Wood ID Help Needed

[Edgar]

Can anyone identify this wood? (This is not a contest )

This board was among that pile of lumber that I posted a couple of weeks ago that came from the stash of an old woodworker in Port Arthur, TX. It is a rough-cut board 1"x6"x77", a number of years old and extremely heavy.

I cut an 11" piece off one end and sliced it into 7/8" blanks to get a better look at the wood. I tried to take some end grain photos, but the wood is so dark that it's difficult to get a decent end shot with my iPhone. I'll have to try again with my Canon.

I'm thinking possibly Texas Ebony, but the sap wood isn't as creamy as I normally see on TE. Maybe that's due to the age of the wood?

Any ideas??

 

[CREID]

Is this a trivia question?:biggrin:

 

[The Penguin]

that'd have to a be a HUGE TX Ebony tree to get a board that size.

cocobolo?

 

[southernclay]

The full board shots really favor cocobolo heart/sap wood. Is it heavy/oily? Are you sure this isn't a trivia contest?:biggrin:

 

[duncsuss]

Edgar, if you can get a good shot of endgrain (cleaned up, i.e. sanded to 320 or higher) try posting it in the Wood ID section on WoodBarter.com

There are a couple of very talented ID folks who hang out there -- Paul Hinds, who has the Hobbit House wood id site, and Mark Peet. But they do need clear pix :wink:

 

[Edgar]

that'd have to a be a HUGE TX Ebony tree to get a board that size.

cocobolo?

I agree - it does seem to be a rather large board for TX Ebony, but the Aggie web site says it can get up to 40' tall with trunks up to 2 feet in diameter, so it certainly wouldn't be impossible.

Thing is, it's a rough cut board - not surfaced on any side, so it must have come straight from a saw mill. That leads me to think it's some kind of Texas wood rather than an import. But then, TX Ebony doesn't grow in the vicinity of Port Arther either - not that it necessarily came from right around there.

 

[Edgar]

Edgar, if you can get a good shot of endgrain (cleaned up, i.e. sanded to 320 or higher) try posting it in the Wood ID section on WoodBarter.com

There are a couple of very talented ID folks who hang out there -- Paul Hinds, who has the Hobbit House wood id site, and Mark Peet. But they do need clear pix :wink:

That's a great idea, Duncan. I just sliced these up & shot these quick photos yesterday evening. I'll clean up a couple of them next weekend & try to get some better end grain photos.

 

[Edgar]

The full board shots really favor cocobolo heart/sap wood. Is it heavy/oily? Are you sure this isn't a trivia contest?:biggrin:

It is very heavy & feels quite slick after just a little sanding, so I would say it's oily.

If I knew for certain what it was, the first time you saw it would have been in a Wood ID contest for sure. :biggrin:

 

[1080Wayne]

Ironic that the wood puzzle maker needs help in identifying wood . Can`t help you there . What intrigues me is that you sprang an 8th one on us (or on me at least) - that being the hiding of the post showing the overall winners of the first seven .

 

[Edgar]

Ironic that the wood puzzle maker needs help in identifying wood . Can`t help you there . What intrigues me is that you sprang an 8th one on us (or on me at least) - that being the hiding of the post showing the overall winners of the first seven .

Just posted it a couple of minutes ago -- I wanted to keep you in suspense for a little while. :alien::alien:

 

[The Penguin]

that'd have to a be a HUGE TX Ebony tree to get a board that size.

cocobolo?

I agree - it does seem to be a rather large board for TX Ebony, but the Aggie web site says it can get up to 40' tall with trunks up to 2 feet in diameter, so it certainly wouldn't be impossible.

Thing is, it's a rough cut board - not surfaced on any side, so it must have come straight from a saw mill. That leads me to think it's some kind of Texas wood rather than an import. But then, TX Ebony doesn't grow in the vicinity of Port Arther either - not that it necessarily came from right around there.

TX Ebony is a multi-trunk tree, so I think when they say 2' in diameter, they are referring to the group of trunks as a whole.

There is a sawmill near Kingsville that might have some better info on size of TXE. I know that they cut up a giant one last year or so. I bought some pieces from it at SWAT...but still noting even remotely close to that size.

 

[Edgar]

Yeah, this one is a mystery. I'll try the Wood Barter approach first & if that doesn't pan out, I'll probably send a piece to the USDA Wood Anatomy lab.

 

[low_48]

Could be black heart sassafras.

 

[The Penguin]

sassafras should have a very distinct smell to it.