Could you tell??

[Donnie Raines]

If you were to walk into a sawmill...any sawmill for the purpose of this generic question. If there was a stack of maple in front of you, could you tell if it was hard or soft maple?...how would you make this distinction? Same for cherry...if you had a stack of cherry in front of you, could you tell if it was PA cherry..or just any ole' cherry?

To take it further....could you tell if the lumber was kiln dried or had been air dried?

Just curious......

[Lee DeRaud]

If you were to walk into a sawmill...any sawmill for the purpose of this generic question. If there was a stack of maple in front of you, could you tell if it was hard or soft maple?...how would you make this distinction? Same for cherry...if you had a stack of cherry in front of you, could you tell if it was PA cherry..or just any ole' cherry?

To take it further....could you tell if the lumber was kiln dried or had been air dried?

Just curious......

Oh great, I can see it now: sawmills will set up "tasting booths" in the front, just like wineries:
"Ah yes, a pretentious little wood...(rub)...from the Mohawk Valley...(sniff)...north side..."

[Tyler Howell]

Sure I could!

Just read the little label above the stack

[Donnie Raines]

Sure I could!

Just read the little lable above the stack

...I should have considered that....

[Mark Singer]

Donnie,

This is a good post! David Marks had a recent episode where he showed techniques for carefully selecting lumber....bring a plane , a moisture meter, gloves, a spray bottle..

Wood selection is avery important part of each project and experience and going with someone that knows is really great. If you ever have a chance to join an experienced woodworker on a trip to the yard ....do it! It is a learning experience.

[Lee Schierer]

If you were to walk into a sawmill...any sawmill for the purpose of this generic question. If there was a stack of maple in front of you, could you tell if it was hard or soft maple?...how would you make this distinction? Same for cherry...if you had a stack of cherry in front of you, could you tell if it was PA cherry..or just any ole' cherry?

To take it further....could you tell if the lumber was kiln dried or had been air dried?

Just curious......

Yep, any cherry I see would be from PA, since I live here, we don't allow the import of foreign wood.

If the maple has lots of curly areas in it chances are it's soft maple. Hard maple is , well harder and a bit heavier. Mostly I ask the guy at the Mill

All the lumber I buy is dimensioned and kiln dried by the mill that sells it.

[Dennis Peacock]

I can smell a skunk from a mile away.
I can spot a snake crawling in my yard.
I can drive most any heavy equipment with ease.
I can fix busted computers.
I can talk about many aspects of woodworking with complete pleasure of the talk.

Spot really nice wood while at the sawmill.??? Nope!!!! I am learning how to though and am getting better at spotting curly boards without any planes to reveal the surface.

[JayStPeter]

I'm with you there Dennis. Sometimes I get home with a piece of wood I think is going to be the greatest I've ever seen. Usually, I'm disappointed after a few passes through the jointer . Like you though, I'm getting better each trip. A recent supplier switch from skip planed to rough bandsawn set me back a little though. Each species seems to have its own challenges as well.

I can tell hard vs. soft maple with my fingernail and by weight. Most of the soft I've seen is also more red/gray than the hard. But, I doubt that is always true. Plus, it's difficult to see that in rough/dirty form. Even if you clear some spots with a block plane, it doesn't always look as dark in contrast with the rough part as it does when you get it cleaned up and compared to some light maple. At this point, color is how I differentiate the soft/hard in my stash.

Even though cherry is my favorite wood, there's no chance I could tell you if it was from PA. Since I'm not REAL far from PA, I suspect most of what I get around here is either from PA, or close enough to be the same.

I've never used air dried lumber, so I wouldn't know what to look for to compare with kiln dried. I think I smell the kiln on the lumber (a sort of cooked wood smell), so maybe that would help. It's even easier when the mill uses a wood fired kiln .

Jay

[Bob Johnson2]

Like Jay said, Soft is lighter and is darker then hard maple, but I couldn't tell which it was unless there was a pile of each.Never seen Pa cherry, is it different from Ma cherry?