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As a sawyer, I find my lumber stash sometimes gets out of hand. I saw a bunch of material and dry it, then end up with a ton of stock in my lumber rack. It works out great—I always have material available for projects, but I should put a little more effort into selling more than I do (I’m going to blame my day job on not having time to sell it).
One of the species that I have been milling and using more often is Quercus Maeroearpa—the Bur Oak. It’s an interesting wood. The state tree of Iowa, the USDA Forestry Service classifies it as a white oak. Therefore, it can be marketed and sold as such. However, it’s different enough from true white oak that barrel manufacturers won’t use it for whiskey or wine barrels (I guess it leaks after several years—odd, huh?).
In appearance, it has a lovely color —sometimes with a similar color to standard white oak, but I find that it usually has a much more nutty color to it with darker brown sections in the lumber. The color can also vary drastically from tree to tree. Being a tree that is often found in the prairie, it branches rather low, and will be filled with knots and other defects. It is, however, quickly becoming one of my favorite woods—be on the lookout for it in upcoming projects. Cheers!
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