What is this wood?

[Richard Preston]

Hi,
Very pretty wood, hard as hard maple, perhaps even more.

Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[Garmar]

Really hard to tell, Richard, without the bark or leaves to give a clue. I have seen Elm look that color and grain pattern, but just a guess.

 

[dkulze]

A pic of the bowl end on to show the growth rings would help.

Dietrich

 

[Ed_McDonnell]

Looks like a piece of Ash I recently turned.

Ed

 

[Charles Henderson]

Need an End Grain shot

Looks like Pecan to me, but can't say for sure by the picture. I can't tell if it is open grained, and if so the Elm suggestion would probably be right. However, if it is close grained and semi-diffuse porous (how it looks to me) then, like I said, probably Pecan. The dark marks on the side of the bowl look exactly like marks I've found in the Pecan I turn quite a bit of lately.

 

[Mr. Don]

Mystery wood

Richard...You are another person that does not say where they are...my best offer is contact your local Forestry or State College Agriculture department and furnish them with leaves, photos, samples of wood, etc.....why don't you members state on your bio where you are???? It would make any help much easier if we knew your geographic location. So, give this a shot...and let us know the result.

 

[Richard Preston]

Richard...You are another person that does not say where they are...my best offer is contact your local Forestry or State College Agriculture department and furnish them with leaves, photos, samples of wood, etc.....why don't you members state on your bio where you are???? It would make any help much easier if we knew your geographic location. So, give this a shot...and let us know the result.

Sorry Don,

I guess what you really after is where the wood came from, not where I am. It came from Virginia, Richmond. No leaves, nor bark.

Elm in that area. Perhaps Pecan. It was about a 15" log.

Just HARD wood. Is Pecan hard?
Thanks to all,
R

 

[Jred]

Looks like elm

 

[Dale Miner]

I recently turned a piece of Coffeewood (Kentucky Coffee Tree), that had a grain and color very much like your piece. I would rate the green hardness as somewhere near Oak. Definately more troublesome than green hard maple.

The piece of Coffeewood I turned had a very slight smell to it. Not really like coffee, but vaguely reminiscent.

Is there any Coffe Tree in the Richmond area?

Later,

Dale M

 

[MichaelMouse]

Doesn't look like any of the species of elm I've turned. They all had distinctive dark heartwood and fairly broad sapwood. Pores aren't properly distributed either. Besides, if it had been green and elm, you'd have known it.

Did it come from the woods or a lawn? In the woods things are more likely to be native, and by the stage of the woods you can limit your choices even further. In the city it could be something from lower slobbovia where it only attains status as a bush, but here grew to a tree because it was free of pests and competition.

Hickory/pecan might be the best guess, though they're a bit coarser, if memory serves.

 

[Mike Vickery]

With nothing else to go on Pecan would probably be my best guess, but with just the bowl as reference your odds of a valid ID go down a lot.

The bellow link has pictures of Pecan turning, leaves, bark, flowers and fruit for reference.

http://www.distinctiveturnings.com/...is&PHPSESSID=ed8e11ecb77b6eae0233355b65e2945b

I have recently turned a bunch of Pecan from an orchard close by that is getting torn down. I would not describe it as hard to turn when wet, by my understanding is it is quite hard when dry ( I have just roughed out no finished turnings yet).

Others have guessed Hickory and I believe the Pecan and Hickory are closely related but am not sure. I have never turned any hickory so I can't comment on it.

 

[jdsilwones]

Richard, my wife is great at wood id and says that if you send it to her she will put it on our mantle and study it for a while.
Nice work!

 

[Mike Johnson]

This is a tool I turned for a customer which has some Kentucky Coffee Tree wood segments.
With a sharp tool this wood turns very nice. Very heavy dense wood with interesting wood grain.

 

[robo hippy]

Butternut, aka white walnut. That scalloped ring pattern it typical for the branches in particular. If it had a kind of vinegar smell when cutting, then for sure... Not particularly hard, at least not the only tree I got of it, but it does tend to be a bit stringy.

robo hippy

 

[Bill Boehme]

Butternut, aka white walnut. That scalloped ring pattern it typical for the branches in particular. If it had a kind of vinegar smell when cutting, then for sure... Not particularly hard, at least not the only tree I got of it, but it does tend to be a bit stringy.

robo hippy

So after nearly nine years we finally have the answer?

 

[hockenbery]

Butternut, aka white walnut. That scalloped ring pattern it typical for the branches in particular. If it had a kind of vinegar smell when cutting, then for sure... Not particularly hard, at least not the only tree I got of it, but it does tend to be a bit stringy.

robo hippy

butternut I have turned is a lot softer than hard maple.

I would go with pecan which is harder than hard maple.

However what makes this 9 year old question pop to the to?

. Has the cold case team been searching the archives for a case to clear?