Wednesday, May 18, 2011

What is This Wood?

I'm really bad about keeping my scroll sawing lumber organized. I buy a piece I like, sometimes without a particular project in mind, and add it to the stash. Over time, I forget what I have or sometimes what species of wood it is. I also scrounge for scraps and cut offs, and have bought boxes of assorted scrap. So, I'm often faced with the question "what is this wood?" when I go to list an item I have made for my Etsy shop. Here's an example:

 This beautifully grained dark brown wood has a waxy feel to it and has a strong fruity odor when it is cut, which reminds me of the odor from canarywood.

Here is another example:


I believe this is poplar, but it doesn't have the greenish tint characteristic of poplar. It could be a type of maple, but it cuts so much faster than maple and the board isn't as dense or heavy as my other maple boards.

While trying to identify my wood, I came across this website, which has a wealth of information on wood lumber:
http://www.wood-database.com

Unfortunately, it hasn't helped me identify the wood used for these projects, but I have learned a lot from it, and have identified several other boards. So, if you recognize the wood in these pictures, let me know!

1 comment:

  1. Looks like poplar to me because when I used my own poplar tree to make some candle holders, it was very blond and not much grain. I started to throw it in the stove when I thought of staining it with walnut and it turned out beautiful. Thanks for posting your pictures and thoughts. Steve O'Neal

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