Thread: Red cedar or not

Can you lift it single-handed?

Hi Nathanael,
Not so easy to answer that question. There are large legs plus wheels and a lot of wood underneath working with a table expansion system making it quite heavy.
Cheers,

Well it's absolutely not pine. That's a hardwood.

I don't really think it's RC either. It just doesn't look red enough.

Can we see the piece of furniture as a whole? And can you take a photo in more natural light and not artificial?

Is it unusually soft? Can you scratch it with a fingernail?

Cheers,
Luke

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Hi, I tested with my finger nail and readily made 2 cuts in direction of grain and across. Now I need to seriously consider how I am going to finish the surface

Finally got onto the person I got it from. It seems it came from England and he thought it might be beech or yew. I wasn't even looking in the right part of the world

I wouldn't put it outside the realm of possibility that it could be Cedar, but the Cedar I've had is typically more red. The fingernail test supports your hypothesis though.

When you sand it, does it have a cedar-like smell?

If it does turn out to be Cedar then I would highly recommend a shellac finish, preferably using the French Polishing technique. It really works phenomenally on cedar (and most other woods).

Does it have any kind of maker's mark, date, etc on it? Do you know that it was made in Australia? When? By whom?

Originally Posted by Blackout

Finally got onto the person I got it from. It seems it came from England and he thought it might be beech or yew. I wasn't even looking in the right part of the world

Ah, ok. I think you posted this while I was typing my last post.

Well, unfortunately, my knowledge of wood ends at the old world. I don't know much about European woods at all.

I do know that it's likely not Beech. Beech is fairly distinct. It could also be some kind of Elm or Ash.

I'm really grasping at straws here though.

Best of luck,
Luke

Hi Luke,
Thanks, I've got a lot to learn and hopefully I can get samples of the different types of wood to learn about. French polishing I did many years ago and looking for to doing that. I can now see this project is going to take a lot of work so will go slowly with it while I focus on other easier and faster jobs.

Cheers,
Nick

Wood anatomy is like fingerprints. No more difficult than that.
A few minutes with a microscope and you can decide on fewer than 100 woods of economic importance
in the northern hemisphere. Guessing by looking at gross anatomy/appearance is a mug's game.
If it came from England, it can't be Australian Red Cedar. It can't be Western Red Cedar from North America.

Pity I'm not still there. I'd be cutting 3 shavings (radial, transverse and tangential) that you would never notice
to give you a serious ID in about 20 minutes. CSIRO Forest Products can do the same.

Google 'elm timber'

Elm certainly could be it. I like that grain.

Originally Posted by Robson Valley

Wood anatomy is like fingerprints. No more difficult than that.
A few minutes with a microscope and you can decide on fewer than 100 woods of economic importance
in the northern hemisphere. Guessing by looking at gross anatomy/appearance is a mug's game.
If it came from England, it can't be Australian Red Cedar. It can't be Western Red Cedar from North America.

Pity I'm not still there. I'd be cutting 3 shavings (radial, transverse and tangential) that you would never notice
to give you a serious ID in about 20 minutes. CSIRO Forest Products can do the same.

Most of the Australian Red Cedar that has ever been cut was exported to Europe and England in particular.

Not that i think the table in question is ARC, but being from elsewhere does not rule out a number of Australian (or other) species.