wood identification chart

[sbwertz]

Is there any sort of basic wood ID chart available I could post at the Center for the Blind? Either a pre-printed one I could buy, or one I can print?

I'm not looking for something as comprehensive as the wood database. I just want a chart that shows pictures of common woodworking woods so my trainers can pick up a blank and have a good chance of identifying it for the turner. We also like to label pens and other turnings with the kind of wood it is turned from. It really became obvious that we need something like this when I was on vacation for a month. They had a big box of turnings for me to identify and label when I got back.

 

[mark james]

Is there any sort of basic wood ID chart available I could post at the Center for the Blind? Either a pre-printed one I could buy, or one I can print?

I'm not looking for something as comprehensive as the wood database. I just want a chart that shows pictures of common woodworking woods so my trainers can pick up a blank and have a good chance of identifying it for the turner. We also like to label pens and other turnings with the kind of wood it is turned from. It really became obvious that we need something like this when I was on vacation for a month. They had a big box of turnings for me to identify and label when I got back.

Off hand I don't have a portable chart reference. But... This very minute this is my living room floor!!! No kidding. Over 4,500 blanks, up to 162 labelled species (the picture is about 2/3 of them). There will be a more comprehensive post later (an IAP Fundraiser). This is why everyone should label their blanks when purchased/obtained - about 85% of these were actually labelled (an estate sale).

 

[jttheclockman]

This gets so hard to do because the sample piece you are working with is so small. You can have 2 or 3 blanks of the same species but because of the heavy grain or no grain part of the tree they look totally different. Yes some are obvious but even then within a certain category there are so many sub categories. There are many wood ID kits out there. Rockler sells them Woodcraft sells them and I am sure many more. What this does gives you a little bigger sample to compare to instead of a photo. Drill a hole in them and hang a chain through them and hang on the wall. You can get basic wood kits, regional kits, veneer kits that get into the more exotics. just a suggestion.


I agree with Mark 100% if you are selling blanks mark each and everyone and not just label a box. If you are buying blanks, make yourself a chart or some system to keep track of what it is where you got it and things like that for future use. Or just wing it.

 

[sbwertz]

Virtually all of our blanks are donated. Most are not identified. I can identify most of them, just from experience, but the other trainers down there cannot. I guess I'm just going to have to start taking home boxes of blanks and labeling them a few at a time. Most are fairly common woods. Some exotics, and some I have emailed the donor and they have been able to help me identify them.

A BIG thanks to George who sent us one of his Australian samplers with all blanks numbered and an index sheet to identify them!

It just occurred to me that I am going to have an old laptop down there running the laser engraver. I can put a link on the desktop to the wood database. That might help.

 

[KenV]

Amazon sells a poster Periodic Table Of Wood that may help.

No magic, but likely to get close most of the time.

(118 pictures)

 

[sbwertz]

I just found it, myself! It is published by The Wood Database. It is JUST what we are looking for!

 

[Dave Turner]

There is this Wood Poster also. I have a framed one on my wall, which was a gift from my son.

 

[sbwertz]

A BIG thank you to Eric from The Wood Database. He is sending us one of his posters. It will make things so much easier.

 

[sbwertz]

There is this Wood Poster also. I have a framed one on my wall, which was a gift from my son.

Another big thank you to Jeffery from WoodPoster.com who is also sending us one of these posters.

We are just about to move into our new large room at the center. We will go from having a 15'x15' corner of the Ceramic room to having a 50'x50' room of our own!

We have had so much participation in this project. There is hardly a person at the center that hasn't tried his hand at pen turning and we have a core of about 30 people who come regularly and are becoming very talented turners.

 

[robutacion]

Virtually all of our blanks are donated. Most are not identified. I can identify most of them, just from experience, but the other trainers down there cannot. I guess I'm just going to have to start taking home boxes of blanks and labeling them a few at a time. Most are fairly common woods. Some exotics, and some I have emailed the donor and they have been able to help me identify them.

A BIG thanks to George who sent us one of his Australian samplers with all blanks numbered and an index sheet to identify them!

It just occurred to me that I am going to have an old laptop down there running the laser engraver. I can put a link on the desktop to the wood database. That might help.

You're welcome ...!

You are doing great work with that project, they are very lucky to have you...!

My mix pack is now 95 blanks instead of the 82 I believe the pack I sent you was, and in all honesty, I have so many blanks that I wouldn't mind to offer you/to your group, my issue is always the expensive freight from Australia to the USA, I will find out how much a large size box will cost sent via SEA-Mail, from what I recall from other boxes sent overseas that way, it's cost is about 60% less than the air-mail freight, I could aim for a 10kg box the max is 20kg so, I find out the freight cost and make my decision.

