Ah, hello, you’re back. Shall we continue…
STABILITY!!!
We love stability here at Timberpride – That’s why all our joinery timbers have been air dried for years and only then kiln dried. Most Joinery oak is kiln dried from green now, but we believe this is the best way to annoy a joiner.
We can test moisture content easily, testing for stability is difficult. If you make an item in oak only to find it warping and twisting it has tension, that’s the test. If you buy Oak that has been air dried properly it will be stable, if it was kiln dried from green it will buck and twist, the choice is yours.
Therefore, seasoned oak is not touched for a year or more so it is given the chance to do much of the bending, shrinking and splitting it wants to do.
BUT
Remember, seasoned oak is the darker oak in the green oak / seasoned oak photo. Don’t be alarmed, if when you come home from your two-week summer holiday that your oak has changed colour, it just means it has either the sun has finally been shining and the UV rays have penetrated the oaks tannins or it has been raining (as per) and the rain has washed the tannins out. Either way, 1) Don’t be alarmed, this is normal and 2) don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t normal – it really is.
The timber can be a sliver grey but after a while, they can turn a dark grey or even black. See the chicken suit reference in the green oak blog – you’ll laugh, we promise.
Hold on to your hats people – don’t forget to come back for more!!