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Color/Appearance: Heartwood is a light to medium brown, commonly with an olive cast. Nearly white to light brown sapwood is not always sharply demarcated from the heartwood. Quartersawn sections display prominent ray fleck patterns. Japanese Oak is reported to have a larger percentage of sapwood and a smaller heartwood section, with lighter overall color than White Oak; ray fleck is also reported to be less pronounced.
Grain/Texture: Grain is straight, with a coarse, uneven texture.
Endgrain: Ring-porous; 2-4 rows of large, exclusively solitary earlywood pores, numerous small to very small latewood pores in radial arrangement; tyloses common (though not as prevalent as White Oak); growth rings distinct; rays large and visible without lens; apotracheal parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates (short lines between rays).
Rot Resistance: Reports are variable; Japanese Oak tends to have a wider proportion of sapwood, which makes it more vulnerable to insects/borers, as well as wood decay.
Workability: Produces good results with hand and machine tools. Can react with iron (particularly when wet) and cause staining and discoloration. Responds well to steam-bending. Glues, stains, and finishes well.
Odor: Has a tell-tale smell that is common to most oaks. Most find it appealing.
Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with Basswood. Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, oak has been reported as a sensitizer. Usually most common reactions simply include eye and skin irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicityand Wood Dust Safetyfor more information.
Pricing/Availability: No data available.
Sustainability: This wood species is in CITES Appendix III, but is not on the IUCN Red List.
Common Uses: Boatbuilding, tight cooperage (whiskey barrels), veneer, and furniture.
Comments: Japanese Oak tends to have a slower growth rate than other temperate species of Europe or North America. As a result, the wood tends to be slightly lighter and weaker (on account of its increased proportion of earlywood pores) than standbys such as White Oak, though this also gives the wood more uniformity and easier workability.
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