I'm also not sure if you would prefer all wood cut into pen blanks or some pieces a little bigger, you tell me what suits the best and I will go from there.

OK, I just got a quote for a 10kg and a 20kg box from here to the USA and the prices are AU$95.00 + AU$12.00 insured and AU$160.00 + AU$21.00 insured.

NOTE:
I was also just considering the possibility to ask IAP members if they would like to help with the shipping expenses to have a large box of pen blanks sent to these vision impaired people, any amount will be most appreciated and would not take long to reach the value required, I believe.

I would like to know if there are any persons/IAP members interested in contribute with a few bucks for this to happen.

I also need to ask Sharon if she is OK with this and Jeff, if this idea of mine is acceptable and legal/within IAP rules, I'm OK with put the box together with lots of goodies...!

I would appreciate if there are any expressions of interest to please share your intentions to participate in this thread and if the whole idea becomes a reality, I will then open a dedicated thread for the "donations" to cover the shipping costs.

Payments would simply be made to me using Paypal at nyodine@yahoo.com.au

Please do not send any money until the whole thing has been given the OK, thanks...!:wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George

 

[robutacion]

Is there any sort of basic wood ID chart available I could post at the Center for the Blind? Either a pre-printed one I could buy, or one I can print?

I'm not looking for something as comprehensive as the wood database. I just want a chart that shows pictures of common woodworking woods so my trainers can pick up a blank and have a good chance of identifying it for the turner. We also like to label pens and other turnings with the kind of wood it is turned from. It really became obvious that we need something like this when I was on vacation for a month. They had a big box of turnings for me to identify and label when I got back.

Off hand I don't have a portable chart reference. But... This very minute this is my living room floor!!! No kidding. Over 4,500 blanks, up to 162 labelled species (the picture is about 2/3 of them). There will be a more comprehensive post later (an IAP Fundraiser). This is why everyone should label their blanks when purchased/obtained - about 85% of these were actually labelled (an estate sale).

Wow, 4,500 blanks...????

Where did they all come from and what are you going to do with all them...?

Well, with 162 labelled species I hope there will be some I don't have in my private collection because it there is, you will hear from me, for sure...!:wink:

Cheers
George

 

[sbwertz]

Virtually all of our blanks are donated. Most are not identified. I can identify most of them, just from experience, but the other trainers down there cannot. I guess I'm just going to have to start taking home boxes of blanks and labeling them a few at a time. Most are fairly common woods. Some exotics, and some I have emailed the donor and they have been able to help me identify them.

A BIG thanks to George who sent us one of his Australian samplers with all blanks numbered and an index sheet to identify them!

It just occurred to me that I am going to have an old laptop down there running the laser engraver. I can put a link on the desktop to the wood database. That might help.

You're welcome ...!

You are doing great work with that project, they are very lucky to have you...!

My mix pack is now 95 blanks instead of the 82 I believe the pack I sent you was, and in all honesty, I have so many blanks that I wouldn't mind to offer you/to your group, my issue is always the expensive freight from Australia to the USA, I will find out how much a large size box will cost sent via SEA-Mail, from what I recall from other boxes sent overseas that way, it's cost is about 60% less than the air-mail freight, I could aim for a 10kg box the max is 20kg so, I find out the freight cost and make my decision.

I'm also not sure if you would prefer all wood cut into pen blanks or some pieces a little bigger, you tell me what suits the best and I will go from there.

OK, I just got a quote for a 10kg and a 20kg box from here to the USA and the prices are AU$95.00 + AU$12.00 insured and AU$160.00 + AU$21.00 insured.

NOTE:
I was also just considering the possibility to ask IAP members if they would like to help with the shipping expenses to have a large box of pen blanks sent to these vision impaired people, any amount will be most appreciated and would not take long to reach the value required, I believe.

I would like to know if there are any persons/IAP members interested in contribute with a few bucks for this to happen.

I also need to ask Sharon if she is OK with this and Jeff, if this idea of mine is acceptable and legal/within IAP rules, I'm OK with put the box together with lots of goodies...!

I would appreciate if there are any expressions of interest to please share your intentions to participate in this thread and if the whole idea becomes a reality, I will then open a dedicated thread for the "donations" to cover the shipping costs.

