A friend gave me several pieces of wood for turning, and I wanted to see if anyone can help to identify the tree. It is a Pennsylvania tree. The heart wood is light brown. There is a bright yellow layer between the bark and the sapwood, and the yellow color bleeds over a little into the whitish sapwood. The bark is a thick, rough, gnarly gray. I made some rough bowls, and the wood turned nicely. Just trying to find out what it is I am turning. Thanks.
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Need help identifying this wood
- Thread starter Marc Goldberg
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got any leaves
It looks like maybe oak, matbe black oad
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as Charlie said, leaves are the best way to get an ID. Bark is also useful. The shot of the wood is not nearly close enough to be of much help. If it was magnified about ten or more times then it might help. The yellow that you mention is bark.
The darker yellow is called cambium, neither bark nor sapwood.
Your friend probably didn't save the leaves, but in any case the best way I've found for identifying trees is to take a sample to a local nursery for direct examination by a horticulturist. Some of them are woodworkers too.
If it turned "nicely", it probably isn't oak.😀
Your friend probably didn't save the leaves, but in any case the best way I've found for identifying trees is to take a sample to a local nursery for direct examination by a horticulturist. Some of them are woodworkers too.
If it turned "nicely", it probably isn't oak.😀
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Joe, I bvelieve that it would be a different sort of cambium from what I am familiar with if what you say is correct. Generally the cambium layer is only a couple cells thick and someetimes only one cell thick. The cambium produces phloem on the outer side which turns into bark. On the inner side it produces xylem which becomes the sapwood.
The xylem carries water and nutrients up to the leaves and the phloem transports the "food" produced by the leaves down to the roots.
If you cut a green actively growing tree especially in the early spring, you can actually separate the cambium by hand from the rest of the wood. It will be very wet and slippery and almost like thick paper, but also quite fragile. I need to do some further looking because it might be what I have separated from the bark and wood is not just the cambium, but also the xylem and phloem since it is so much wetter than the surrounding wood.
It is possible that the yellow layer may be more correctly identified as the phloem, but I still think that it is probably bark without having a better view of it.
Could it be butternut??
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Butternut has a chambered pith like walnut. The only two woods that have this feature.
Easy to check there will be little hollow spaces in the pith if it is butternut.
The picture is inconclusive on the chambered pith issue.
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Looks like Black Locust.
Cherry!
robo hippy
robo hippy
wood id
wood itself does looks a little like cherry, but the bark is too rugged. (Black cherry has some bark ?"flakes" , roundish, reminds me of finger painting!!!). Black locust has real rugged , thick, and linear grooved dark bark-just saw some yesterday in Mass. (I am speaking off the cuff here-just my impressions). Your bark doesn't seem to have the linear grooves.
Gretch
wood itself does looks a little like cherry, but the bark is too rugged. (Black cherry has some bark ?"flakes" , roundish, reminds me of finger painting!!!). Black locust has real rugged , thick, and linear grooved dark bark-just saw some yesterday in Mass. (I am speaking off the cuff here-just my impressions). Your bark doesn't seem to have the linear grooves.
Gretch
Black Locust?
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/forestry/hough/vlgimage/plate_28.jpg
This help?
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/forestry/hough/vlgimage/plate_28.jpg
This help?
The bark is similar to Black locust, which also has the white sap wood. It's been a long while since I cut a tree of it down to remember if the bark turns yellow or not. The photo has a slight reddish tint to the wood, which I associate with Honey Locust. The Black Locust I've used has more Honey tones.
cmg
cmg
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The reference you posted is for (Gleditsia triacanthos) Honey Locust not ( Robina Psuedoacacia) Black Locust, or am I missing something? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinia_pseudoacacia
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tree id
The honey locust I have seen has a smooth ish bark,, not deeply furrowed. Curious as to why some do not have the spikes (saw spikes in Kansas in my son's back "yard", and "smooth" in Mass. I just turned honey locust 2 weeks ago from Daughter's inlaws house in Mich. No thorns either. Wood is similar to black locust.Just photoed intact piece in the garage and a bowl turned from it drying and may try to send it later. Gretch
The honey locust I have seen has a smooth ish bark,, not deeply furrowed. Curious as to why some do not have the spikes (saw spikes in Kansas in my son's back "yard", and "smooth" in Mass. I just turned honey locust 2 weeks ago from Daughter's inlaws house in Mich. No thorns either. Wood is similar to black locust.Just photoed intact piece in the garage and a bowl turned from it drying and may try to send it later. Gretch
honey locust
First pic is in Kansas showing thorns of HL-note smooth bark
Then pics of yet unturned HL from daughter's in laws home in Lansing, Mi. Note no spikes, less smooth bark (this was a branch-not sure what the base looked like), but not as furrowed as Bk Locust. Friends house in Mass where a storm in Sept '13 uprooted 3 of them 14" in diameter, was smooth ish except at base.
Turned and drying HL bowl from Lansing, Mi Gretch
First pic is in Kansas showing thorns of HL-note smooth bark
Then pics of yet unturned HL from daughter's in laws home in Lansing, Mi. Note no spikes, less smooth bark (this was a branch-not sure what the base looked like), but not as furrowed as Bk Locust. Friends house in Mass where a storm in Sept '13 uprooted 3 of them 14" in diameter, was smooth ish except at base.
Turned and drying HL bowl from Lansing, Mi Gretch
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It may be hickory
From the appearance of the bark, I would guess that it is Mockernut or Pignut Hickory. It does not have the long loose flakes like Shagbark Hickory, but the bark typically forms elongated diamond shapes.
David Jones
From the appearance of the bark, I would guess that it is Mockernut or Pignut Hickory. It does not have the long loose flakes like Shagbark Hickory, but the bark typically forms elongated diamond shapes.
David Jones
I not a pro at this but it sure looks like Walnut I have out in the garage.
Bill. Isn't Butternut also known as White Walnut? ( that is what it looked like to me ) Ron.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I don't seem to be able to see the images on my iPhone. I logged in a d still no image.
I think I agree with walnut.
When you split it, is is stringy. If so, and by the color, I guess hickory.
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I think the pic with thorns (by the way down here we call them thorns) looks like a young tree. The ones that were in my yard in Vicksburg, MS 20 years ago were 12- 14 inch and the bark was rough with thorns. Therefore I believe that the bark changes (as many trees do) as the tree matures.