Dovetail & Grain

Tag: Oak

  • Oak vs Ash Strength

    Customers ask for oak because it sounds strong. Ash is what we reach for when something actually has to take a load, and the reason is worth explaining.

    Different kinds of strong

    Oak is harder and more rot resistant. Ash is tougher — it takes shock and bends a long way before it breaks. That is why tool handles, chair spindles and anything steam-bent are ash, and why oak is the timber for a frame that simply has to sit still and not rot.

    OakAsh
    HardnessHigherLower
    Shock resistanceModerateVery high
    Steam bendingFairExcellent
    OutdoorsGoodPoor

    One caution: oak and steel do not get on. Tannin in the oak reacts with iron and leaves a black stain that goes deep. Use brass or stainless in oak, and never leave a steel clamp in contact with a damp oak surface overnight.

  • Shaker Cabinet Build Diary

    Shaker Cabinet Build Diary

    A client asked for a wall cabinet in the Shaker manner — quartersawn oak, frame-and-panel door, nothing on it that does not need to be there. I decided to keep a diary of the build rather than write it up after the fact, so this post grew as the cabinet did.

    Week one — stock and carcase

    Picked through the oak stack for straight, quiet grain and let the boards acclimatise in the shop for a week before touching them. The carcase is dovetailed at the corners — half-blind at the top so the joinery stays out of sight line — and the back is a run of shiplapped boards, left loose to move.

    Week two — the door

    Mortise-and-tenon frame, raised panel planed to a whisper at the edges so it floats in its grooves. The panel came off the smoothing plane so cleanly I nearly skipped sanding altogether. Shaker doors live or die by their proportions; I sized the rails on the golden-ish ratio the old Mount Lebanon pieces use and it settled the whole composition.

    Week three — fitting and finish

    Hung the door on unswaged brass butts, planed the meeting stile to a two-coin gap, and turned a small cherry knob for contrast. Finish is two coats of hard wax oil, buffed between coats — oak drinks the first coat and shows its ray fleck on the second.

    Delivered on a grey Tuesday and screwed to the wall through the French cleat. The client stood back, said nothing for a while, and then just nodded. That is about the best review a Shaker piece can get.