Thread: Wood identification

Hard to tell with any certainty without seeing it. Even then … it could be so many woods depending on it country of origin /manufacture. Is it of Australian or NZ origins or from US, Africa or Europe? Much easier to say what it is not. Old wood is even harder when covered with old finishes. Having said all that….

It looks like a softwood to me from a distance. From the colour, low density and sheen it could be a kauri which was popular. It could also be Huon Pine if from Tas . Then the close up of the wood & knot suggests something else though, maybe a pine. Some idea of it origins may help or when you cut the wood and smell it.

Perhaps there should be courses for furniture restorers in wood id, learning the features of popular furniture woods and how such woods and wood finishes change with aging and oxidation.

Euge

I don't know its origins. I got it at a yard sale.

Would the best way to tell softwood from hardwood to look for pores on its end grain?

BTW pine isn't open grain is it?

Originally Posted by yoboseyo

I don't know its origins. I got it at a yard sale.

Would the best way to tell softwood from hardwood to look for pores on its end grain?

BTW pine isn't open grain is it?

Here is a link covering end grain under a 10x lens in point #7 as well as many other macro features you can see and feel and which you can use to identify wood for yourself. There are many features that are useful and best learnt and experienced

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-a...ication-guide/

Euge

I took a couple of pictures of the endgrain on the table legs:
https://imgur.com/a/5tIbs1G

I know it's not great but I can't sand it back at the moment to get a clearer shot.

I also calculated the density of the piece and it came to 663kg/m^3. That's slightly denser than most softwoods, but lighter than most hardwoods.

I am leaning towards it being either maple or Tasmanian Myrtle, just by the weight and comparing the colour to a Google image search

Some GENERAL and final comments:

Colour reproduction is a problem here, made more complex by old finishes, and out said it "hasn't been stained” and was "surpingsingly light” (in weight or density I assume) , and was "moderately hard” were the basis of a first guess I made , with links to help yourself. A "yard sale" as a source doesn't help much.

Colour: from your first pics, thewood does not show the typical pink or pink-red of fresh myrtle wood. The end grain was little darker pinkish & closer to myrtle.

Myrtle DOES show a high luster as did the kauri I initially suggested.

Density: you quoted is higher than most softwoods, as you say, and closer to myrtle beech.

The knots and grain and end grain (even though a surface cut with a sharp razor is better) seems close to beech - though I haven’t checked because I have other things happening … maybe you should try comparing the end grain of your wood against published pics of these hardwoods? Try Inside Wood as a database. You would learn a new method to identify wood from comparing microscopic features.

My attempts at ID usually apply to raw & freshly cut wood and depend on matching it against a memory of woods I've seen, cut, smelt, felt etc. I rarely ID wood from pics (although I had a request tonight to ID wood of a turned bowl. Nor do I ID by end grain (some of my friends do) although this is worthwhile.

As some have said on this forum…….. attempting wood identification from some rough pics is a MUGS GAME and I agree.

Cheers

The reason I want to know is because I want to turn the table into a cabinet and need to match it with similar woods. Whatever it is, it's not widely available (at least where I am). I don't want to refinish it, and I don't know how closely I want to match it, but if it is tassie myrtle, say, (which is a beech), then I'd be more confident pairing it with maple, than if it turns out to be pine

Thats a great aim. But I am not a furniture restorer / maker best to get closer to them. Maybe post your aspiration on that forum rather than wood id and ask for ideas or feedback on your plans. Many helpful members here.

If its a aesthetic thing of "matching wood" for appearance, maybe hold off acting until you learn more about woods that are available from local dealers, speak to club or forum members with similar interests, look at myrtle (go for a holiday to Tasmania) and look at the many wonderful cabinet woods there. You will learn more about what you have along the way. Get closer to what it is you want to achieve so you have no regrets about what you decide to do.. If you are stripping the old table back to bare wood (somewhere) then it will reveal bare wood which will make id much easier. Maybe speak to a knowledgeable antique dealer. Maybe invite some Canberra members from this forum, eg cabinet or box makers, to see it and see what they think the wood is and what would match it. Just ideas, take them or leave them.

By the way Tassie myrtle wood is quite unlike European Beech wood. Its called Myrtle beech because the leaves are similar. (Nothofagus means false beech.)

Cheers and good luck
Euge