Old Wood ID

[Ken Cohen]

I was recently working in the crawlspace attic of my 1880ish house and found that a bunch of floorboards had been removed to run wiring. I hauled several pieces down wondering if I might be lucky enough to have something attractive enough for a piece of furniture.

Here are a couple of photos -- hand planed for clean up + mineral spirits.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zGAEh1KA3WM/SgBJfSv3swI/AAAAAAAAAu0/NZyDAi71Dwg/s512/attictop.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zGAEh1KA3WM/SgBJfr7C4uI/AAAAAAAAAu8/pVvQ-8cxcCM/s512/attic1.jpg

Clues: Orange plane shavings), no pine odor, exceptionally dry, secured iron square cut nails, T+G ~ 1", New England

I tried this out on the FWW Wood Forum and no obvious answer: growth rings do not suggest old growth, several SYP guesses, etc.

If anyone has a guess, much appreciated. Can't tell if I've got something worth "harvesting" for a piece (lots of work) or attic floorboards that should stay on duty for another 100 years.

Thanks.

[alex grams]

What is the weight/density of the material? I was thinking a SYP guess also, but that, like the previous, is based on the rings.

[Ken Cohen]

Density (by feel) is very light. I've lived in Atlanta and know SYP -- doesn't feel that heavy. Also, no pine odor at all while planing.

On the other hand, it's been baking in an attic for 100+ years.

Thx for your interest.

[John Keeton]

My vote is SYP. I know you say it is light in weight, but keep in mind that the SYP most of us deal with has a moisture content of around 10-12% or more. If this stuff was in the attic as you say, it could be considerably drier and lighter.

[Ken Cohen]

I guess I should have added my ultimate question:

I (i.e.) my wife likes old pine furniture: How would this look as a table, possibly a hutch?

Lots of work to harvest. Gotta look very special to justify the effort.

THx.

[Frank Drew]

Why not one of the Eastern white pines? Pumpkin pine, etc...

[Russ Sears]

Around that time Hemlock was used extensively as we would use spruce/pine/fir today. It usually has fairly prominent growth rings which appears to be the case on the end grain in your picture. Can't say for sure; I'm just throwing that out there.

[Jim Rimmer]

Around that time Hemlock was used extensively as we would use spruce/pine/fir today. It usually has fairly prominent growth rings which appears to be the case on the end grain in your picture. Can't say for sure; I'm just throwing that out there.
i looked at some hemlock pictures on line and it could be (?)
http://www.vermonttimberworks.com/hemlock.html
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/hemlock.htm

[Casey Gooding]

Looks like pine to me.

[Neal Clayton]

i'm voting not yellow pine, the stuff i've seen salvaged from around new orleans out of 100-200 year old buildings has more of a brown hue as the sap dries out.

also that small ring section on the end would have much more red if it were yellow pine.