Oak questions

Questions (and Answers!)
1

I was just given a couple “oak” planks. Both are roughly 4/4 7ft. 8 x 10. One plank is easily identifiable; it looks like what I would call red oak.3rd attached pic. The other is much darker and vastly heavier. It weighs about 30%-40% more than the red oak piece.1st and 2nd attached pic.

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I checked the moisture content and it shows 7%. Both pieces have been stored inside for years. Both pieces show a lot of surface checking / cracking.
So my questions are as follows.
Is the darker piece likely something other than oak or a different type of oak?
Will the surface cracking mostly disappear when the wood is planed.

2

Hard to tell from your pictures. Distinguishing white oak from red oak is pretty easy by looking at the end grain. Distinguishing Red and White Oak | The Wood Database is an excellent article about that.

If it’s not oak, then I have nothing helpful to say.

Good luck!