Red Oak / White Oak

[packerguy®]

As mentioned earlier, I want to make a glider. It seems the oak I have stockpiled is red oak. Maybe this question has an answer, maybe not, but I'll ask anyway. If I make this outdoor glider out of red oak, and put One Time wood finish on it, how long can I reasonably expect it to last? Five years? It will be stored inside in winters.

Thanks  Greg

It will go downhill quickly. I cant say how fast because I've never made anything outdoors of red oak , but it is a terrible outdoor choice.

[FS7]

As mentioned earlier, I want to make a glider. It seems the oak I have stockpiled is red oak. Maybe this question has an answer, maybe not, but I'll ask anyway. If I make this outdoor glider out of red oak, and put One Time wood finish on it, how long can I reasonably expect it to last? Five years? It will be stored inside in winters.

Thanks  Greg

When I first started I would use regular white pine (or whatever the Home Depot whitewood was, #2 common) for Adirondack chairs. This was the cheapest available. I gave them to my then mother in law as well as my own mother with instructions that they needed to be protected.

Using semi-transparent deck stain and a relatively sloppy application (with perhaps one or two reapplications), one set lasted a good five years. Using exterior paint and a relatively good application, one set lasted seven years. I consider this pretty good, especially considering they were in an eastern Pennsylvania climate (100 degree seasonal swings). I will note that the weak point on both pine and red oak is going to be the end grain wicking up moisture. Using something like Anchorseal on the end grain along with a quality paint or exterior finish might keep them in decent shape for 10 years.

I think the ideal case is using the right wood. I built an Adirondack loveseat out of cedar - relatively thin, somewhere between 5/8" and 3/4" - nine years ago and it's been weathering just fine with the occasional wash. I've actually replaced and tightened the fasteners once. In fact the weathering will make it uncomfortable to sit on before the wood will rot.

[Gary G™]

In Aug. 2015, I finished an Adirondack out of Cypress.
Most of cypress is 1” thick rather than 3/4” but still…
It’s still in great shape and it’s only got a couple coats of shellac on it.
It sits out in the weather year round.

[ianab]

In Aug. 2015, I finished an Adirondack out of Cypress.
Most of cypress is 1” thick rather than 3/4” but still…
It’s still in great shape and it’s only got a couple coats of shellac on it.
It sits out in the weather year round.

Difference is a wood that has "some" natural durability. 

When I moved into this house almost 20 years ago, the previous owner had left a steel frame (old car hoist) to make a bridge over the back yard stream. We hauled it into place and decked it with 6x2 macrocarpa cypress. No protection. Replaced it this year with some Deodar cedar, good for another 10+ years. 

So yeah, rather than try and make a non durable wood last for 5+ years, find a wood that's good to 10+, then maybe you can extend that. Untreated pine will be compost in 12 months in our climate.