View Full Version : Wood Anatomy
David Ragan
08-11-2015, 8:02 AM
Anybody here into wood anatomy?
I mean microscopic ID of various types. a few years ago, I accumulated a bunch of stuff to do it, but then discovered a $3K tome to slice pieces would be optimal. I lost heart.
Maybe I need a new approach. Last night, i picked up a bunch of exotics from a guy and, although he ID them all while putting in my truck, when I got home, it was all just a jumble of wood again.
I found a couple of internet sites that go into it with just a 10x loupe. That would be great to be able to ID most common woods with a minimum of equipment:)
A lot of these Jatoba, Brazilian Cherry, and diffo species of what is called mahogany do look pretty similar.
Bradley Gray
08-11-2015, 8:23 AM
I had Bruce Hoadley's wood ID book from the library a few years ago. I'm pretty sure all that is required is a 10x loupe to ID end grain.
http://http://www.amazon.com/Identifying-Wood-Accurate-Results-Simple/dp/0942391047/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439295688&sr=1-2&keywords=Bruce+Hoadley
Christian Hawkshaw
08-11-2015, 8:42 AM
They guy who runs this site may be of help. He does post here sometimes.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/
Jamie Buxton
08-11-2015, 10:23 AM
Perhaps a homebrew microtome is in order. A really sharp plane blade can make very fine slices of endgrain. So your homebrew microtome would need a good plane blade, sharpened very well -- which is just woodworking technology -- and a good way of advancing the sample to make a slice. That could be just a fine lead-screw. Sounds like an interesting challenge.
David Ragan
08-11-2015, 3:44 PM
I had Bruce Hoadley's wood ID book from the library a few years ago. I'm pretty sure all that is required is a 10x loupe to ID end grain.
http://http://www.amazon.com/Identifying-Wood-Accurate-Results-Simple/dp/0942391047/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439295688&sr=1-2&keywords=Bruce+Hoadley
Great book.
Have it.
They guy who runs this site may be of help. He does post here sometimes.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/
Does he have a book. Excellent website. He apparently does the majority of ID via endgrain? Does he have an algorhythm? A book?
Perhaps a homebrew microtome is in order. A really sharp plane blade can make very fine slices of endgrain. So your homebrew microtome would need a good plane blade, sharpened very well -- which is just woodworking technology -- and a good way of advancing the sample to make a slice. That could be just a fine lead-screw. Sounds like an interesting challenge.
Yes, this is an interesting situation. Let us think upon it.......
Christian Hawkshaw
08-11-2015, 7:10 PM
Great book.
Have it.
Does he have a book. Excellent website. He apparently does the majority of ID via endgrain? Does he have an algorhythm? A book?
Yes, this is an interesting situation. Let us think upon it.......
I believe he is Paul Hinds on this site http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?128426-Paul-Hinds. Don't know any specifics of his methods, but have seen his posts on several sites.
Allan Speers
08-11-2015, 7:44 PM
You could probably also narrow things down drastically if you could accurately determine the piece's specific gravity. There's probably a relatively simple way to do this at home.
Danny Hamsley
08-11-2015, 10:13 PM
I can ID the domestic woods, but not the exotics. A good sharp razor knife and a 10X hand lens is all that you need. Plus, a lot of experience. We could do a thread on the fundamentals of wood ID if there is enough interest.
David Ragan
08-12-2015, 11:36 AM
I can ID the domestic woods, but not the exotics. A good sharp razor knife and a 10X hand lens is all that you need. Plus, a lot of experience. We could do a thread on the fundamentals of wood ID if there is enough interest.
I am interested. What do we do now, with full knowledge that SMC cannot accomodate all the WW interests that are out there?
Allan Speers
08-12-2015, 6:43 PM
I'm also interested.
- Extremely.
Danny Hamsley
08-12-2015, 9:37 PM
Let me think about the best way to do this.
Andrew Pitonyak
08-13-2015, 9:54 AM
You could probably also narrow things down drastically if you could accurately determine the piece's specific gravity. There's probably a relatively simple way to do this at home.
Not sure how simple it is, but it can be done
I think that it goes something like this:
Make sure you have "representative tree wood"
Dry the wood correctly (correct temperature for correct length of time)
Properly measure the wood volume
I don't remember if Hoadly's book tells you how to do this or not. I have not done it, but I was taught how to do it some years back; not that I remember the details.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf2010/fpl_2010_williamson001.pdf
In the paper above, search for "Specific gravity is not density" on page 521 (no, the paper is not that long, but the publication that contained was I suppose). The next page then tells you about oven drying, where it claims that you want to dry the wood at 101-105 degrees C for 24 to 72 hours depending on sample size. The next section "Volume Measurement" tells you how to determine the volume. I expect that at home you do not have accurate methods of determining volume.
So, that really means that you can read a page or two to see what they say (at least in that paper).
Andrew Pitonyak
08-13-2015, 10:10 AM
This will be of interest if you really want specific gravity.
http://prometheuswiki.publish.csiro.au/tiki-index.php?page=Wood+density+protocol
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