Pin Oak
Quercus palustris · hardwood · Eastern North America · high movement
- Janka hardness 1,500 lbfred oak ≈ 1,290 lbf
- Density ≈ 44 lb/ft³specific gravity 0.63 at 12% MC
- Shrinkage — tangential 9.5%flatsawn width, green → ovendry
- Shrinkage — radial 4.3%quartersawn width
- T/R ratio 2.2 : 1higher = more cupping in flatsawn stock
Shop notes Red oak group, often knottier from persistent lower limbs. Works like northern red oak with a touch more hardness.
Seasonal movement at a glance
Width change for pin oak across a typical indoor year — 6% moisture content in the heated winter to 12% in a humid summer:
| Board width | Flatsawn | Quartersawn |
|---|---|---|
| 6″ | 1/8″ (0.122″) | 1/16″ (0.055″) |
| 12″ | 1/4″ (0.244″) | 1/8″ (0.111″) |
| 24″ | 1/2″ (0.489″) | 7/32″ (0.221″) |
| 36″ | 23/32″ (0.733″) | 11/32″ (0.332″) |
Run your own numbers
Different width, different climate swing — the calculator below is preset to pin oak:
Typical swings:
Pin Oak questions
How much does pin oak move with the seasons?
A 12″-wide flatsawn pin oak board moves about 1/4″ across a typical indoor swing from 6% to 12% moisture content; quartersawn, about 1/8″. Its tangential shrinkage is 9.5% and radial 4.3% (green to ovendry) — a high-movement wood.
How hard is pin oak?
Pin Oak rates about 1,500 lbf on the Janka scale — in red oak’s hardness neighborhood (red oak is roughly 1,290 lbf). Density runs about 44 lb/ft³ at indoor moisture levels.
Is pin oak good for wide panels and tabletops?
Carefully. Its tangential-to-radial ratio of 2.2:1 makes flatsawn boards prone to cupping — choose quartersawn stock for wide glue-ups, alternate growth rings, and fasten tops so they can slide.
Similar species
Sweet Birch · Sugar Maple (Hard Maple) · Afrormosia · Honeylocust · Sapele · Scarlet Oak
Shrinkage, specific gravity, and hardness from the Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282 (2021 edition), USDA Forest Products Laboratory (public domain). Values are species averages — individual boards vary with growth conditions and how they were dried.