oak

“I haven't always been oak's biggest fan,” says wood artist Robin Wade. “I think I've always appreciated and respected the tree itself, but not so much when it comes to furniture and cabinetry. I have a hard time getting country oak cabinets out of my mind when I think of oak.”  With a personal preference for modern design, the standard uses for oak have never appealed to Wade. “But now, I have come a long way,” he says.  

Wade’s new-found appreciation of oak began when he was cutting this 55-inch diameter monster (right) into slabs. “It was taking 45 minutes to make each cut, and the tree was dulling my chain every three cuts or so,” Wade says. After a couple of weeks of sharpening chains and cutting slabs out of the two logs that came from this Elgin, Alabama, tree, Wade developed a healthy respect for the species.  

“But my appreciation for oak just surfaced within the last few months,” Wade says. “It is, by far, the most difficult hardwood species I’ve tried to dry.”  Wade suddenly realized that there's a good reason there isn’t oak lumber cut any thicker than a couple of inches.  “It has terrible drying qualities,” Wade says. “It took us almost five years to get the moisture content of our oak slabs down to 30%, then a couple of months of kiln time before they were finally ready.”

“So now, five years after beginning this oak project, we finally have a few slabs to play with—and play is the word for it,” Wade says. “Oak has a wonderful grain, and when rubbed with tung oil, it's color, in my opinion is amazing—at least when crafted in a modern minimalist aesthetic.”