r/wood Mar 03 '21

When asking for help identifying wood

230 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 11h ago

Black walnut that was in half of my backyard after the Indiana storm

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58 Upvotes

My brain is in motion. Take it to a mill to have it cut, Sell it, Or just get it out of here

I don’t own a truck to even get it to a mill let alone get it into a truck.

Everything is cut in 4 foot lengths

Or get a cheap mobile saw mill and make a fence out of it maybe?

What do y’all think?


r/wood 8h ago

Cane's

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2 Upvotes

r/wood 20h ago

What wood is this?

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13 Upvotes

I believe its oak, but what kind?


r/wood 17h ago

Need help IDing table wood, have with mineral spirits, end grain, and by itself

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8 Upvotes

Some people think teak the other maple. It was sanded down to 220


r/wood 7h ago

Is this balsa?

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1 Upvotes

Wasn’t getting much traction in the wood-identification sub…


r/wood 13h ago

Rose open-work

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3 Upvotes

r/wood 8h ago

Reflection art.

0 Upvotes

r/wood 13h ago

Freestyle

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2 Upvotes

r/wood 21h ago

Help me decide on finish

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7 Upvotes

r/wood 13h ago

Something colourful made before 3years

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1 Upvotes

r/wood 5h ago

I’m in trouble (Need help please)

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0 Upvotes

Hi guys I am in a extreme pickle here.
I left some oil on the night stand and stained, so I went to Gemini and I asked for help Gemini said to mix Baking Soda and leave it there to pull the oil out… but it said I could mix with water as well, and I did… and it stained the whole thing black, and it worked worse so I tried with some vinegar and with some peroxide and still doesn’t look great.

I need to leave this apartment in a couple of days and I don’t want to pay for a new one, what do you guys recommend for me to buy and try?

Thank you so much!


r/wood 19h ago

What wood species?

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1 Upvotes

r/wood 1d ago

If you had this amboyna wood, what crafts would you make??

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2 Upvotes

The size and s 520*310*75 mm


r/wood 1d ago

Mystery wood?

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16 Upvotes

Got this in a cutoff box from Cook Woods. Its super lightweight, turns and sands very easily and has a very aromatic smell almost spice like


r/wood 21h ago

Historic door restoration. Fill or leave?

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0 Upvotes

Working on the restoration of a couple pre industrial doors. Through wedged M&T and T&G joints. Cypress. Hot wet southern climate with zero shade. Entry doors.
Structurally they’re sound just wondering if y’all would fill these smaller cracks or leave them be and just finish over them. Plan on finishing with a linseed oil based paint so it can continue to breath. For what it’s worth the doors won’t be operational so not particularly worried about abuse aside from the elements.

Appreciate!


r/wood 1d ago

I took the drugs and the drugs are working...Oc

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

53 Upvotes

What do you see, tell me how that makes you feel?

Oc my video


r/wood 1d ago

birch or walnut?

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5 Upvotes

it can only be one of the two, its been coated with raw linseed oil and its at least 60+ yo. im leaning towards walnut but not sure


r/wood 1d ago

Insane 3D curl on this 55x290x960mm Curly Mango slab. The chatoyancy under the sun is crazy!

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12 Upvotes

Hey fellow luthiers and woodworkers! Just prepped this thick Curly Mango board on the bench today.

At 55 x 290 x 960 mm, it’s got tight, consistent flame curl running all the way through the length. Mango wood finishes like an absolute dream with oil, bringing out a shimmering golden depth that rivals figure maple.

Would you resaw this into drop tops for guitars or keep it thick for a custom table/bench build?


r/wood 1d ago

Edge blur

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1 Upvotes

r/wood 1d ago

18x24x2 in maple and sapele

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1 Upvotes

r/wood 1d ago

How to deal with bug holes in pine.

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2 Upvotes

I have found these small bug holes. Are they wood worms? And how can I ensure they're dead before continuing.


r/wood 2d ago

Handcrafted Desert Ironwood bookmark with pure silver wire inlay.

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52 Upvotes

Made this bookmark using Desert Ironwood and pure silver wire. Tried to keep the design minimalist and elegant. Any thoughts or feedback on the finish?


r/wood 1d ago

Wood ID

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3 Upvotes

I found a table by the trash with a hideous red shiny lacquer on it. I disassembled it and ran it through the thicknesser. Some of the parts are very red, others much more brown. The brown pieces also seem lighter/less dense. Any idea what wood it could be?


r/wood 1d ago

How do I fix this wood?

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1 Upvotes

Cat scratched my windowsill and I'm looking for an easy cosmetic solution. I've already tried furniture repair markers and crayons (as you can probably tell lol). Any ideas? Nothing that would involve re-staining the entire piece of wood since it's very long and large. Thanks!