Why do I have 'tiger stripes' on my oak wood?

[Plan3tBob]

Hi,

I hope someone can help me.

I've just had a bannister installed, It's oak wood and has just been varnished and the issue is that I'm seeing some strange striping in the wood which goes across the grain and I'm confused as to why they are there.

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Is this normal? Or do I have an issue with how the wood has been prepared?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Best regards,
Bob

[BobL]

That looks like entirely natural variations in the wood grain to me
AND
its considered a prized feature - pity you don't have a bit more!

[verawood]

Welcome to the forum Bob.
Nice grain there.

[Chief Tiff]

They’re called medullary rays (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medullary_ray_(botany)) and as Bobl rightly said they’re usually considered a desirable feature. Oak that is destined for furniture is almost always quartersawn to bring them out.

[auscab]

Hi Bob.
As BobL said , its a prized feature . Medullary Rays. Medullary rays - Google Search (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Medullary+rays)
The rays grow large in Oak. They grow from the (edit) inside center pointing to the outside of the tree. Along the red arrows I drew in . Points are at wrong end in my drawing :). So if you look on the end grain you see the thin edges of them going towards the center of the tree, like in the cap on the top of your Newal post.
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Its in every stick of Oak on your staircase but it has to be cut right to show it . No joiner or cabinet maker wants to have every piece showing Medallary rays . The piece would look awful. Its traditionally used in a subtle balanced way and is seen as a sign of someone taking the time to show they know what their doing and taking some care to go a bit further.

In the UK it has been used for centuries in a decorative way by placing it a central balanced position in furniture and Architecture . You see it used a lot on the door of 18th century longcase clocks
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Or on drawer fronts in cabinets .
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Rob

[Bushmiller]

My understanding is that all trees have medullary rays, but in most species they are invisible to the naked eye. Anything that has "Oak" in the name will tend to have very visible rays. This is a feature of the so-called "true oaks" belonging to the Quercus family such as English, American, Japanese Oak etc..

In Australia we have a few species that are even more dramatic with perhaps the most prominent rays of all trees, such as the Allocasuarina species (She Oak, Bull Oak, Hairy Oak etc). Silky Oak , which is a Grevillia, is another. Most of these species adopt an "oak" component to their name, but not all. Beech is one tree with prominent medullary rays that does not rely on the "oak" moniker.

Regards
Paul

[yvan]

Hi,

I hope someone can help me.

I've just had a bannister installed, It's oak wood and has just been varnished and the issue is that I'm seeing some strange striping in the wood which goes across the grain and I'm confused as to why they are there.

509918

Is this normal? Or do I have an issue with how the wood has been prepared?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Best regards,
Bob

Because you are very lucky to have such beautiful timber !!! :D

[Camelot]

Hi,

I hope someone can help me.

I've just had a bannister installed, It's oak wood and has just been varnished and the issue is that I'm seeing some strange striping in the wood which goes across the grain and I'm confused as to why they are there.

509918

Is this normal? Or do I have an issue with how the wood has been prepared?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Best regards,
Bob

In Victorian houses the owners would commission grand Oak staircases to show of their wealth and if you had even more money you would commission a Mahogany staircase, because Oak was a native species while Mahogany had to be imported, thus making it more expensive.

With your Newel post being the star and most prominent feature of your staircase, I would have asked my client which way around they wanted to see the Rays and personally I would have suggested turning the post around 90 degrees, thus having the Rays on both sides of the stairs.

Another way Oak (and Ash) are brought to life is to have the grain lime filled during the finishing process, I did a Conference Room in Brocket Hall using this method, pic attached.
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