Oak is so pretty :)

[Robert Henrickson]

I'm told oaks cross frequently, thus making it hard sometimes to exactly ID them.
Oak Promiscuity — the Dark Side of Oaks
It's a PDF from the University of Kentucky that goes into detail.

Years ago my mother did the grading for the Univ of KY correspondence class on tree identification -- she never liked the oaks in student collections. The horticulture people at UK also apparently were interested in the oak in my parents' front yard -- apparently an odd oak hybrid.

[John K Jordan]

... But I cannot remember which batch of wood this came from but I can tell you it all came from Missouri if that helps.

One thing I learned to do long ago, from necessity as I seem to become more elderly and feeble minded every year, is write the species on each piece of wood as I put it in my storage, even if I'm pretty sure I'll recognize it later. If I'm not sure, I'll make my best guess accompanied and add some question marks, or just question marks if completely clueless. This takes a while if I've got 50 spindle blanks at once to dry but it sure has saved me problems. I relabel if I use part of the wood and cut the name off.

Of course, this may be easier for me than some since I process almost every thing from log into turning blanks using the bandsaw so I have nice surfaces to write on. If the wood is dark I write the name on a piece of white gaffers tape which sticks to almost anything. For log sections a label and a staple gun works.

JKJ

[Ron Stadler]

I agree, I need to do that. I usually just put dates on the wood and leave it at that but the more information the better.

One thing I learned to do long ago, from necessity as I seem to become more elderly and feeble minded every year, is write the species on each piece of wood as I put it in my storage, even if I'm pretty sure I'll recognize it later. If I'm not sure, I'll make my best guess accompanied and add some question marks, or just question marks if completely clueless. This takes a while if I've got 50 spindle blanks at once to dry but it sure has saved me problems. I relabel if I use part of the wood and cut the name off.

Of course, this may be easier for me than some since I process almost every thing from log into turning blanks using the bandsaw so I have nice surfaces to write on. If the wood is dark I write the name on a piece of white gaffers tape which sticks to almost anything. For log sections a label and a staple gun works.

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

I agree, I need to do that. I usually just put dates on the wood and leave it at that but the more information the better.

Yes, I forgot to mention the dates, I do that too. It's nice to pull out a blank to make a box or something and see it has been drying since 2002. I started air drying boards in 1976. You think those are dry enough to use yet?

For anyone like me who stores spindle blanks on shelves, something else that helps me is to write the length on the end of the blank. When looking through my stash to find a piece for a project it's nice to see if the piece is long enough without pulling it out.

JKJ

[Robert Willing]

Nice looking bowls, your stain makes them look like some Russian Olive that I turned awhile back.

[Ron Stadler]

Yes, I forgot to mention the dates, I do that too. It's nice to pull out a blank to make a box or something and see it has been drying since 2002. I started air drying boards in 1976. You think those are dry enough to use yet?

For anyone like me who stores spindle blanks on shelves, something else that helps me is to write the length on the end of the blank. When looking through my stash to find a piece for a project it's nice to see if the piece is long enough without pulling it out.

JKJ

All great information, really like your idea about the spindle material as well

[Ron Stadler]

Nice looking bowls, your stain makes them look like some Russian Olive that I turned awhile back.

Thanks, haven't really had the pleasure to work with olive yet besides some small pen blanks.