Just found this. After 45 yrs of working with wood I was just reminded of how little I know. Binge watching time...thank you Lou for the schooling - just amazing.
I work at a shipyard and we only had one Shipright who did not like to teach. Well he is retired now so i can't learn from a distance anymore but your videos help me a great deal. We don't have lots of wooden fishing vessels coming up anymore but I've been able to fix alot of their problems thanks to the knowledge I have gained from you and your videos. Thanks for sharing.
I was researching wood for aircraft and came across forest product laboratory report 354 which stated that white oak heartwood was impervious to water. Making me concerned it may not glue well... this is a great report to take a look at. Thanks for this excellent demonstration!
I have never seen such a brilliant explanation and demonstration on capillarity and porosity for lumber used on boats. Great video thanks for that info.
Great video. Loved it. So much I went into a deeper search about OAKs even when I don't care about wood. Here is what i found: White oak is darker gray, red oak is a lighter pinkish. White oak Janka harness scale of 1360 vs red oak 1260 White oak is more used in boats and floor and red oak more used in furniture. White oak has a vanilla smell good for wine barrels, red oak smell is not as pleasant. White oak is heavier and harder to cut, needs carbide-tipped blades and bits to cut it. Price varies but are pretty similar between both.
Thanks Louie, tho I build cabinets not boats, every little bit of knowledge about wood and its amazing intricacies is appreciated. One more re-inspired Aussie, great job mate, 10 stars and thumbs up
I've been a professional woodworker for eight years and I haven't had a chance to use red oak yet. Last year our foreman showed a sample from a vendor and I could not tell the difference with white oak which we use often for arts and crafts furniture. Thanks for the information.
This just randomly popped up in my recommended, and now, as someone who loves many things nautical, I have yet another channel to check out. Thanks so much. Woodworking and ship building both interest me. Glad to see I can get the information I want.
This Sir is excellent. I have to identify and replace boards on an oak floor. Wasn't sure if it was white or red oak. This will definitely help me in identifying what I type I have. Being a very visual learner, this was a huge help, Thanks!
Thanks for the alcohol demonstration. We've got lots of red oak in the stores here in Texas but now I know why to use white oak for boats. And how to test a piece to determine what it REALLY is. Bravo!
Excellent presentation. Thanks! Now, I understand the importance of using white oak and not using red oak, and I know how to determine which is which regardless of how it’s labeled when sold. 👍🏻
Great video, thank you for posting it. My wife and I recently bought a Wood Mizer LT15 sawmill . We live on a lake and were discussing building a wooden Jon boat to leave at the lake. We have plenty of both red and white oak available and were wondering which wood to use. Now to find a good "build your own wooden Jon boat video. Thanks again for posting.
Either is fine for a jon boat that will receive care or have a finite life span.But I'd use white if possible or where needed most.If you havent seen it check out his new series were he is building something similar to what you want too.
Great demonstration. Years ago, I showed a supplier that I could blow bubbles through a piece of supposed "white" oak and that charactistic was a problem. He was relying on color, which is not reliable. Also, I've been told that there are numerous oak crosses or hybrids that can have characteristics of either parent species. Ex/chestnut oak.
Amazing. This is the quality of education I want my children to have. Real skills, backed up with a foundation of real understanding of the scientific principles behind those skills.
Wow, before this video, I knew nothing about ship woods. I had no interest before this video. Now I have a ton of interest. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
WOW that was extremely informative and so valuable for anyone wanting to build a wooden boat out of oak. Thanks for sharing. Best Wishes n Blessings. Keith Noneya
I watch a lot of engineering videos and the odd woodworking one, but I've never watched boat stuff so I have no idea how I got here. That said, it was pretty interesting. Thanks for the concise and informative piece Louis.
Brilliant videos, Louis. Thanks so much for producing them. I'm in the process of restoring 2 Chris Craft Runabouts and wasn't sure which pieces of my stock of seasoned oak were red and which were white. Nobody around here seemed to be able to help me identify it . Then I found this video : I should have known you would have it covered! Thanks again. Keep up the great work. Alvan Judson
I always wondered why shipbuilders stayed away from red oak. I was always under the impression that red and white oaks were essentially the same. Looks like I was dead wrong. Really interesting video and now I know how to identify red and white oak when the color difference isn't so obvious.
thanks so much, we had just bought 6 bundles of red oak from home depot and I had my doubts so I tried your test and you were right. I had to return the whole load, better than installing it first!
it was sold as red oak. I just bought the wrong type. white oak is the best type to me. there was air conditioner leaks under the carpet that could be sanded out, I don't think the red oak would have fared as well seeing this test, its even used for whiskey barrels.
