxylan in hardwoods | 18 – 26 | 22 |
| ligninsyringyl/guaiacyl hardwood lignin | 20 – 28 | 24 |
| extractives (tannins, phenolics)high ellagitannin content; stains steel and darkens with iron | 2 – 10 | 6 |
| ash (inorganics) | 0.2 – 0.8 | 0.4 |
| organic matrixbalance of cell-wall constituents | balance |
What surface finishes work on Oak?
Sands and stains readily but the open ring-porous grain needs a pore filler for a mirror finish; ammonia fuming or iron-acetate reacts with tannins for classic darkening, and oil, wax, lacquer or 2K PU all adhere well.
How much does Oak cost?
Oak is a standard-cost natural material ($$), cheaper than about 71% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
Oak — frequently asked
What is Oak used for?
Oak is typically used for flooring, furniture, cabinetry, barrel staves and structural beams. In short: benchmark structural hardwood; best steam-bending hardwood; hard-wearing flooring choice.
What is the tensile strength of Oak?
Oak has a typical tensile strength of 95 MPa (13.8 ksi) — stronger than 78% of natural material grades. Strength varies by condition: see the 3 listed tempers.
Is Oak easy to machine?
Yes — machinability is rated very good (70/100, worse than 67% of natural material grades). Cuts, turns and bores cleanly with carbide tooling and 20–25° rake; high silica-free but abrasive tannin/density causes moderate tool wear, and torn grain around rays needs sharp knives and light finishing cuts.
Can Oak be welded?
Not weldable — joined by PVA/PU/epoxy adhesives or mechanical joinery; pre-bore for screws and use stainless or hot-dip galvanised fasteners because tannins corrode plain steel and cause black staining.
What surface finishes work on Oak?
Sands and stains readily but the open ring-porous grain needs a pore filler for a mirror finish; ammonia fuming or iron-acetate reacts with tannins for classic darkening, and oil, wax, lacquer or 2K PU all adhere well.
Can Oak be formed, bent or molded?
White oak is one of the best steam-bending hardwoods (radius down to ~2–3× thickness with a compression strap); red oak bends poorly and splits, and all oak must be dried slowly to avoid honeycomb and surface checking.
What is the maximum service temperature of Oak?
Oak is rated for continuous use to about 90°C (194 °F). Strength falls off well before that limit — check the elevated-temperature data for load-bearing parts.
How much does Oak cost?
Oak is a standard-cost natural material ($$), cheaper than about 71% of the materials FabDigit quotes. Part price depends far more on geometry, tolerance and quantity than on the raw stock — upload a CAD file for a live quote.
Sources
- Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-282), Ch. 5 Mechanical Properties — USDA Forest Products Laboratory (2021)
- ASTM D143 — Standard Test Methods for Small Clear Specimens of Timber — ASTM International (2022)
- ASTM D9 — Standard Terminology Relating to Wood and Wood-Based Products — ASTM International (2021)
- EN 13556 — Round and sawn timber: nomenclature of timbers used in Europe (QURO / QUPE) — CEN (2003)
- EN 350 — Durability of wood and wood-based products: natural durability classes — CEN (2016)
- CES EduPack eco-audit data, hardwood (oak) lumber — Granta/Ansys (2023)
Property data is compiled from published supplier and standards handbooks and normalised for comparison; hardness values on non-Brinell scales are converted approximately for charting only. Manufacturability limits are FabDigit quote-engine defaults and may be relaxed by engineering review. Nothing on this page is a certification — request mill certs, CoC or material test reports with your order.