Oak Dining Table

The traditional looking oak dining table brings you the best in wood quality and style. This is why many people have sought after it for a long time. This still remains true till today. The question is, have you owned an oak dining table yet? 

Features

Oak is a hardwood and a solid wood. This means the wood is rather hard, not soft.

It has a medium brown color.

Natural and homely look.

Many oak tables exist in their antique forms. But there are also oak tables that look rather modern, depending on manufacturer.

Price is moderate.

Its weight is also moderate, not too heavy, not too light.

Available in mostly rectangle shapes, with round ones being the minority.

There are 4 types of oak woods. All 4 mostly have straight grains with a relatively coarse texture.

American red oak

• northern red oak
• southern red oak
• Spanish oak
• swamp red oak
• cherrybank oak
• shumard red oak

Despite the name, it doesn't look reddish at all. In fact, it looks similar to the white oak. But, it has a slight pink tone with the brown oak wood.

American white oak

• white oak
• chestnut oak
• overcup oak
• swamp chestnut oak
• Appalachian oak
• northern / southern oak

The white oak is particularly resistant towards wear and tear. This makes it very durable. These are the advantages over the red oak which was described earlier. White oak is called as such because it has a softer texture compared to the red oak.

European oak

• English oak
• French oak
• Polish oak
• pedunculate oak

Although it is usually straight grained, irregular or cross grains may show on the wood. Since the European oak is acidic itself, you should not let any metals to come in contact. Otherwise, the metal will corrode! How to solve this problem? You must use galvanised metals or non-ferrous metal accessories.

Japanese oak

• ohnara
• konara
• kashiwa
• shirakashi
• ichii-gashi
• aka-gashi
• ubame-gashi

This type of oak wood is prone to beetle attack. Therefore, you have to take extra measures by sealing your oak table from time to time.

Benefits

Everybody wants oak dining tables. Ask anyone which wooden dining table they want, they'll tell you it's the oak. In fact, it is the most popular wood for making furniture in many homes today.

They are suitable for a lot of home decoration and different themes, thanks to the medium brown color of the wood. However, every oak furniture is unique due to the wood characteristics.

Great for amish homes. The oak kitchen table suits the country home theme very much.

Best of all, it is affordable due to the moderate price, not too expensive, not too cheap.

Tips

Like any other wooden dining tables, you should never put anything hot like a boiling kettle onto the table. Even the best finishing in the world will not protect it against such an intense heat. Protect your oak wood table top. If you have to, use a trivet (metal pad that is placed underneath something hot) on the table first.

Do not confuse oak with the birch dining table. This is because the 2 woods (oak and birch) look similar to each other in color and texture. They tend to have the same wood finish too.

Many people love the golden oak look. So should you. It is one of the most popular color for the oak wood. What is the difference between golden oak and normal oak (red or white)? At times, it can be very hard to tell the difference between red and white oak. On the other hand, the term "golden oak" simply means the color of the oak wood, nothing more. Therefore, if it looks golden to you, then you can safely assume it is golden oak. When you go shopping, you'll notice the term golden oak to be a common description.

What if you need to refinish the table or repair a damaged antique oak table? To be safe, you should always refer to a professional woodworker, who is expert in the subject of wood finishing. If not, you can educate yourself by reading this excellent book on wood finishing. When it comes to finishing your oak table, it takes expert knowledge. This is because there can be too many factors that are causing the faulty finish on the oak table, far too many for this article to describe. Furthermore, there are many conflicting advices on the Internet regarding wood finishing. Solve all of your doubts with this book.

If possible, avoid stained oak kitchen tables. Why? The natural look of the oak wood is what everyone is after. Therefore, staining an oak table would defeat its original purpose. But this depends on an individual's taste.

Mission style tables also utilizes oak a lot. What is a mission style furniture or table? It is best characterized as having multiple parallel beams at parts of the dining set like the back rest and adjoining table legs.

Get your oak dining table today. This wooden table is the perfect addition to your dining room.

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