Species data
White Oak
Quercus alba - a hardwood . Also sold as american white oak.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 1,350 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,762,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.75 |
| Density | 46.8 lb/ft3 (750 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 3.90 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 10.5% tangential / 5.6% radial |
| Movement coefficient (CT / CR) | 0.00365 / 0.00180 |
| Indicative price | $8.00 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 White Oak compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 61% of them, heavier than 70%, and stiffer than 65%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in White Oak it weighs about 20.8 lb. A stack of ten is 208 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, White Oak is about 1.1x as hard and 1.07x as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 10.5% tangential against 5.6% 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 White Oak on hardness in this database: Bur Oak (1,360 lbf), Sapele (1,360 lbf), White Ash (1,320 lbf), American Beech (1,300 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Related calculators
Sources
- The Wood Database - White Oak
- Dimensional change coefficient table (USDA FPL Wood Handbook, Table 13-5; values per Hoadley, Understanding Wood)
MOE, shrinkage, Janka, and SG from The Wood Database (which cites the USDA FPL Wood Handbook). CT/CR from USDA FPL Wood Handbook Table 13-5 (White Oak, commercial). Price indicative only.
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.