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(davidmc) wrote in message . com...

that was labeled "flashed oak." She said it was striped, with
extremely strong contrast between the light and the dark stripes as if
it were zebrawood.

Which way did the stripes go ? Along the grain, or across it ?

"Across" is your classic ray figure on white oak, maybe accentuated by
finishing. Nice effect, but far from unusual. Most common around 1900.

"Along" sounds like it's poor quality brown oak. Brown oak is a fungal
discolouration of white oaks, where the whole log picks up a deep
brown colour. If it's consistent, the timber fetches a premium price.
Half-browned though (which is pretty common, especially around the
edges) is a stripey timber that few people want. I wouldn't be
surprised to see someone start using it because it was cheap, then
trying to push it as something special.