Well now, Wuffie, in that you admit to being somewhat confused on the wood issue of my post … I will forgive you for addressing me as “Chris”. Like the ole fellow said, .. better to be addressed than undressed.
Anyway, Bigwull, when I made the statement that …. “
White Oak which is one of the most porous of wood types” I did so because I …. uh, … uh, …. also do know enough about wood types in general and their individual criteria specifically, having served many hours as a student of nature, a carpenter, cabinetmaker, re-modeler, restorer, refinisher and a student of Botany …. to know that all wood types do in fact have the capabilities of absorbing and transporting water. And I was not specifically speaking about water absorption when I stated the above “porosity” thingy, Said comment was in reference to the “tubular” size of the wood “grain”. The larger diameter the “grain”,
the more porous the wood.
The technical name for said “transport” mechanism is “
xylem”, which is commonly known as “growth rings” and/or “wood grain” depending on the view, and which is a “tubular” structure for transporting water and nutrients between the roots and the tree canopy. Different species of trees have different size xylem tubes, which is often referred to as “loose grain” or “tight grain”. A tree grows a new xylem layer at the start of each new growth season, but the older xylem still retains considerable moisture, and thus the reason firewood and new sawn lumber should be “air” dried or ”kiln” dried for lumber, before using. The xylem transports said water
via capillary action, thus anytime the grain ends are exposed it will either absorb or excrete water depending on whether its environment is wet or dry.
Given the above, oak has rather large grain, pine has a little smaller, whereas maple has extremely small grain. Thus, if you are going to apply a stain to “new sawn” oak or pine, you best first apply a “wood filler” or their open grain ends will “suck-up” the stain faster than you can wipe it off …. resulting in “
dark and light areas” that can only be cured by putting the wood back thru a planer. But with maple, ya almost have to let the stain dry on top of the wood, except for the “end” cuts.
Bigwull, I hope that was less confusing for you ….. even though I did get quite “mouthy” in my response.