On Sun, 10 Jun 2012 09:38:20 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:


"dpb" wrote in message
...
... If have the local mill option, just be careful if it's "oak" to
steer away from red oak--it does not weather well at all--white oak
will stand up well. Around here, anyway, Doug fir is at a premium
since it all comes from the West Coast. W/ the housing slump it
might not be as bad; I've not tried pricing recently.


Here in New Hampshire red oak lasts decades and white oak rots
quickly. I recently cut up a red oak trunk that has been lying on the
ground in the woods since the mid 90's. Roughly half the cross
sectional area is still too hard to stick a knife into. What rot there
is penetrated lengthwise much faster than across the grain.

Something must change when you cross the border into Maine. g Here
white oak has good rot resistance while red oak rots very quickly.
Traditional Maine boats were Northern white cedar planks on white oak
frames. White oak is hard to come by locally these days; red oak is
abundant.

--
Ned Simmons