Wood id help - MF no 5 hand drill

[Clay Parrish]

I am inexperienced at wood ID, so could someone take a look at the handle and knobs off this MF no. 5 hand drill and help me figure out what wood it is made of? Is it rosewood or 'tropical hardwood'? And keep in mind the two parts might be different woods

This has poly on it.
345713

This is just sanded.
345714

[Mel Fulks]

I think it's mahogany.

[Clay Parrish]

Thanks, Mel. I need to pick up a book on wood ID from someone in the forestry dept next door at work. What I would really like is a sample pack of identified various common woods used for joinery.

[Mel Fulks]

There is a great on line site called Hobbit House that has photos of many kinds of wood. Even shows samples slab cut, quarter cut,etc.

[Patrick Chase]

I am inexperienced at wood ID, so could someone take a look at the handle and knobs off this MF no. 5 hand drill and help me figure out what wood it is made of? Is it rosewood or 'tropical hardwood'? And keep in mind the two parts might be different woods

This has poly on it.
345713

This is just sanded.
345714

If you really want to ID it your best is to cleanly cut or plane (*not* sand) the end grain and look at it under high magnification. If you do that then you can classify it based on ring, pore, ray, etc structure and at least get into the right ballpark. If you go the book route I'd recommend "Understanding Wood" by Hoadley. It's advanced enough to be useful, but at the same time not too esoteric.

Sanding basically cuts the wood's structure to ribbons, and makes identification very difficult.

Note that "Mahogany" is used to describe a fairly disparate range of wood species (and genera for that matter, though I think they're all in the same family).

[Jim Koepke]

Looking here:

http://oldtoolheaven.com/hand_drills/drill3.htm

It seems to be a tropical hardwood.

jtk

[Robert Hartmann]

Jim provided one of the best sources for info on MF drills. I've restored a number of drills and just from the side handle I would say your drill dates from 1935-1964. The chuck, crank handle and "other" things can narrow it down. Ultimately I believe Jim is correct and that it is a tropical hardwood. Rosewood and Cocobolo are the other typical woods used and they are very different.

If you want them to match just sand them down, stain and put your favorite coating over them. A couple of tips, acetone will take the varnish off with minimal effort. Wet a rag and just wipe away, no need to soak. I like the Lockwood water-based stains followed with multiple coats of shellac. Also, assuming you removed the main handle, take some dowel just smaller than the inside of the main handle, wrap it in masking tape and gently force it into the handle. Then chuck it up in a drill press. Makes sanding a breeze.

Just my 2 cents which is probably more than you wanted...work is a bit slow today:)