Wood identity?

[larryh86gt]

I have about 160 pcs of this wood. It is 40" long x 5 7/8" wide x 5/4. I'm guess maple or cherry but could be anything. It came from a pallet making company that was moving and didn't want to take it with them so I graciously took it off their hands. I do not have the time to play with wood as much as I would like to but someday I will and this may come in handy.
Larry

[dicklaxt]

Maybe Sweetgum

[triplefreak]

Looks like poplar or oak to me. Usually they make pallets out of poplar, because it's cheaper than oak.

[larryh86gt]

Nov 29, 2009 10:29:35 GMT -6 triplefreak said:

Looks like poplar or oak to me. Usually they make pallets out of poplar, because it's cheaper than oak.

Just seems to have a lot more red in it than I see on poplar?
Larry

[Ruffnek]

That bottom board looks to be some type of Cedar. It also looks like something has colored the boards that reddish tint. In places it just doesn't look natural.

I'm pretty sure it's not Poplar or Oak and I'm positive it isn't Sweetgum. Whatever it is, it was free so that makes it a desirable wood. ;D

But, all I know for certain is that the planer blades had nicks in them when the lumber was planed.

[TDHofstetter]

We need more info.

How heavy is it? Lightweight or REALLY HEAVY? Like... if you were to figure up the cubic inches in one piece & weigh it, how many pounds per X number of cubic inches does it weigh?

Next... can we get a really close closeup of the grain, so's to determine whether it has open tyloses or closed tyloses or none at all?

What does it smell like when you machine it? Sweetish? Vinegary? Any distinctive odor at all?

It LOOKS a lot like cherry, but that'd be an unusual pallet wood unless it's really plentiful in Tonawanda. I've seen (owned) pallets made of rock maple & white oak, and I've talked to people who bought pallets made of purpleheart & all sortsa' other exotics, so I wouldn't write off any wood as "not for pallets" - they use whatever's easy to get.

EDIT: Also... what happens if you put one drop of ammonia or lye on it?

[sawduster]

Based on the color and grain alone, I'm gonna guess cherry. But without other info like Timmer mentioned, I couldn't venture more than a WAG.

[Leo Voisine]

That is Cherry.

I have lots of Cherry with all the characteristics that you show there. Every bit of it is Cherry.

Cherry.

[larryh86gt]

Nov 29, 2009 10:50:10 GMT -6 Ruffnek said:

But, all I know for certain is that the planer blades had nicks in them when the lumber was planed.

It certainly did. It was a friends of mine and it was in sad condition. It did not pull the board through and would only plane in very small increments at that. I have since acquired a little Ryobi 10 that did the same thing in 1 pass and just sucked it through with no effort.

[larryh86gt]

Nov 29, 2009 10:51:47 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

We need more info.

How heavy is it? Lightweight or REALLY HEAVY? Like... if you were to figure up the cubic inches in one piece & weigh it, how many pounds per X number of cubic inches does it weigh?

Next... can we get a really close closeup of the grain, so's to determine whether it has open tyloses or closed tyloses or none at all?

What does it smell like when you machine it? Sweetish? Vinegary? Any distinctive odor at all?

It LOOKS a lot like cherry, but that'd be an unusual pallet wood unless it's really plentiful in Tonawanda. I've seen (owned) pallets made of rock maple & white oak, and I've talked to people who bought pallets made of purpleheart & all sortsa' other exotics, so I wouldn't write off any wood as "not for pallets" - they use whatever's easy to get.

EDIT: Also... what happens if you put one drop of ammonia or lye on it?

The boards are heavy/dense. I'll weigh one and try to calculate the density.

I'll try to get a good closeup of the grain.

I have ammonia and will give it a whirl. No lye in the house. Makes the Dragon Lady nervous.

I don't recall the smell when I planed it. It was winter, in a garage and don't recall an odor.


Larry

[TDHofstetter]

If it didn't pull the wood through, then the feed rollers were probably either dirty or hardened. My Foley-Belsaw does that when the cast iron bed needs waxing, too... but after a good wax the wood feeds through just fine.

[dicklaxt]

Cody Sweetgum can be reddish I used a bunch of it to deck a shop one time but he says it is very dense that does rule out Sweetgum

dick

[cabinetman]

Looks a lot like Walnut.

[sachbvn]

My guess is Cherry - I'm so happy! I guessed Cherry before reading any comments, so I'm getting better at identifying wood.... yattah!

The Cherry I get has a definite smell to it when cut.... have you ripped any yet? The stuff I get smells....well, literally like Cherries kind of.

.....the unusual part - pallets..... can't imagine it being used for pallets, but....who knows.

In the second picture from the top - the far left.... that little brownish grain figure.... I've always known that as a "cat's paw" which I have scene lots on Cherry - not so much on other types of wood. Maybe on walnut too - but I don't think this is Walnut.

Zac

[dcarter636]

Walnut is just what I was thinking too. Doesn't look quite right for any cherry or maple that I've touched, too purplish.

[larryh86gt]

I tried to get some closer shots of the grain. Camera is not that great.

I weighed one of the boards that was 1" thick x 40" long x 5 5/8" wide. It is aprox. 5 lbs, give or take a 10th of a lb. I think that makes it 2.71 lbs per cubic foot or .025 lbs per cubic inch. Unless I screwed up the math.

No ammonia in the house either to see the results. I haven't ripped any to see what the smell is yet.

Larry

[TDHofstetter]

That'd be 31.4 pounds per cubic foot (the board was 275 cubic inches, and a cubic foot is 1728 cubic inches (12x12x12), so your board was a little over 1/6 cubic foot. At 5 pounds, that brings it just above 30 pounds per cubic foot.

That's just about the weight of very dry cherry. Oak or red birch or hard maple is nearly twice that, butternut is less. It's also pretty near the weight of walnut, though - these last two pictures look much more like very old walnut than the previous pictures, with grain more pronounced than in cherry. It's still pretty light-colored for even very old walnut, though.

If you can't readily push your fingernail into the surface, it's not butternut - butternut is nearly as soft as basswood. Grain's too straight for elm. It's too chocolatey for poplar (which smells musty, like old furniture, when it's milled). Paper birch is even lighter in weight, and the wood is very white.

I... dunno. It's... PROJECT WOOD.

[larryh86gt]

Nov 29, 2009 17:30:19 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

I... dunno. It's... PROJECT WOOD.

And free project wood at that. Thanks for redoing my math Tim. Darn cubic foot of hardwood should be more than 2+ lbs PCF. Duh.
The grain is pretty.
Larry

[TDHofstetter]

It IS - VERY nice-looking wood... and I'll bet it finishes up Da Nutz.

PLENTIFUL, TOO!

[imahic]

Maybe pecan or hickory?

Mike