Stinky, Smelly Red Oak

[Cooler]

Use shellac as your base coat. It will contain any odor in the finished product.

[digidan]

Just finished a book cart in red oak. Yes, the cutting stank, sanding not so much. Applied Minwax stain yesterday and this morning the shop smelled of oil based paint. Period. No stinko.

[Robert Adams]

Oh also if you are running pieces through the drum sander and it gets stuck and burns or gets close to burning it'll stink you out of the shop. BTDT when the drum sander acted up... Had to open the doors and stay out for a while till the stink subsided. Sadly it let all the cool air out and the 110* air in. Then don't forget to clean the air filter and the ac coils afterwards as the stink will stay if you dont.

But like mentioned it's mainly during cutting and subsides quickly and usually gone before you stain. Nothing to worry about.

[elinourrumming]

Yeah....I thought my cats were acting out last time I used RO for a house project. Nasty until finished.

[K. L. McReynolds]

Wish there was a picture of my reaction the first time I cut into some stinky red oak---no cats, but I looked for one.

As others have said, no problem after finish.

[Bill Wilson]

LIL,

I've worked with enough red oak over the years, but I've never noticed any real offensive smell. I wouldn't say it's the most aromatic wood I've ever worked with, but it's never driven me out of the shop. I have a basement shop and my wife smells just about everything else, but she's never complained or even asked about any smell coming from the red oak. Could this be a regional thing or caused by different types of red oak?

[Pink Floyd]

Bill Wilson said:

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I've worked with enough red oak over the years, but I've never noticed any real offensive smell.

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I agree. Red Oak just has an acrid smell to me, not offensive at all. It just smells like Oak.

Bacteria can make any wood smell yucky so perhaps that was the case here.

[Robert Adams]

Bill Wilson said:

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LIL,

I've worked with enough red oak over the years, but I've never noticed any real offensive smell. I wouldn't say it's the most aromatic wood I've ever worked with, but it's never driven me out of the shop. I have a basement shop and my wife smells just about everything else, but she's never complained or even asked about any smell coming from the red oak. Could this be a regional thing or caused by different types of red oak?

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I use allot of red oak and it's usually not an issue. Just the slight smell not really much different than other oaks but not a big deal. However every so often you get some boards from a tree that had some sort of disease fungus whatever and the smell is very bad. Out of the last 500 bf I got for a project there were about 3 or 4 boards that smelled and two were extremely bad. But most of the time I don't get that many that stink.

I could see it getting worse if mills start milling up more diseased logs as I would assume they are cheaper. Dunnow just assuming as that's SOP in business to lower costs and increase profits. Course much of the wood is still good in the log just stinky...

[FrankAtl]

I had some firewood once that was mostly red oak and it stunk so bad I wouldn't bring any into the house until it was time to put it into the fireplace. I usually keep enough in the garage for the current fire I have built, but I couldn't even stand that. I came to the conclusion that a bear must have wizzed on it after it was split. Maybe it was just the smell you are referring to.

I work with oak a lot and this was the first time I had smelled something this bad. I hope I never buy any woodworking lumber that has this smell.

[MichaelMouse]

digidan said:

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Just finished a book cart in red oak. Yes, the cutting stank, sanding not so much. Applied Minwax stain yesterday and this morning the shop smelled of oil based paint. Period. No stinko.

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"Red oak" is used for many species, as is "white." Variations in color and odor certainly exist. What you have for reds out there in CA is vastly different from the eponymous Quercus rubra which grows in the Midwest. Sharp tannic acid smell is about it, though machining it can gain you a double handful of splinters. Dad preferred what I sent him over the NorCal varieties, which always seemed a bit greenish.