This thread is where I will post hints for the Bonus Puzzle (Wood Identification contest) so you don't have to hunt through the entire Bonus Puzzle thread to find them.
Bonus Puzzle Hints
- Thread starter Edgar
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This is the wood you need to identify. It comes from my farm in Columbus, TX and these two pens were made from this mystery wood.
The image in Post #2 is in my IAP Photo Album.
If you haven't already, you can click on the image to open the photo link in my album and click on that image to open a large, hi-res image where you can see the grain structure and coloration a little more clearly.
At this time I am not telling what kind of cuts were made for the blanks used in the pens - that info might come later.
If you haven't already, you can click on the image to open the photo link in my album and click on that image to open a large, hi-res image where you can see the grain structure and coloration a little more clearly.
At this time I am not telling what kind of cuts were made for the blanks used in the pens - that info might come later.
Here's a slightly different view of the 2 pens made from the mystery wood.
I had a slight chip-out on the bottom one when I got close to final diameter.
This is a hardwood species, but it cut like butter.
I had a slight chip-out on the bottom one when I got close to final diameter.
This is a hardwood species, but it cut like butter.
Through 150 posts, there have been about 100 unique guesses by 28 players (if I counted right) and no one is even close yet.
Well, there was one guess that was in the right botanical family, but it is such a distant cousin of this species and the name isn't even close, so there's no way that even that one could be considered a candidate.
Well, there was one guess that was in the right botanical family, but it is such a distant cousin of this species and the name isn't even close, so there's no way that even that one could be considered a candidate.
No winner yet through post #310
I cut a number of blanks and sanded a few of them slightly so the coloration & grain would be more visible. Here's a photo with a couple more of the blanks for your consideration.
It is native to Texas and its native range includes at least 14 other states, although its range is very slight in about half of those other states.
I cut a number of blanks and sanded a few of them slightly so the coloration & grain would be more visible. Here's a photo with a couple more of the blanks for your consideration.
It is native to Texas and its native range includes at least 14 other states, although its range is very slight in about half of those other states.
Here's a couple things that it is not:
Any kind of oak
Any kind of hawthorn
Any kind of oak
Any kind of hawthorn
No winner yet up to post #506.
I will say that someone between posts 310-506 got very close. However, that answer did not conform to the Common Species Name in the USDA database and therefore could not be accepted.
Here is another picture of the two pens. I purposely selected a blank for the top pen with a rather large void because I wanted to see if I could fill it and have the blank hold together without stabilizing this blank. The hole in the void went all the way through to the tube. I drizzled a little thin CA, stuffed it with shavings, drizzled a little more thin CA, and rubbed on a little more shavings. Spritzed it with accelerator, let it set a few seconds, then turned the blank. I was quite pleased with how well it held up.
The trunk of this species rarely gets to be over 6" in diameter. This one was a little under half that size at its largest point, but all the blanks I cut did come from the trunk.
I will say that someone between posts 310-506 got very close. However, that answer did not conform to the Common Species Name in the USDA database and therefore could not be accepted.
Here is another picture of the two pens. I purposely selected a blank for the top pen with a rather large void because I wanted to see if I could fill it and have the blank hold together without stabilizing this blank. The hole in the void went all the way through to the tube. I drizzled a little thin CA, stuffed it with shavings, drizzled a little more thin CA, and rubbed on a little more shavings. Spritzed it with accelerator, let it set a few seconds, then turned the blank. I was quite pleased with how well it held up.
The trunk of this species rarely gets to be over 6" in diameter. This one was a little under half that size at its largest point, but all the blanks I cut did come from the trunk.
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