Wood Identification

[Chris Fairbanks]

Hi, I am hoping anyone can help me identify these 4 pieces of wood. Thanks in advance.

Wood 1:
IMG_0439.jpg
Wood 2:
IMG_0441.jpg

Wood 3:
IMG_0443.jpg

Wood 4:

IMG_0445.jpg

[peter gagliardi]

Teak, oak, butternut, spanish cedar

[andy bessette]

The first one doesn't look like teak.

[Thomas Pratt]

Looks like it may be sassafras. If it is you will know it by the smell when you saw into it'

[Lee Schierer]

The first two look like red oak, the second two look like black walnut sapwood.

[Chris Fairbanks]

Thanks guys for the help. I did some more research and took small cuts off of each of the pieces of wood. #2 is defiantly oak and #4 is defiantly Spanish cedar. The smell was a dead giveaway on both of them when I cut into them. The #1 did not have a sassafras or teak smell when I cut into it and its end grain does not look like sassafras or teak according to the wood-database.com website. The #3 one looks almost identical to the first one from an end grain point of view. It did not have any smell either when I cut into it. I am starting to think both are butternut where the #1 is quartersawn and the #3 is flat sawn. This picture is the end grain of the 1st and 3rd woods next to each other. Any other ideas? Thanks!

I sanded these on my disk sander so there are still sanding scratches in them vertically.

thin butternut.jpg

[Chris Fairbanks]

Bump. Any ideas? Thanks.

[Wayne Lomman]

I would say #1 is Tasmanian Oak and #3 is Tasmanian Blackwood but I don't know how likely this is. Neither are strongly scented. Cheers

[peter gagliardi]

I would be surprised if #1 wasnt teak. The sap/pitch streaking in the upper left is a very common feature of teak. It it oily or greasy feeling at all? Does it change color in less than a day when freshly cut, when exposed to light? Teak is very light reactive.

[Chris Fairbanks]

At first I thought #1 was teak but it has no oily or greasy feel and does not have that smell when you cut it like other teak I have worked with. I did not notice any color changes but can try testing that out as well. It just seems to be missing that golden color alternating with a white/creamy color vs real teak I have worked with and the pour structure on the end grain. Thanks guys!

[John K Jordan]

The #3 one looks almost identical to the first one from an end grain point of view. It did not have any smell either when I cut into it. I am starting to think both are butternut where the #1 is quartersawn and the #3 is flat sawn. This picture is the end grain of the 1st and 3rd woods next to each other. Any other ideas? Thanks!

thin butternut.jpg

Chris,

The top one has distinct chains of pores not present in butternut. I've seen this before but don't remember the species with this characteristic. If I can find time I'll try to check my references. Hoadley's book "Identifying Wood" is also a great resource. The bottom one is much different and even with the sanding damage appears to be strongly ring porous rather than diffuese porous as typical of butternut:

butternut-endgrain-zoom.jpg

Did you try using a razor blade or very sharp edge of a chisel or knife to get a clear look at the end grain? It only needs to be a small sample. If the wood is too hard a piece can be soaked in water first.

Near the bottom of the wood ID article of the Wood Database tells how to get free professional wood ID from the US government. They will ID up to five sample per year for any citizen.

JKJ