Wow very cool demo. I had always heard that people used to use white oak for water troughs and also for any kind of water chutes that channeled water and also for water wheels. Now I know the truth of the matter, very cool stuff.
Wow... all kinds of informative. Tbh I always thought they were the same save for colour. Honestly did not know about the "straws" in red oak. Thank you for this.
I am more and more glad I chose white oak for building my friend's bench. Expensive and HEAVY and friggen ATE sanding disks, but now I am convinced its probably going to outlive me.
Many years ago I was watching Roy Underhill with The Woodwright Shop, and he took a piece of red oak (seems like it was about 1" x 1" x 24") and stuck one end in a barrel of water and blew into the other end. The air went straight through it and bubbled up in the water like it was a straw. I never knew that was possible. You always think of wood as being "solid".
You are a genius... I wonder as a vine maker/ brewer what the barrel differences would be between an American oak barrel and a French oak barrel.This test is a quick way to see those different properties of each. Thank you.
Great stuff Louis. Somebody posted up a link to your steam bending video on the WB site a couple days ago and I've since watched most of them. Good advice delivered well. Kudos.
a great tutorial on making the correct material choice, i particularly appreciated the dynamics involved in absorption of salt water and it's interaction with DC current induction - one question, aside from furniture, where else might someone use Red Oak? Cheers
Michael Ogle Railroad ties, flooring, construction lumber, timbers, pilings. It is generally used for furniture, cabinets and "appearance" uses because it is expensive. It is a great wood for many uses, just not ones where transfer of fluid is a problem i.e. whiskey barrels or wooden boats. I've wondered what other north American wood species (maybe cherry?) would be good for boat building but most of them like maple don't have the rot resistance of the oaks.
Excellent demonstration and explanation. It makes me wonder if red oak could be used to filter a liquid. If red oak was made into activated charcoal it would have a lot of surface area. It seems like red oak could soak up hot paraffin or some other wood preservative and sealer to make it better for water contact.
Awesome!! Thanks Louis! Perfectly answered the question I had on white vs. red for a build. Stupid question....how did red and white oak get their names...white oak looks red and red white?
Good demonstration but I have to question the one statement comparing white oak to bamboo as being segmented. If you make a clean knife cut on the endgrain of a dry piece of white oak heartwood, you'll see the cells are filled with a crystalline, sap-like material called tyloses. This 'filler' is blocking the drinking straw-like path that is present in red oak making white oak the superior product for wet applications. This is the easiest method I know of to identify white oak.
I have no interest is wood ship building but this was really interesting, also the demonstrations where excellent. I really didn't think the difference in wood could result in that drastic of a difference.
I truly believe this type of video is a perfect example of "good internet".
cool
Great internet!
So interesting
this is oldschool youtube at it's finest. no hassle, eternal classic.
Exactly
There I was just scrolling along... living in the Midwest, never planning on building a boat, watching this with 100% full attention!
dude i was watching game dev vids... wtf how am i here
Dunno why UA-cam recommended this. Dunno why I clicked it. But now I want this guy to build me a boat. I never even wanted a boat before.
Dave Cooke get in line
You know dave, that line is REALLY LONG, good luck.
Thanks, that’s so true, Why?!!😂🤣😋
This guy is a true artisan. Incredibly knowledgeable, interesting, and things I didn't already know.
Winning compilation.
Never put a red oak boat in an alcohol river.
Red oak soda straws. Make your big gulp last a month!
Where's all the rum gone?
Non-smokers are safe in standard alcohol rivers.
With an Irish Capt
On Pay Day.
Fantastic demonstration, Louis is a born teacher.
Just found this. After 45 yrs of working with wood I was just reminded of how little I know. Binge watching time...thank you Lou for the schooling - just amazing.
"You can see the difference between white oak and red oak almost immediately", yep, the white oak is almost red and the red oak is almost white!
