What wood is this??

[Irvin Cooper]

Good evening.

A friend of mine contacted me over the last of december with "I've got some lumber for you".... Little did I know it was a pickup load....
In sorting thru the lumber, I have pecan, oak, cherry, and a couple of ones I cannot identify.
Here are a few pictures of the first mystery wood. The first is a close-up of the grain, one of the bark, and then some of the stack of the lumber that appears to be the same type of lumber.
I appreciate any help you can provide me in identifying this wood.
FYI, I am in far northeast Arkansas, just a bit south of the missouri line.
Thanks.

Irv

http://www.astate.edu/executive/cio/wood1.jpg

http://www.astate.edu/executive/cio/wood4.jpg

http://www.astate.edu/executive/cio/wood3.jpg

[Mike Cooper]

The color and holes in the top picture are typical of ambrosia maple (a soft maple that has been attacked by ambrosia beetles). Didn't see any of that in the other pictures, so that is just a guess.

Mike

[David Epperson]

What is it that makes you think it's not a type of Oak?
Had plenty of White Oak, Red Oak, Post Oak, Pin Oak, and others up around Paragould when I lived up there.
Could be Gum of one sort or another. Hard to say from those pics.

[Russ Sears]

Sweetgum?
http://biology.missouristate.edu/Herbarium/Plants%20of%20the%20Interior%20Highlands/Flowers/Liquidamber%20styraciflua,%20bark.jpg

[Lee Schierer]

Some of it looks like it would make good fire wood. Particularly the piece in the second photo which is going to have some wild grain to contend with based on the angle of the bark showing on one end.

It is really hard to tell the wood type. Can you plane down a piece?

[Chris Padilla]

It all looks like FREE wood to me...the best kind! :)

If you cleaned up some with a handplane as Lee suggested, it could make identification a little easier.

[John Bartley]

The bark looks suspiciously like the bark of an Elm tree I milled recently. Any chance that's what it is?

just a guess ...

cheers

[mike holden]

I will add another vote for Ambrosia Maple.
This spice cabinet is Ash with an Ambrosia Maple door panel.
Looks quite like the first picture you posted.

78820

Mike

[John Thompson]

The first picture looks like pecan (hickory family) with the pinkish hues and the worm holes which are common. But the bark looks more like sweet-gum as mentioned by Russ and is similar of surface appearance of the pecan. I have some of both in my shop from downed trees.

The picture of the stock on the floor throws me off as the yellowish hue there would rule out both pecan and sweet-gum, IMO. Could be just the way your camera picked it up as it looks totally different there from the first picture.

[Gary Muto]

Based on the bark, I would guess Hickory. Hard to tell looking at the rough cut grain.

[Cody Colston]

My guess would be Maple judging from those ambrosia-like markings on the first plank shown but that's strictly a guess.

You know, I've seen dozens of posts on this and other forums asking if a particular wood can be identified via a picture. What I haven't seen is a consensus opinion...ever.

Even here, you've got Maple, Oak, Hickory, Pecan, Elm and Sweetgum guesses in about as many replies. I think that's funny.

You'd have about as much success asking which county it was grown in. ;)

[Al Killian]

It is ambrosia maple. I have 30bdft of it in the shop rigth now. The guy I got it from didnt know he had it in the pile. So, it was a nice bonus when I got the load home and started sorting.

[David Epperson]

It all looks like FREE wood to me...the best kind! :)

If you cleaned up some with a handplane as Lee suggested, it could make identification a little easier.
Hand plane, belt sander, something to smooth it out. And wetting a bit with mineral spirits wouldn't hurt. What does the end grain look like?
But what does it smell like?
Are the tufts of roots (?) part of the bark or the remains of vines?
This was not sawmilled recently was it? More than a year old?

[Irvin Cooper]

David,

I will take the plane to it tonight to get a good look. There isnt a real recognizable smell to it, at least with just some simple planing.
Remains of vines is what is on the bark.
This stuff has been in a guy's storage for several years, so I know it was sawn several years ago.
Thanks.

Irv

[David Epperson]

David,

I will take the plane to it tonight to get a good look. There isnt a real recognizable smell to it, at least with just some simple planing.
Remains of vines is what is on the bark.
This stuff has been in a guy's storage for several years, so I know it was sawn several years ago.
Thanks.

Irv
Another question would be was it cut local to you? A lot of people are suggesting Maple, but large maples in that part of Arkansas are not real common. The bark looks a bit too brown for gum anyways. I'm still leaning toward some species of Oak.