Questions on wasters.

[Robert Harden]

A buddy bought a "waster" that he was told was made out of oak. but, when I picked it up, it felt really light, Are oak waster supposed to have heft to them?

[Stacy Clifford]

A buddy bought a "waster" that he was told was made out of oak. but, when I picked it up, it felt really light, Are oak waster supposed to have heft to them?

The weight of a waster usually depends on what part of the tree the wood came from. I've picked up identical hickory wasters many times and found one considerably lighter than the other one. That said, oak doesn't have a history of making good wasters as it tends to be more brittle. That is particularly true for red oak, one of the most common hardwoods in hardware stores (in the south at least). If it's some other type of oak, your mileage may vary.