Red Oak usually has a light brown to a dark brown
coloring that runs into reddish brown grains. For the most part, Oak has
straight grains, but there can be interesting variations, especially in
veneer's and veneer plywood's
If you're looking for an excellent lumber to use for
your stair treads, you found. I haven't found any statistics, but it
wouldn't be hard to imagine, that Red Oak is one of the most popular
stair treads, used through out the United States.
Gluing = Excellent, I've never had a problem with gluing Oak and one
time I even tried to break a few joints in half, but ended up splitting
one of the boards, instead. The glue joints never even separated and I
didn't use any wood dowels or biscuits.
Sanding = Good, since it is a hardwoods, it's hard to sand, but well
worth the effort. Try to avoid over sanding, otherwise you could create
a wavy surface. The grains of the wood are usually harder than the areas
in between them and could create problems, with your finish.
Staining = Great, this was one of my favorites woods to work with and it
can be stained in a variety of different colors.
Nailing = Difficult, the harder woods are simply harder to nail and
almost impossible to screw through, without pre-drilling holes for your
nails or screws.
Wear And Tear = Excellent, Red Oak is one of the more popular woods used
by stair builders and finish carpenters. Since it's one of the harder
hardwoods, it will usually last a little on for than the softer ones.