That's exactly what I thought as well. Until he named which was which, I thought it was perfectly clear
I think it's the colour of the leaves or the flowers - I forget which.
@donal haha yes that was exactly what i was thinking. red oak = white, white oak = red. got it!
I work at a shipyard and we only had one Shipright who did not like to teach. Well he is retired now so i can't learn from a distance anymore but your videos help me a great deal. We don't have lots of wooden fishing vessels coming up anymore but I've been able to fix alot of their problems thanks to the knowledge I have gained from you and your videos. Thanks for sharing.
After 5 years this just suddenly gets reccomended by UA-cam...
I think some people want to follow Nohas Example and build a boat.
I have no interest in building a boat but it is always enjoyable to listen to someone who knows their craft well.
Been a long time since the last time watched without fast forwarding or skipping. Pure knowledge, a feast for my brain.
This is so awesome. Love how he's so passionate about his work.
Especially when he's using technical words... respect.
I learn something every single time I watch one of Lou's videos. That was a very informative demonstration.
I was researching wood for aircraft and came across forest product laboratory report 354 which stated that white oak heartwood was impervious to water. Making me concerned it may not glue well... this is a great report to take a look at. Thanks for this excellent demonstration!
Now there's a man that knows his stuff 👍
It takes a man who knows his stuff to know a man who knows his stuff ;)
I have never seen such a brilliant explanation and demonstration on capillarity and porosity for lumber used on boats.
Great video thanks for that info.
Great video. Loved it. So much I went into a deeper search about OAKs even when I don't care about wood.
Here is what i found:
White oak is darker gray, red oak is a lighter pinkish.
White oak Janka harness scale of 1360 vs red oak 1260
White oak is more used in boats and floor and red oak more used in furniture.
White oak has a vanilla smell good for wine barrels, red oak smell is not as pleasant.
White oak is heavier and harder to cut, needs carbide-tipped blades and bits to cut it.
Price varies but are pretty similar between both.
I don't intend to build boats, but as a naturally curious person I appreciate the quality of this video. Thanks!
One of the most informative videos I have watched. Definately worth your time.
Thanks Louie, tho I build cabinets not boats, every little bit of knowledge about wood and its amazing intricacies is appreciated. One more re-inspired Aussie, great job mate, 10 stars and thumbs up
I learn more from you than anyone else I've ever listened to.. I love your videos
This video explained to my wife why I paid extra for white oak flooring vs cheaper red oak flooring in our house. Thank you very much.
Best video on wood I’ve seen. Don’t know why it took me 10 years to find it.
I've been a professional woodworker for eight years and I haven't had a chance to use red oak yet. Last year our foreman showed a sample from a vendor and I could not tell the difference with white oak which we use often for arts and crafts furniture. Thanks for the information.
Fascinating demo, we were never taught this at boat building college, reckon we should have!
This just randomly popped up in my recommended, and now, as someone who loves many things nautical, I have yet another channel to check out.
Thanks so much. Woodworking and ship building both interest me. Glad to see I can get the information I want.
I learned something new here Louis . Thanks
This Sir is excellent. I have to identify and replace boards on an oak floor. Wasn't sure if it was white or red oak. This will definitely help me in identifying what I type I have. Being a very visual learner, this was a huge help, Thanks!
Thanks for the alcohol demonstration. We've got lots of red oak in the stores here in Texas but now I know why to use white oak for boats. And how to test a piece to determine what it REALLY is. Bravo!
These videos are great throw in the physics and chemistry with the craftsmanship,...what else do you need
Excellent presentation. Thanks! Now, I understand the importance of using white oak and not using red oak, and I know how to determine which is which regardless of how it’s labeled when sold. 👍🏻
Great video, thank you for posting it.
My wife and I recently bought a Wood Mizer LT15 sawmill . We live on a lake and were discussing building a wooden Jon boat to leave at the lake. We have plenty of both red and white oak available and were wondering which wood to use.
Now to find a good "build your own wooden Jon boat video.
Thanks again for posting.
Either is fine for a jon boat that will receive care or have a finite life span.But I'd use white if possible or where needed most.If you havent seen it check out his new series were he is building something similar to what you want too.
