My buddy at work made a cutting board from this piece of wood and would like to know what kind of wood it is.
Unfortunately It already has a couple of coats of butcher block oil but here is a picture of the end grain.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10233/IMG_20190103_192054.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1546561290)
How about elm. Would be nice to see more of the tree. Does he know where it came from. Jeff if we could get a scratch and sniff app on the web site, might help. lol. Could I.D. the pith elm.
I'm not seeing the wavy gravy (technical term) that you usually see in elm pores.
does he have some unfinished or can we see the flat side. Gene would want to see an end just cut with a knife blade under a 10 power lens.
I'll see if he can bring me a scrap piece.
What does elm smell like?
A little back ground information. This and many other pieces of wood my buddy got came out of an old barn that the owner says he kept his lumber in for 50 years or more. Located on the eastern shore of Maryland.
I would suggest it is tropical in nature.
The color and look may change after being stored for so long in less than perfect conditions. I got some walnut recently that had been in a backyard shed for over 30 years. It had all kinds of color that I referred to as spalting, and barely looked like walnut. May not be tech. accurate. still nice looking.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/E113FB94-8FED-4945-85D7-9A92A53D218D.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1546615806)
Examples of old walnut on left, single piece recent processed on right
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/51041/116DE761-D1A2-43AC-81E1-E0708858EB43.jpeg?easyrotate_cache=1546619455)
fresh cut elm has kind of a urine/ammonia smell, some call it "pith elm". Pretty sure it is in the sap and therefore not present when dry. I guess you could soak it but would still be subjective, Neat piece. Elm gets a bad wrap. it can be pretty. Friends of mine were looking at a table in the NE. 8,000 dollars for an "exotic hardwood". turned out to be elm
Click on a similar looking end grain pic here and zoom in to see the pore look I was talking about. That is a good ID site.
http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/elm,%20red.htm (http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/elm,%20red.htm)
I got a nice sample of the wood. It's 24" x 20" x 2" thick.
The first thing I noticed was how light it is. Also it as no smell.
I'll attach my first attempt at an end grain it's a little fuzzy but the growth rings are pretty big, about 1/4"
I'll attach a better pic when I get it home tonight.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10233/unknown_wood.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1546864889)
Could it be cottonwood???
@Wood Doctor (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=18547) , This is Bryan Henderson. trying to ID wood. can you give us a hand.
Cottonwood is in the poplar family and light in color and weight, However with oxidation and dust with water, it may lt may be a darker color. It might be fun to measure dimensions, or volume and check a weight to calculate density. This might help get us in the ballpark. Need to know baseline MC or oven dry. Or send to an extension forester or ag. University. Welcome Yetti
You prob. already know this, but the cotton in "cottonwood" is from the seed pod. Really messes with pools and AC in early summer here in the Midwest. The wood is soft, but tough and narly grain. Have posted planks used for floor on bulldozer trailer. Not rot resistant, but ok if not in contact with soil and moisture. Grow fast and live about a hundred years, mostly along creeks ect. often 3-5 foot diam. trunks. When old, a nuisance cause the limbs are huge and start breaking in the wind that we often have on the prairie
strange, could be willow
how about sycamore
Cottonwood is more bland and less abrupt between rings in what I've seen. Sycamore has very distinct rays and is also less abrupt between rings. Willow, hmm, maybe? Need a crisp pic. Can you put a slice on a scanner? The second pic looks ring porous but its so blurry its hard for my eyes to see.
Ok WS you got us going. Would you be able to weigh the board. sounds like you have dimensions. MC prob. 10% but if you could measure that is even better. I do not have any experience with end grain, never studied. Can we also see the flat side grain. Would you say it is rift sawn. or quarter sawn.
First I apologize for leaving this thread hanging. Were swamped at work and right now all I'm doing is go to work, go home, feed the wood stoves and myself, sleep, repeat.
Excuses aside I was about to say it couldn't be cottonwood because we don't really have it in this area but I really don't know where it came from before it landed in his barn.
I really hope to mess with it tonight.
It is all good. We are just getting curious. Most of us are in the same boat.
And one month later I'm back on it.
I finally cleaned up an end with a plane and got a good picture of it.
I'm thinking white Ash.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10233/IMG_20190207_164829.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1549653413)
nice pic, thx. sadly I am no expert on micro but we can see if we can invoke the forum spirit of @GeneWengert-WoodDoc (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=20498)
Jon,
I believe that you are right.
Danny, if you think I'm right then I'm right.
;)
Those parenchyma look to be paratracheal ;D.
Yep, an ash.
Quote from: WDH on February 10, 2019, 07:06:07 PM
Those parenchyma look to be paratracheal ;D.
I'm thinkin that's what I was thinkin. Just didn't know I was thinkin that.
:D :D :D I'm sure.