gorgeous wood! may I get some help with it's ID Please?

I have this material that I removed from a customer's property. The tree was mostly deceased. Barely hanging on so there weren't really any leaves to speak of to collect and use in determining the species. I know I've seen this wood a couple of times doing different jobs in the past but I never had the opportunity to keep it or to work with it in my shop. I just turned my very first piece on my first ever lathe using this wood and it is a vase that turned out fairly nice especially for my first piece. I've had a tremendous amount of people interested and appreciative of it and I just don't know what to tell them as far as species when they ask. I wanted to add to this that this is not cedar. 100% not cedar. It was a deciduous tree. I also should add that that is only finished with a clear coat there is no staining whatsoever. I used acrylic spray out of a rattle can or it was Rust-Oleum Crystal clear enamel. I don't remember which one. Would be very kind if somebody could help me out with this one. Thank u very much.Attachment 399438Attachment 399439Attachment 399440Attachment 399440Attachment 399440Attachment 399441Attachment 399442

Mesquite?

Your post is hard to read by the way. Proofreading would help remove the words that don’t make sense and add a period here and there. No offense intendedof course.

Nice vase by the way!

My first guess would be Box Elder.

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Originally Posted by Jeremy Hite

... and I just don't know what to tell them as far as species when they ask. Would be very kind if somebody could help me out with this one.

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There can be lots of guesses from photos of the wood or turned piece, all wrong but one.

To eliminate a lot of the guessing shave the end grain smooth from a small piece of the wood and look at the pores. All you need is a single-edge razor blade and a 10x magnifying glass. Just seeing if the wood is ring porous or diffuse porous will narrow the possibilities. (if you don't yet know the difference between these learning a bit would be an excellent place to start)

This page has instructions in section 7: https://www.wood-database.com/wood-a...ication-guide/

Other useful hints are the leaves (probably the most useful - I hope you saved some or can remember what they looked like), smell, and density/relative weight (cut a rectangular piece, measure, and weigh). I also use a UV light to check some species.

You can send a small piece to the government lab for free ID - details on the link above.

Finally, you could do what many people do - guess at the wood and say it with confidence. Most people will smile and nod and never know the difference.

Or do what I do when stumped :) :

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JKJ

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Originally Posted by Matt Day

Mesquite?

Your post is hard to read by the way. Proofreading would help remove the words that don’t make sense and add a period here and there. No offense intendedof course.

Nice vase by the way!

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I am very sorry for the lack of grammar. I wasn't able to be near my computer at the time my ADHD brain was thinking of the problem at hand. I also despise texting so I am then left with voice to text. My V2T is a complete mess. Always mumbling into the phone and not proofreading prior to hitting submit... :D Seriously though I am sry.

I'm saying-----plum! ???

Where you live could be helpful. That would narrow it down to native trees and some others commonly put in landscapes.

Crab apple. Plum is more purple.

Not a clue on the wood, but that is a fantastic vase! Congrats!

I actually live in Southwest Missouri. More accurately Springfield Missouri.

Thank you very much for your kind words. They're are very much appreciated. I found to be very relaxing and almost meditative. I think later on this evening I'll find out what I can do for the second thing I've ever returned I'm hoping it comes out equally decent or even better

The tree species that I can most compare it to that has at least very similar color patterns and density would be the persimmon not sure if that's definitively what this is but I'll try to get the crosscut of the end grain and that pretty soon here when I get a chance

Since you're just a hair north of me I'm gonna guess mulberry. Plenty of it around here and the color can be white/light tan, yellow or red. It is dense, though not as dense as persimmon, but easy to work.

And nice form! That is a worthy piece be it your first or 100th. If you find yourself on the hunt for a particular wood sometime, shoot me a PM. I usually have plenty walnut and others laying around and I'm happy to share.

I’ve got some apple with very similar coloring. It almost looked like bacon when I first cut it but dried more to look like that. Based on the other comments/guesses like plum and persimmon; I’d say fruit wood and call it close enough.