Species data
Swamp White Oak
Quercus bicolor - a hardwood from eastern and Midwestern United States.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,600 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 2,029,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.77 |
| Density | 48.0 lb/ft3 (770 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 4.00 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 10.6% tangential / 5.5% radial |
| Indicative price | $5.00 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 Swamp White Oak compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 71% of them, heavier than 73%, and stiffer than 79%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Swamp White Oak it weighs about 21.4 lb. A stack of ten is 214 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Swamp White Oak is about 1.3x as hard and 1.10x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 10.6% tangential against 5.5% radial, a ratio of 1.9 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 moves comparatively evenly.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Swamp White Oak on hardness in this database: Honey Locust (1,580 lbf), Afrormosia (1,570 lbf), European Hornbeam (1,630 lbf), Garapa (1,650 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Bonds well with adhesives and takes stain and finish smoothly, typical of white oaks
Durability. Decay resistance rated very good, consistent with the durable white oak group it belongs to
Typical uses. cabinetry, furniture, interior trim, flooring, barrels, veneer.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (which cites the USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Swamp White 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.