What species wood is this?

[Shawn Christ]

Okay, pop quiz, hotshots. What species wood is this?

It was cut from a farm near Bellevue, Iowa. The property owner didn't know what it was. I took it because it came free with a load of walnut and cherry, also from his farm.

I've heard maybe white oak, but that doesn't seem right to me. I've tried The Encyclopedia of Wood, but I'm still not sure.

The board at left in the first pic has been planed; the rest is rough sawn.

[Dewey Torres]

Depending on your lighting it is ash.

[David DeCristoforo]

Actually, ash in any light!

[John Keeton]

I am probably a little too far east to make anything more than a guess, but I vote for elm.

I have no idea what is common for Iowa except cornstalks, and I'm pretty sure that's not it!

Looks like the growth rings are too wide for oak, indicating a faster growing tree, and it has that secondary grain that appears in elm sometimes.

I looks like ash, but doesn't seem white enough.

[Shawn Christ]

Geez, you can't get any better than that quick response!

No flash in the first pics but 560 equivalent watts of CFLs.

Here's a few WITH the camera flash.

[John Michaels]

What about Chestnut?

[Jim Kountz]

I looks like ash, but doesn't seem white enough.

I agree, its a little too dark for ash. At least when compared to the ash I have. Could be just the lighting though.

[Shawn Christ]

It seems lighting could make this difficult for you. For comparison, here's the mystery wood next to cherry and walnut, respectively, no flash and flash.

[Mac Cambra]

I was thinking butternut, but then again what do I know?

[David DeCristoforo]

That's Hickorashelmnut...

[Karl Brogger]

I was thinking butternut, but then again what do I know?

That and ash were my two votes. Hard to tell with out seeing it in person.

[John Bush]

Could be butternut as Mac suggested. It would be softer and lighter in weight than the walnut with similar grain pattern. If it is hard stuff it is still a mistery. JCB

[Dan McCallum]

Well I was thinking ash too, the grain is very ash like. But the photos with a flash seem to show kind of a pink-ish cast so that would seem to rule out ash.

I also don't think it is elm, elm has a very obvious interlocked grain which is not visible in these photos, granted they are not really up close photos though.

Does it have any smell, if you plan off a shaving do you get an aroma? Maybe that's another clue we can use.

The best way to identify it is to take a very sharp block plane, clean up a bit of end grain, then go to hobbithouseinc and check everyone's suggestions against his woodpics there.

Dan

[Corey Wilcox]

I'm going to break with the pack and throw out a wild idea. How about red mulberry? Search for images on Google. Looks pretty good to me, but I haven't seen it in person.

[Jack Briggs]

I say chestnut.