You SIr are a Genius. Extremely well explained
That was the best video concerning red vs white oak I have ever seen.
Great demonstration. Years ago, I showed a supplier that I could blow bubbles through a piece of supposed "white" oak and that charactistic was a problem. He was relying on color, which is not reliable. Also, I've been told that there are numerous oak crosses or hybrids that can have characteristics of either parent species. Ex/chestnut oak.
I have never liked Red Oak, just another reason why. Such a great and informative video!
Never a better teacher, well done.
Just discovered your channel! Overly joyed! Thank you sir!
Amazing. This is the quality of education I want my children to have. Real skills, backed up with a foundation of real understanding of the scientific principles behind those skills.
Wow, before this video, I knew nothing about ship woods. I had no interest before this video. Now I have a ton of interest. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
I have a sudden realization for my desire to become a shipbuilder.
Probably just the alcohol talking.
I had no idea! I had just thought that the difference between red and white was the color and texture.
This is a. Great video.
This is effing crazy. Always wanted to build a boat. Going to watch this channel religiously before I take on that project.
WOW that was extremely informative and so valuable for anyone wanting to build a wooden boat out of oak. Thanks for sharing. Best Wishes n Blessings. Keith Noneya
I watch a lot of engineering videos and the odd woodworking one, but I've never watched boat stuff so I have no idea how I got here. That said, it was pretty interesting. Thanks for the concise and informative piece Louis.
That was entirely fascinating and an amazing learning experience. Thank you.
Brilliant videos, Louis. Thanks so much for producing them. I'm in the process of restoring 2 Chris Craft Runabouts and wasn't sure which pieces of my stock of seasoned oak were red and which were white. Nobody around here seemed to be able to help me identify it . Then I found this video : I should have known you would have it covered! Thanks again. Keep up the great work. Alvan Judson
I LOVE this man. Expert to the core and excellent teacher. Thanks from Biloxi Mississippi
I came searching for the best choice of wood for column bases for my old house repair. I leave smarter - Thank you!
That's a very neat trick. Thank you very much for sharing it.
I always wondered why shipbuilders stayed away from red oak. I was always under the impression that red and white oaks were essentially the same. Looks like I was dead wrong. Really interesting video and now I know how to identify red and white oak when the color difference isn't so obvious.
Wow you are incredibly intelligent. You’re a craftsman and a chemist in one!
Great informative video! About 40 years ago I saw a great boatbuilder named Carl Felix demonstrate this by blowing smoke through a piece of Red Oak.
thanks so much, we had just bought 6 bundles of red oak from home depot and I had my doubts so I tried your test and you were right. I had to return the whole load, better than installing it first!
it was sold as red oak. I just bought the wrong type. white oak is the best type to me. there was air conditioner leaks under the carpet that could be sanded out, I don't think the red oak would have fared as well seeing this test, its even used for whiskey barrels.
This is the only man that can make double denim look right lol!
Love the knowledge learning from this guy’s videos
A very clear demonstration & explanation - Now I fully understand,
Thank you Mr. Louis
Very informative Louis! I am sharing this to a friend's page for his viewing. Thank you very much for your time and knowledge!
Woah. This is so reliable, yet random, information good ol’ fashion UA-cam has recommended.
All I can say is Wow! This guy sure knows his wood. And his chemistry. Oh, and boats too.
Wow very cool demo. I had always heard that people used to use white oak for water troughs and also for any kind of water chutes that channeled water and also for water wheels. Now I know the truth of the matter, very cool stuff.
Ingenious. No one else was able to tell me how to figure out if my floor was red or white oak. Now I know. I cut a bit out and its white for sure.
Simple, Concise, Educational. Well done mate.
Wow... all kinds of informative. Tbh I always thought they were the same save for colour. Honestly did not know about the "straws" in red oak. Thank you for this.
You just ended a years long debate. Thank you. I was exhausted.
I am more and more glad I chose white oak for building my friend's bench. Expensive and HEAVY and friggen ATE sanding disks, but now I am convinced its probably going to outlive me.
Excellent demonstration. Thanks for uploading it.
Louis, thank you sir! I am restoring the column bases of my historic home - I know now exactly what species of wood I will use and why.
