pin oak
Keith Tompkins
I recently cut down a pin oak, and turned a few things from the wood. I took a picture of a goblet turned from pin oak, and enclosed a small bowl from red oak as a comparison. Even though the pin oak is in the red oak family, you can see the dramatic difference in color. I was reading that the wood of pin oak is considered to be of lower quality due to so many branches, but I am finding the wood cuts very cleanly, and can be sanded immediately even when green. The wood is heavy and dense, even though it grows very rapidly. The goblet was turned from a branch (reaction wood) so it's twisting and turning, but the several pieces I have turned so far have not cracked. The wood appears to be almost bleached, more similar to beech than red oak. I can get some good clean blanks from this tree....Definitely worth turning!