what wood is this?

[byron constantine]

I made this vase/hollow form some time back. I found the wood at a
campground in Louisiana. It had a strange look to it so I hauled it home.
It was kind of punky so I used some wood harding on it. Anyone have
any idea what kind of wood this is? Also it is fairly light so it may not be
a hardwood. Byron

[Dennis Ford]

I am not 100% sure but think it is sweet gum.

[John Hart]

Ambrosia Maple
Distinctive by the streaks left from the excrement of the ambrosia beetle. I like it very much.:)

And I'm not 100% sure neither

[Edward Bartimmo]

Byron,

You are down to three lucky contendors under the most likely category:
1) Sweet Gum
2) Ambrosia Maple
3) Hickory (which includes Pecan)

As previously pointed out the streaking is a good indicator of Ambrosia Maple. However, the streaking is very distinct and tight, whereas streaking from ambrosia beetle tends to be intense in the center and gradually fade out. Also there is a lot of color in the rings around the neck of the vessel, which I am assuming is heartwood. The consistency of color between the streak and the heartwood ringing tends to lend itself to this being a feature of the wood and not random infliction of ambrosia beetle....although no completely impossible. Also, the wood was from Louisiana where maple is not a common tree, with the exception of maple's step-sister, box elder. It it were box elder that had beetle issues the streaking in the wood would have been bright red.

Dennis pointed out sweet gum which is a good chance. It grows in the area and the heartwood can have some nice coloration to its rings.

Still...the streaking in this manner is rather distinct and a key tale-tale mark of Hickory. Pecan is in family of Hickory and on rare occasions you may find a similar type of streaking in pecan. Most likely candidate without seeing the wood end grain is Hickory.

Hey Watson (i.e. Craig Powers) ... you want to give it a turn?!

Either way, you have a nice vessel.

Edward

[James Combs]

I made this vase/hollow form some time back. I found the wood at a
campground in Louisiana. It had a strange look to it so i hauled it home.
It was kind of punky so i used some wood harding on it. Anyone have
any idea what kind of wood this is? Also it is fairly light so it may not be
a hardwood. Byron

Looks a lot like hickory but I never saw any hickory that was punky, worm eaten yes but soft/punky I have not. Doesn't mean hickory/pecan can't become punky but just my observation.

[Edward Bartimmo]

James,

I just turned a pretty tool handle out of some black hickory a couple of weeks ago. It not only has the classic streaking, but also had a section that was a little discolored and punky while the rest of the wood was rock solid. Something different...

[Allen Neighbors]

Don't matter... it's pretty!! Of course, not knowing, sure makes it hard to label, doesn't it? :D

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Looks a lot like hickory but I never saw any hickory that was punky, worm eaten yes but soft/punky I have not. Doesn't mean hickory/pecan can't become punky but just my observation.

James I just worked some Shagbark Hickory today, picked it up last week at the side of a park area, it had a 2 inch punky spot down the pith area, it was so punky I could pull the fibers out with my fingers, so yes it does get punky, and still was stringy.

as for the HF I can't tell, could be Hickory, doesn't look like Maple to me, just not sure what else it could be, picture is also very small.

[John Hart]

With this thread...Byron accidentally created two threads..and in the other thread, he states that the wood is light, and probably not a hardwood. So, I'm rethinking that this might be Poplar. With the Poplar I have around the shop right now, I am seeing a vast array of colors, streaking...just like this piece....and it is lighter than most hardwoods.

[John Keeton]

Something to think about here is that the Ambrosia beetle infests many of the maple variety, including box elder and silver maple - both of which are light in weight. Though this piece doesn't have the coloration of either, lying around on the ground, and the finish could have effected the color. Sycamore can also be Ambrosia, though it is usually a little heavier and a different grain - though the pics are not really good enough to tell much about the grain.

John, the poplar might be a good guess and the coloration overall does appear to be consistent with that.

[Cody Colston]

It looks like Sweetgum to me.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bryon that is one pretty piece. Nice form and finish. Looks like the sweet gum I did a month or so ago. So I say sweet gum.

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

I'm leaning towards pecan. Just keep in mind I'm worng more than I'm right. Just ask my wife.:D

[Craig Powers]

Another vote for sweetgum.