The characteristics and the sterling merit of oak are so well known to all that it would seem like a waste of time to describe it. Since the very earliest records of man oak has played an important part in life. Its fruit, acorns, has fed man and beast and its wood has served every conceivable purpose from that of forming humble huts to stately castles and mansions, from shrines and churches to battleships.

The qualities of oak are truly remarkable. It is hard, open grain, heavy, tough and strong. It is durable even in contact with moisture beyond all common belief, especially white oak.

There are about 295 kinds of oaks found in the world. More than one-third of all hardwood produced in the United States is oak.

There are differences between oaks of the same kind according to where they were grown. Oaks which grow slowly and evenly on high, well drained land make lumber of the finest grain, easiest to work with tools and least likely to shrink or swell in humid atmospheres. Oaks grown in low, warm, humid lands which are flooded occasionally are coarse in structure, though very hard and tough.

Considerable oak is imported from Europe and is considered superior to American oak. English oak is harder on the surface, although more difficult to work, and is preferred by some for furniture. Slavonian or Austrian oak is imported, too. It is softer to work and has a very straight grain. It also has a small grain figure which is especially interesting and is very easily stained and finished like antique oak.

Oak is prepared in two ways with the saw, straight or plain sawed and quarter-sawed. It is peculiar in the fact that there are strips of special tissue radiating from the center of the logs, like spokes in a wheel, called medullary rays. When these are cut through by quarter-sawing the logs the boards show flakes of smooth wood with which all are familiar. Quarter-sawed is much preferred for many purposes, yet plain or straight-sawed oak is greatly used for carving and for the finest of furniture, cabinets and general trim lumber. It is especially not desirable to use quarter-sawed lumber with large flakes when the boards are narrow or small in both directions,casings around windows, small panels and delicately designed furniture and cabinets are especially not the place for prominently flaked quarter-sawed oak.

All the wood we use is European Oak, we are very strick about the source of the wood and if the cource is unable to be verified we will not touch it. We use European Oak because;

1. Its source is easily verified.

2. It has the best grain structure when compared to American, Russian or Chinese Oak. Therefore making the best looking doors possible