Need help identifying wood - Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board

texaswoodworker · 10-29-2009, 04:21 AM

Does anyone know what type of wood this is? It is soft and really light weight and it has a sour smell. I think it may be sycamore or maybe white oak. I found a small log of it in the woods several months ago and decided to try and make pens out of it.

Thanks for the help.

marshall · 10-29-2009, 10:58 AM

I'm guessing just by the picture ........White Oak........had to tell........

knothead · 10-29-2009, 01:17 PM

Aaron,
My guess is white oak also. I have a bunch of it and looks the same and smells the same when cut. Cut a small piece and break it. If it splinters it is white oak.

Tom

Kepy · 10-29-2009, 01:31 PM

It is soft and really light weight

That statement eliminates white oak as it is heavy and very hard. Not familiar with sycamore but it is a soft wood so might be a possibility.

Janette · 10-29-2009, 03:29 PM

Could be oak - if it had been sitting in the woods for years and began to decay it would be light. May be ash also. Definitely not sycamore.

texaswoodworker · 10-29-2009, 03:58 PM

It was still green when I found it.

unixpro · 10-29-2009, 05:36 PM

My immediate vote was for white oak too. It could be Ash, though. That's a fairly light wood. Did you see any leaves around?

KtownScroller · 10-29-2009, 07:24 PM

I don't know what it is, but oak is usually hard and moderately heavy. The grain looks like oak, but then again it certainly could be something else. I know red oak has an aromatic smell that to me is quite pleasing. I don't know about white oak though. And you say it was green, so that pretty much eliminates oak for me. Of course a small piece of any kind of wood would not be too heavy. Then again...

You guessed it... I don't know either.

sawdustus · 10-30-2009, 12:01 PM

Since there are more than a dozen species of oak, my guess is pin oak, or as my eldest calls it p**s oak because of the way it smells when you cut it.

george

Wood Dog · 10-30-2009, 04:12 PM

I don't know what it is, but it looks like it would make a cool looking pen.

10-29-2009, 10:58 AM	#2
marshall Just love Being Here Join Date: May 2008 Location: Jonesboro AR Posts: 2,106	I'm guessing just by the picture ........White Oak........had to tell........ __________________ Usually busier than a cat in a sandbox !!!!!!!!!!! { Dewalt 788 only }

10-29-2009, 01:17 PM	#3
knothead Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: ARIZONA Posts: 719	Aaron, My guess is white oak also. I have a bunch of it and looks the same and smells the same when cut. Cut a small piece and break it. If it splinters it is white oak. Tom __________________ Tom ___________________ America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. Abraham Lincoln

10-29-2009, 03:29 PM	#5
Janette Intarsia Moderator Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Eugene, Oregon Posts: 2,108 Blog Entries: 4	Could be oak - if it had been sitting in the woods for years and began to decay it would be light. May be ash also. Definitely not sycamore. __________________ Janette www.square-designs.com

10-29-2009, 03:58 PM	#6
texaswoodworker Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Reno Texas Posts: 254	It was still green when I found it. __________________ Aaron

10-29-2009, 07:24 PM	#8
KtownScroller So much better :) Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: PA Posts: 2,662	I don't know what it is, but oak is usually hard and moderately heavy. The grain looks like oak, but then again it certainly could be something else. I know red oak has an aromatic smell that to me is quite pleasing. I don't know about white oak though. And you say it was green, so that pretty much eliminates oak for me. Of course a small piece of any kind of wood would not be too heavy. Then again... You guessed it... I don't know either. __________________ - Rick

10-29-2009, 01:31 PM	#4
Kepy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Elkland, MO Posts: 120	It is soft and really light weight That statement eliminates white oak as it is heavy and very hard. Not familiar with sycamore but it is a soft wood so might be a possibility.

10-29-2009, 05:36 PM	#7
unixpro I need more weekend Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Greater Seattle Area Posts: 615	My immediate vote was for white oak too. It could be Ash, though. That's a fairly light wood. Did you see any leaves around?

10-30-2009, 12:01 PM	#9
sawdustus Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,975	Since there are more than a dozen species of oak, my guess is pin oak, or as my eldest calls it p**s oak because of the way it smells when you cut it. george __________________ A day without sawdust is a day without sunshine. George delta 650, hawk G426

10-30-2009, 04:12 PM	#10
Wood Dog Senior member--Absolutely Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: MA USA Posts: 3,445	I don't know what it is, but it looks like it would make a cool looking pen. __________________ WD

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode