Live Oak

Specs

Common Names

Live Oak, Southern Live Oak

Scientific Name

Quercus virginiana

Origin

Southeastern United States

Appearance

Has a light to medium brown color, though there can be a fair amount of variation in color. Conversely, Red Oak tends to be slightly redder, but is by no means a reliable method of determining the type of Oak. Grain is straight, with a coarse, uneven texture. May have irregular grain depending on growing conditions of the tree. Endgrain: Diffuse-porous; exclusively solitary; large to very large pores arranged radially, few; tyloses abundant; parenchyma vasicentric, diffuse-in-aggregates; very wide aggregate rays and narrow rays, spacing normal.

Avg. Dried Weight

63 lbs/ft3 (1,000 kg/m3)

Janka Hardness

2680 lbf

Modulus of Rupture

18,220 lbf/in2 (125.6 MPa)

Elastic Modulus

1,960,000 lbf/in2 (13.52 GPa)

Crushing Strength

8,810 lbf/in2 (60.8 MPa)

Shrinkage

Radial: 6.6%, Tangential: 9.5%, Volumetric: 14.7%, T/R Ratio: 1.4

Durability

Live Oak has been rated as having very good resistance to decay, and has been used frequently in ship and boatbuilding.

Workability

Easy to glue, and takes stain and finishes very well. Though, due to its incredible density, (especially for an oak), Live Oak is harder to work with than other species of the Quercus genus.