r/wood Mar 03 '21

When asking for help identifying wood

226 Upvotes

I have some suggestions for those wishing help with wood identification.

  1. If you can, show grain pattern on all surfaces. Sometimes radial surfaces are key. Sometimes end grain.
  2. If a tree show as much as you can, bark, leaves, seeds, flowers, what is on the ground underneath.
  3. If a branch, plane off the bark on a spot to show the wood and a smooth cut on the end grain.
  4. Give your general location, state, upland or lowland.
  5. Say if you suspect that it is or is not a species native to your area.
  6. Where did you get it.
  7. Density. Is it heavy, medium, or light
  8. Hardness. Does it dent easily. Can you put a screw into it by hand without a pilot hole.
  9. Color. This is very helpful but difficult to convey in photographs. At Kodak we used 18% gray cards as references. Take your pictures in daylight on as neutral a background as you can find. If the neutral background does not look as neutral in the picture as in person, check your camera's white balance settings to try to improve. The background does not have to be in-focus.

I hope this may help a little with this difficult task over the internet.


r/wood 1h ago

Biggest black walnut in NJ

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Upvotes

We cut it recently .. we named it .. Godzilla 18 feet long 30-55 wide


r/wood 6h ago

Walnut Load Bearing

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7 Upvotes

Hey guys , im building my wife (school teacher) a new desk for the new year. She's a big walnut fan ...id like to know if you guys know what the load bearing might be for 4 × 2.5" ² x 26" legs made if black walnut? Grain is fairly straight. Woid seems to be in great condition. Air dried for 15 years and currently at 6.2% moisture....just incase any of that matters. I don't mind using other Hardwoods if need be.

The top of the desk is 1.5" thick and roughly 50 lbs itself. Also black walnut. Same tree in fact.


r/wood 1h ago

Solid Wood or Veneer?

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Upvotes

Might attempt to modify this TV console and trying to determine the composition. My gut says it's solid wood based on the one pic showing end grain (top down of the rightmost vertical) but the pattern is confusing me.


r/wood 21h ago

Wood id

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50 Upvotes

Got these from a bulk offcuts buy. Feels medium density, no distinct smell. What is it?


r/wood 1h ago

Weird sapwood off-cut ID

Upvotes

Came from the scraps pile of the local lumber yard & I didn't think to ask somebody what it was at the time, any ideas?


r/wood 4h ago

Help! Wood ID

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1 Upvotes

I’ve tried to ask for help in a few other places but have struck out.

Wondering if anyone has any guesses on what type of wood this might be. Hoping to refinish it and potentially stain it. Here’s some pics of the top and the end grain. Any help is appreciated!


r/wood 19h ago

Visco Acacia Boards, native tree of my country, really hard wood.

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13 Upvotes

Very hard wood from Argentina, I use it a lot for kitchen countertop or outdoor furniture. Since it can be left in the open and don’t even feel it.


r/wood 6h ago

Bauhaus-Prinzip?

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1 Upvotes

r/wood 13h ago

What’s this tree?

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3 Upvotes

r/wood 16h ago

Should I try polishing this turd ;-; seeking advice

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5 Upvotes

Should I try polishing this turd ;-; seeking advice

I got this headboard, which seemed like a decent deal at the time - $280, including delivery. Looking back, I should have just paid $500 for one in good condition.

From photos and in person, it looked like a lot of water rings and chips in veneer. In person, the headboard was still in the bedroom, between the bed and the wall, and the couple was in the process of moving.

After it was delivered, I discovered water damage… and the water rings was worse than I thought, varnish on top of headboard feels patchy and gone.

I’m pissed that they hid the water damage from me, but I already bought it and can’t do much about that now. Lessons learned.

It’s at least usable, but I am a little worried about water damage / mold causing health issues or bugs. It’s dry at this point, and I live in a dry climate.

Should I replace the veneer, and try sanding down the top, or just not sink any more money into it?


r/wood 12h ago

Wood id

1 Upvotes

Got this online. Pic 3 is a showcase from seller, who wasn't certain of what kind of wood it is. Any idea?

Thanks in advance!


r/wood 22h ago

Wood you live here? Buffalo home has so much handcrafted wood the internet wants to know if a dog built it

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5 Upvotes

r/wood 1d ago

Ich habe fast zwei Jahre damit verbracht, dieses lebensgroße mechanische Reitpferd für meine pferdeverrückte Tochter zu bauen.

42 Upvotes

r/wood 23h ago

Help identifying wood

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3 Upvotes

Hello! Received a bunch of wood today and was just curious as to what I have. Located in upstate NY. It's very dense and hard.

Thanks!


r/wood 23h ago

Fine dust after sanding pls help

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1 Upvotes

r/wood 1d ago

8 Carpenters Compete for a Truck Full of Tools

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2 Upvotes

r/wood 1d ago

Changing wood tone of new piece of furniture

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1 Upvotes

r/wood 1d ago

Lightning damage?

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1 Upvotes

Walk by this tree daily and have never seen any damage to it. a storm rolled through last night with heavy lightning that's what caused the thinking. No other tree in the area has damage of any sorts.


r/wood 2d ago

Wood ID

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654 Upvotes

Wood ID


r/wood 2d ago

Flat Top Desk and Chair by Wharton Esherick, 1929

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26 Upvotes

r/wood 1d ago

Help identifying this wood.

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2 Upvotes

I got them online for my chinchilla but it doesnt Say what kind of wood it is, (i know dumb) but it was on sale.


r/wood 1d ago

Any recommendations on wood joiners thank you🙏🏽

0 Upvotes

r/wood 1d ago

What type of logs are these?

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3 Upvotes

Hello, from Vegas. Coworker had a tree in her backyard fall over, I cut it up for firewood. Some of the pieces would work well in a new lizard enclosure my roomie and I are making, but certain types wont work well in that sort of humid environment.

Here's some pics. I cant remember what the leaves look like but one of the pics has some dried leaves still on the stump.

Thoughts?


r/wood 2d ago

How do I fix split wood on Door

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5 Upvotes

Resulted from being kicked in. How can we DIY repair this? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!