Expert: Eileen Cronk - 1/13/2006

Question
Hi,
 I'm considering purchasing an old "lawyers" bookcase, the kind that has individual units that stack one on top of the other with the glass doors that open out and slide in , they go by many names I think.

Anyway, it's made of oak, and the oak is very dark, there's another shorter book case of the same type made of oak and it's wood is lighter and has a more attractive grain to me. If I opted for the taller book case I thought I might have it refinished, to bring out the grain pattern better.

I guess my question is this, are there different varieties of oak with different patterns of grain? I'd like the taller bookcase to have a more attractive appearance is what I'm trying to say here, more like the shorter one, which is a bit lighter in color, and the sort of banding pattern that the oak has is more pleasing to me. However I don't want to ruin whatever value it may have by refinishing.

What do you think? Thank you and I apologize for this sounding so scattered.

Michael

Answer
Hi Michael
Nice to hear from you.
And this question is not scattered at all. I fully understand where you are coming from.
If the grain on both your cabinets looks roughly the same, then you can certainly remove the dark color to try to get them both looking lighter, but you say the grains are different.
I suspect one of your cabinets is "quarter sawn" oak, and the other is not. Quarter sawn oak has a much finer grain and I prefer it. So the answer to your question is yes, there are different types of oak. There is red oak and white oak and quarter sawn which is simply oak that is cut to expose the fine grain instead of a courser grain.
You can still refinish both cabinets so they are the same color but a pro would be needed if you are not adept at doing this.
You are also right to consider value when considering refinishing an antique and this type of cabinet is becoming hard to aquire in my neck of the woods.
Thank You for a great question.
Eileen