OWT What is the Wood?

[Twisted Tenon]

Ive had this tool for a while and have often wondered what type of timber it's made of. Anyone hazard a guess?

TT

[mark david]

Hi, possibly Lignum vitae

[Toymaker Len]

Looks a bit like elm.

[Twisted Tenon]

It's heavy too. 250mm wide and weighs just under 1kg

TT

[IanW]

TT, it's hard, heavy, with a fine grain and has that stark sapwood contrast. Assuming it was made locally & not from some exotic wood, I'd be wondering about one of the dry-country acacias (which should be an excellent choice for the job). However, determining species from a picture is a very uncertain game....!

Cheers,

[auscab]

The first thing it reminds me of is Murray Pine, it's oily, dense for a pine, and heavy ish.

[Twisted Tenon]

Thanks for the info gents. I have an ulterior motive for asking as I intend to put it up for sale on ebay. I just wanted to give the timber a name. It's got a brand name or owners stamp which I can't make out but I think the tool was imported a long time ago. I'm just going to go with "made from an exotic imported timber"

TT

[IanW]

Well, TT, if you'd mentioned that it isn't a locally-made item, I would've added a few more possibilities! If it's an import then mark david's suggestion of Lignum is a better stab than an Acacia, especially if it's oily. I have a couple of pieces of Lignum, and they don't look quite like the wood in your pics (my Lignum has a slightly coarser grain), but all woods are variable, so I wouldn't reject it as a candidate. One of the Rosewoods (Dalbergia spp) is a possibility, too, they are generally quite fine-grained, and also 'oily'. They were a popular choice for handles and bodies of wooden tools 100 years ago....

Cheers,

[Twisted Tenon]

Thanks Ian, wasn't thinking. I found this tool in my deceased uncles shed about 7 years ago. He was a chippy and had some interesting stuff. I salvaged this with the intention of using it but never did, so I passing it along to some one who may appreciate it more.

TT

[Toymaker Len]

If it is imported from europe it is much more likely to be elm, famously tough wood for chair seats, ship building, heavy construction, tools etc.

[auscab]

Murray pine.
A fence post off cut , dry and freshly planed . I have seen darker stuff in the racks as well .
Rob

[mark david]

Hi, I can auctually tell you from personal experience, as I have a lot of antique tools in the past that the most popular timbers for wooden handtools would be
Rosewood, particularly for metal plane infills, plane handles, marking gauges etc.
Beechwood, most popular for woden handtools,bench planes, moulding planes, marking gauges etc.
Lignum vitae, very popular for woodcarvers mallets, due to its extreme weight and durability.

Light weight woods such as elm were not used much due to it's softness, open grain and dimensional instability, another timber also very much loved by the furniture beetle.

Beechwood form Europe was by far the most used timber due to it's availability and durbility and specially for planes which usually incorporate boxwood throatplates or inserts.the main problem with beechwood is that it is just loved by the furniure beetle, I have had boxes of vintage molding planes just riddled with them.

[auscab]

I only have one sample of what Im pretty sure is Lignum Vitae, in this mallet head . TT's wood is not the same as this and his has no open grain, just like a conifer.

If its from a commercial tool maker from OS its an unusual one . Its certainly not Elm , I wouldnt call Elm soft either, I have acres of it and all the stuff I have used is similar to US Oak in weight. Its not Beech , and Most Rosewoods have an open grain that needs to be filled when polishing The colour looks close ish to some Rosewoods , I dont think it's a Rosewood . It looks like a user made tool . A one off , and was found in Australia.

Most likely it's either a dry country acacia like Ian said or The MP .

Rob

[mark david]

Hi I suppose an interesting question is what is this tool for ?
It looks like a custom made router to cut the groove in the underside of a handrail and as such could have been shop made to fit over an exact profile moulding with whatever timber was to hand.

The tool appears to be covered in some kind of varnish which doesn't help with identification, maybe Goncalo Alves or Laburnum are possibilities also.

[Twisted Tenon]

Murray pine.
A fence post off cut , dry and freshly planed . I have seen darker stuff in the racks as well .
Rob

Is that timber heavy Rob? It certainly looks the same. Rose wood is a dark wood isn't it? or darkens with age.

Mark I think it is machine made. There's a mark I'll try to photograph and post tomorrow which looks like a manufacturers stamp rather than an owners initials.

TT