Thread: Timber ID

Looks more like Oregon.

Originally Posted by bench1holio

Looks more like Oregon.

I’ve got Oregon and it doesn’t look the same



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Looks like WRC to me. You can usually tell by the smell.

TM

Originally Posted by TermiMonster

Looks like WRC to me. You can usually tell by the smell.

TM

What does it usually smell like?


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WRC has a sort of cedary, westerny smell to it......

Looks more like WRC to me, although the grain can be deceptive. I've seen some very fine-grained (i.e. slow grown) oregon which looks a bit like WRC, but the grain in oregon is usually a bit more pronounced than your sample.

Looks like some of the Oregon that I have that has been cut on the quarter which has planer grain. Will try to get a pic of some of my Oregon later.

I'd say Douglas Fir, no question. We only call it Oregon in Australia because that's where it comes from. If you ask for a cubic metre of Oregon in the USA they'll send you to the North West to visit a Sand & Soil place

Two very simple ways you can tell, given that you have some "reference" DF. Cut or plane a piece of each. If they smell the same, then......

Second: WRC (~0.34) is significantly less dense than DF at around 0.55 or something from memory (and also has a much stronger smell, kinda like bananas). Take the dimensions of two pieces, weigh them, and work out the density, and that will tell you if they are the same.

Originally Posted by adem

I’ve got Oregon and it doesn’t look the same

Adem, you're not accounting for regional variances there. The same species from different soil types and rainfalls can look quite different. I have Douglas Fir that looks like both of those pieces. The grey piece on the right is classic weathered and concrete scaled DF - been used as a plank, I'll wager.

When I sand the Oregon I get a stronger smell and orange dust, where the other timber I don’t get a stronger smell and the dust is lighter in colour more pale.


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Originally Posted by adem

Another clue, although far from being definitive, is the pink primer - absolutely necessary on Douglas Fir for outdoor use, but not so necessary on WRC. DF is not rated very well for outdoor use, but WRC is very commonly used for windows and doors due to it's durability in weather (think BBQ tables and seats).

Originally Posted by adem

When I sand the Oregon I get a stronger smell and orange dust, where the other timber I don’t get a stronger smell and the dust is lighter in colour more pale.

Sure the colour can be different, and the smell can vary, but the two timbers (DF and WRC) have radically different smells.

If it's not DF then I'll go bare-butt to Mr Brush's place!

Density will be a better check. Measure & weigh.

The piece that your are holding looks like 2"x2", so about 50x50mm (although maybe smaller after dressing). If that size is accurate, then I betcha it weighs close as dammit to 1.35 kgs per lineal metre! (not allowing for paint weight). If it is WRC it will be less than 1kg /m.

And then there is Hemlock.

Density aside, I would suggest that visually, it is Oregon.

But as FF states, do a density check.