help with identification

[GraiDawg]

hey wonderfull people, i have just purchased a lot of wood. after purchasing i realised there is lot of woods in thee that are unlabeled. Is there a source for wood identification? its mostly burls and highly figured and i will be honest I have no idea where to start

 

[duncsuss]

Try any one (or more) from this list ...

wood ID resources

NOTE: I go through from time to time and remove dead links and occasionally add new ones. The most recent edit was Jan, 2024 Paul (HobbitHouse) Hinds NON-COMMERCIAL WEB SITES: HOBBIT HOUSE --- This is my own site and I can say without the slightest bit of modesty that it has the best...

woodbarter.com

Note: I just tried the link to HobbitHouse (which is the site owned/run by the person who compiled the list) and it seems to be timing out; I sent him a message, hopefully it just means that his server needs to be rebooted or similar, because it is a wonderful resource for wood ID.

Follow up note: I alerted Paul that his site was down, and he pressed the buzzer at his hosting service. It should be back up soon

 

[1080Wayne]

Commercial sources frequently identify or list the woods which may be in the batch , so I assume this was a private source . Do the unidentified ones look similar to any of the marked ones ? Tell us the ones you have , and give us clear photos of the unknowns . Photos of well sanded surfaces are best , including ones of the end grain . Density , as compared to oak , maple or other common wood is also helpful . Smell of the freshly sanded surface sometimes helps .

 

[hokie]

I find burls easier to identify than regular lumber. If you have good quality pictures of the burls, many of us can probably give you a fairly firm idea of what they are.

 

[Dehn0045]

Here are two sites that I use: http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/ and https://www.wood-database.com/

For starters I suggest estimating the weight and hardness (compare to a known sample, red oak or hickory for example). Weight is pretty easy, hardness is a little more subjective -- i scratch with my fignernail and try to find a known that matches. Then anything distinctive, odors, oiliness, grain features, etc. Sanded photos of the side grain and end grain. With all of this info an experienced person can at least give you some good places to start.

If you really really want to know for sure you can send a sample to USDA (https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/research/centers/woodanatomy/wood_idfactsheet.php) for a full scientific evaluation. I've never done this, but somebody with a Ph.D. does a lot of fancy testing and you end up with a pretty good idea of what you got. The downside being you need to send them a pretty good size sample. The upside being it is free for up to 3 samples per year.