Species data
Pin Oak
Quercus palustris - a hardwood from eastern United States.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,500 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,713,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.71 |
| Density | 44.3 lb/ft3 (710 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 3.69 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 9.5% tangential / 4.3% radial |
| Indicative price | $4.00 per board foot (estimated) |
Values are at about 12% moisture content. Density is specific gravity times 62.4; a board foot is one twelfth of a cubic foot, so weight per board foot is that density divided by twelve. Anything marked estimated is our own figure, not a measured one.
How Pin Oak compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 67% of them, heavier than 62%, and stiffer than 58%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Pin Oak it weighs about 19.7 lb. A stack of ten is 197 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Pin Oak is about 1.2x as hard and 1.01x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 9.5% tangential against 4.3% radial, a ratio of 2.2 to 1. The wider that ratio, the more unevenly a flatsawn board moves across its width as humidity changes, and the more it wants to cup; anything near or above 2 to 1 is worth quartersawing or restraining for panels and wide tops. This one sits in that range.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Pin Oak on hardness in this database: Canarywood (1,520 lbf), Willow Oak (1,460 lbf), European Beech (1,450 lbf), Hard Maple (1,450 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Glues well and accepts stain and finish nicely, though open porous grain limits exterior use
Durability. As a red oak it offers little decay resistance; treat outdoor durability as minimal
Typical uses. cabinetry, furniture, interior trim, flooring, veneer.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (which cites the USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Pin Oak is not individually listed in the printed FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient chart, so CT/CR are omitted. Uses, region, durability and workability summarized from The Wood Database. Price indicative.
These calculators are for planning and estimation. Engineering results (shelf sag, wood movement) use published average material properties; real boards vary by grade, grain, moisture and defects. Verify load-bearing designs with a professional.