Name Red Oak
Location North America
Texture/Grain Coarse/Open
Specific Gravity 0.63
Hardness Very Hard
Strength Strong
T/R Stability 8.9/4.2%

he virtues of wood as a building material are legendary. It’s attractive, abundant, and easy to work. Pound for pound, it’s stronger than steel. If properly cared for, it will last indefinitely. And you can use it to make almost anything, from a tiny box to a huge building. 

Contents

	Wood Grain How Wood Grows Grain Structure Types of Grain Wood Grain in Lumber Texture and Pattern Figured Wood (Chart)
	Wood Movement Moisture Content and Movement Direction of Movement Changing Shape Estimating Wood Movement
	Wood Strength Grain Direction and Strength Specific Gravity Additional Measurements of Strength Relative Wood Strengths (Chart)
	The Nature of Wood Resources

The Goddard-Townsend Blockfront Desk (circa 1740) is one of the finest examples of early American craftsmanship. "Blockfront" furniture was the first uniquely American furniture design in the Eastern Tradition. This piece shows an elegant variation on the style – a "reverse" blockfront inside the kneehole.

SPECS: 33-1/2" high, 37-1/2" wide, 20" deep
MATERIALS: Honduras Mahogany, Hard Maple
CRAFTSMAN: Edmund Townsend, Newport, RI

We may use wood with intelligence
only if we first understand wood.

Frank Lloyd Wright

It’s also a complex (and often perplexing) material. Unlike metals and plastics, whose properties are fairly consistent throughout, wood is wholly inconsistent. It’s stronger along the grain than across it. It expands and contracts more in one direction than another. Its color, weight, and grain pattern vary not only from species to species but from board to board.

To work with wood — and have it work for you — first learn its complex nature. In particular, you must understand three unique properties that affect everything you build. These are grain, movement, and strength.

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