Hey! Hey! Just a quick question about wood. Fixing to go buy some

Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2010: Hey! Hey! Just a quick question about wood. Fixing to go buy some

Hey, what oak do we NOT use on our cars? Is it the red oak or white ok?

I remember there was a post (I searched and could not find it) where someone was saying that we shouldn't use a certain type of oak on our cars because it rots quickly and is not structuraly sound?

Well guess what! I have an opportunity to pick up some various species of oak in rough cut random sections and I kinda want to pick up stuff I can use in a T should I get another one.

Also does anyone need any soecific sizes? If he has this type I will pick up all that he has. He said a couple pieces are over 6' so maybe its good for some sill stuff?

Anyway, I'm not paying for it so if you need something post it and I'll write it down and and I'll look and you can have it for shipping cost Hope he has some good y'all can use too stuff!!!

Gonna check back around 4pm to see what the concensus is. Thank ya sirs for any recommendations!!!!!

White oak is the way to go! Red oak is to open grained.

Red Oak is not up to par with White Oak for durability and rot resistance.

J.O.

Patric, do you deliver to Southern California, I will buy your lunch. Seriously, white oak has a longer and thus stronger grain composition than red oak. Red oak is not actually red and neither is white oak white.

Red oak sometimes has a pink luster to it and white oak is more yellow or cream colored. If the lumber has already been surfaced, take a piece of sand paper with you and clean it up to look at the color. If it hasn't been surfaced and is free, he won't mind you running a plane over it to shave it off so you can see the color.

In the picture below, the piece on the left is red oak and the one on the right is white oak. The floor around the two pieces is unstained varnished white oak planks. The varnish darkens the oak. If you use a water based clear coat the oak will not turn as yellow. If you are staining it, it really doesn't matter if you get red or white but white has more strength and costs a little bit more.

Ten years ago Mary and I remodeled our kitchen. The floor is unstained white oak planks finished with polyurethane. The cabinets are also white oak but finished with water based clear coat. You can really tell the difference.

If you lay a red oak board and a white oak board on the ground a year later you can pick up the white oak board as it will still be there. The red oak board will be gone. White oak has a nautral preserative to rot.

Here is a link to some wood specs etc.
I found it useful.
http://www.woodbin.com/ref/wood/index.htm

Bob.

Pat, What are you using the oak for? If it is for the body, either will work well. If you are worried about rot resistance, pick a different wood such a black locust, cypress, redwood or walnut. Neither of the oaks resist rot well. Red oak derives its name from the reddish cast of the heart wood. White oak is lighter in color and has a whitish bark. Oak is more brittle than hickory and there fore not used in making the wheel spokes. White oak also has tyloses that block the pores of the wood. This is why white oak is used to make water tight barrels. Red oak has open vessels which make it easier for it to adsorb preservatives. In working on a 1925 coupe, I found Henry used a mis mash of wood including poplar (liriodendron tulipifiera). While replacing the rotten wood work, I have used ash, black cherry, walnut, red oak and tuplip poplar. Most of this wood is hidden but it is all structurally sound.

Question:
What would have been the majority or prominent type wood used in 26 / 27 closed cars?

Harvey ....

I used post oak for my 24 touring body frame and the wheels were re-spoked with heart hickory, probably pignut. Post oak belongs to the white oak family is prevalent in our area as is pignut hickory.

Use a good hardwood for your body, one that machines well, warps little, and will hold a nail or screw securely. Don't get a piece so hard and dry you can't put a tack or small nail in it.

You can save some money by finding a local rural sawmill to buy your wood. Dry it for several months before you use it.(Unless you can verify that it has been dried, then I might dry it some more anyway.)

If you go to a hardwood retailer, such as Woodworld, you will be out a pretty penney for your wood.

One tool I found very useful was a 10 inch sanding disc from Sears that I put in my table saw.

Hi Ted:

Sanding disk on the table saw? I never thought of that. Thanks for the wood-shop tip!

Harvey .....

I have been fighting that old "all body wood was oak or ash" myth for a long time. I have had original wood identified to even be a type of fir. Of course, when we restore a vehicle, we hope it will last a couple hundred years. The expected life expectancy of a car in 1920 was only about five years.
Also, for those that know more than I do about wood. What about black oak? I've got a big chunk of it laying on the ground.
Happy New Year! And drive carefully, W2

Soft Maple is used for furniture framework in sofas and recliners and such. Would that be OK for body wood? Just curious. Dave

I do not think Oak,either red or white was ever a wood of choice for Ford or his body builders.Think about the tousands and thousands of little nails that were hand driven every day.I don't think they could have done that in Oak. I've never seen waht I thought to be Ash either. The carbide blade people tell us that the acid in Ash will dull their blades so I would think it woud be hard on the sheet metal over time. Popular or Soft Maple is the only wood I've ever found in a T. Happy Motoring, Bob.

I'm with Bob. Tulip Poplar or Sugar Maple are good choices. Floorboards made from Basswood seem to hold up well.

Oak doesn't take nails well, and screw holes need to be carefully predrilled. I can't imagine Ford using it.