Many years ago I was watching Roy Underhill with The Woodwright Shop, and he took a piece of red oak (seems like it was about 1" x 1" x 24") and stuck one end in a barrel of water and blew into the other end. The air went straight through it and bubbled up in the water like it was a straw. I never knew that was possible. You always think of wood as being "solid".
Good video! I don't say that very often. Well shot, well mic'd.
You did it right. Bravo/a.
Ordered some Red Oak a few days ago.. Seems that the glue will be a nice match for the red oak. Thanks so much, awesome video.
+Mark II You're right, red oak glues up better than white oak because you get a better mechanical bond with the more porous surface of the red oak
Fantastic video sir, great simple demonstration.
Very cool. He went full chemistry nerd at the end there. Love it.
Simple and easy to understand. Great demonstration!
Amazing. I learned so much from this video. Thank you!
So nice vedio to show real boat building skill.Thanks You are a great master.
You are the best....thank you for allowing me to learn so much....thank you...God loves you.
You are a genius... I wonder as a vine maker/ brewer what the barrel differences would be between an American oak barrel and a French oak barrel.This test is a quick way to see those different properties of each. Thank you.
I had no idea about this when I put some red oak on my boat. Great video! DD
I loved this, so much learnt in such a small amount of time. Thanks for posting this.
Great stuff Louis.
Somebody posted up a link to your steam bending video on the WB site a couple days ago and I've since watched most of them.
Good advice delivered well.
Kudos.
a great tutorial on making the correct material choice, i particularly appreciated the dynamics involved in absorption of salt water and it's interaction with DC current induction - one question, aside from furniture, where else might someone use Red Oak? Cheers
Michael Ogle Railroad ties, flooring, construction lumber, timbers, pilings. It is generally used for furniture, cabinets and "appearance" uses because it is expensive. It is a great wood for many uses, just not ones where transfer of fluid is a problem i.e. whiskey barrels or wooden boats. I've wondered what other north American wood species (maybe cherry?) would be good for boat building but most of them like maple don't have the rot resistance of the oaks.
cameras need to be sent out to all master trades people around the world and have there knowledge stored and shared forever just like this.
Living in Colorado doesn't require me to know a whole lot about boating, but this is truly fascinating.
Thank's for the information Louis. Very well said. Great production by Halsey
Don’t tell me Leo’s video took me here...
It's UA-cam algorithm, it knows that you be interested in this video
Suggestions, Suggestions
Ya, I think we are all here from his video, through the wisdom of the algorithm lol
me 2
me too..
Excellent demonstration and explanation. It makes me wonder if red oak could be used to filter a liquid. If red oak was made into activated charcoal it would have a lot of surface area. It seems like red oak could soak up hot paraffin or some other wood preservative and sealer to make it better for water contact.
This is really good information. That's for explaining it.
Awesome!! Thanks Louis! Perfectly answered the question I had on white vs. red for a build. Stupid question....how did red and white oak get their names...white oak looks red and red white?
+Mark N I believe the name's (red oak/white oak) are in reference to the appearance of the tree when it's standing in the forest
Brilliant demonstration! Thank you.
Good demonstration but I have to question the one statement comparing white oak to bamboo as being segmented. If you make a clean knife cut on the endgrain of a dry piece of white oak heartwood, you'll see the cells are filled with a crystalline, sap-like material called tyloses. This 'filler' is blocking the drinking straw-like path that is present in red oak making white oak the superior product for wet applications. This is the easiest method I know of to identify white oak.
Facinating demonstration.
Wow, you've got an awesome channel. Thanks for disseminating your knowledge!
I just picked up some white oak for an outdoor project and now you have me paranoid! I'll have to test a piece before I mill it all.
Roy Underhill used a 3' piece of red oak to blow bubbles in a cup of water.
I was just thinking of that exact same thing! That was my first introduction to working with wood, way back when I was a kid.
who names their child bubbles?
No idea how I got here. 100% satisfied with the result.
I had that completely backwards, thank you for helping me dislodge my head from you know where
"I guarantee you I didn't have any alcohol in my mouth" lol.
Where have I heard that before...
Excellent information!
He knows of what he speaks!!!
I am learning so much from your videos. Thank you
I have no interest is wood ship building but this was really interesting, also the demonstrations where excellent. I really didn't think the difference in wood could result in that drastic of a difference.