Payments would simply be made to me using Paypal at nyodine@yahoo.com.au

Please do not send any money until the whole thing has been given the OK, thanks...!:wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George

George, that is a very generous thing you are offering. We just don't have the cash to pay for something right now. What we have is going to outfit our new room...we have to have storage, since the storage we are now using will stay with the ceramics class.

Sharon

 

[robutacion]

Virtually all of our blanks are donated. Most are not identified. I can identify most of them, just from experience, but the other trainers down there cannot. I guess I'm just going to have to start taking home boxes of blanks and labeling them a few at a time. Most are fairly common woods. Some exotics, and some I have emailed the donor and they have been able to help me identify them.

A BIG thanks to George who sent us one of his Australian samplers with all blanks numbered and an index sheet to identify them!

It just occurred to me that I am going to have an old laptop down there running the laser engraver. I can put a link on the desktop to the wood database. That might help.

You're welcome ...!

You are doing great work with that project, they are very lucky to have you...!

My mix pack is now 95 blanks instead of the 82 I believe the pack I sent you was, and in all honesty, I have so many blanks that I wouldn't mind to offer you/to your group, my issue is always the expensive freight from Australia to the USA, I will find out how much a large size box will cost sent via SEA-Mail, from what I recall from other boxes sent overseas that way, it's cost is about 60% less than the air-mail freight, I could aim for a 10kg box the max is 20kg so, I find out the freight cost and make my decision.

I'm also not sure if you would prefer all wood cut into pen blanks or some pieces a little bigger, you tell me what suits the best and I will go from there.

OK, I just got a quote for a 10kg and a 20kg box from here to the USA and the prices are AU$95.00 + AU$12.00 insured and AU$160.00 + AU$21.00 insured.

NOTE:
I was also just considering the possibility to ask IAP members if they would like to help with the shipping expenses to have a large box of pen blanks sent to these vision impaired people, any amount will be most appreciated and would not take long to reach the value required, I believe.

I would like to know if there are any persons/IAP members interested in contribute with a few bucks for this to happen.

I also need to ask Sharon if she is OK with this and Jeff, if this idea of mine is acceptable and legal/within IAP rules, I'm OK with put the box together with lots of goodies...!

I would appreciate if there are any expressions of interest to please share your intentions to participate in this thread and if the whole idea becomes a reality, I will then open a dedicated thread for the "donations" to cover the shipping costs.

Payments would simply be made to me using Paypal at nyodine@yahoo.com.au

Please do not send any money until the whole thing has been given the OK, thanks...!:wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George

George, that is a very generous thing you are offering. We just don't have the cash to pay for something right now. What we have is going to outfit our new room...we have to have storage, since the storage we are now using will stay with the ceramics class.

Sharon

Hi Sharon,

The idea is that, the organisation can have the blanks at no cost to you/them and that is why I thought of a small donation from some of the folks that would like to help these vision impaired people.

There has been no expressions of interest so far but I reckon most folks haven't read what I wrote, and if there is no assistance with the shipping from them, I will send a couple of the updated mix packs that are starting to weigh a fair bit, 4.75kg with the 95 blanks...!

I always honour my promises...!

Cheers
George

 

[KBs Pensnmore]

Hi George and Sharon,
Would have commented earlier, but just read this, so count me in for $20.00, when you have approval. Even if you're not given approval,which I doubt and send a small box, I'll still give the $20.00
Kryn

 

[sbwertz]

IAP has come through again. Thanks to the members we have raised enough for the postage!

Thank you George, and the IAP members.

 

[robutacion]

Hi George and Sharon,
Would have commented earlier, but just read this, so count me in for $20.00, when you have approval. Even if you're not given approval,which I doubt and send a small box, I'll still give the $20.00
Kryn

Thanks mate, very kind of you...!

As Sharon just announced, the necessary shipping money for 1 large box has been reached but the kind gesture of an IAP member, furthermore, some additional money was also offered by another IAP member so and with the $20.00 you are offering, that will cover another 10kg box so we have a 30kg of total weight covered.

Is always pleasant to see kindness and willingness to help others that are less fortunate than most of us so, I thank you all for the generosity, I will make sure Sharon's group will receive a very big box full of goodies, all from my neck of the woods...!:wink::biggrin:

Cheers
George

I

 

[robutacion]

Well, the bog box of wood has not left yet because some of the blanks I had prepared to send were from the wood I got from the firewood place and as everyone is aware the wood was soaked wet and I'm letting them dry a little longer, we have had more recently a few sunny days and that is what I was looking for. I should game between 3 to 5 kilos of extra wood, instead of water.

As soon as I post them, I will let everyone here know...!

Cheers
George