Wood ID Resources

[Dan Jansen]

Since wood turners seem to use the largest variety of found logs, limbs and lumber I thought I’d ask my question here. I’ve been reading Mr Hoadley’s Understanding Wood, I’ve read the FPL publication Wood Handbook a few years ago (ok - skimmed that one but learned a lot about drying lumber.) Reading the Hoadley book in combination with now having a wood fireplace and an interest in making things from firewood has really got me more interested in being able to identify specific species. Based on an old forum recommendation, I’ve ordered Textbook of Wood Technology but don’t know what to expect out of that book yet. Does anyone know of a good, fairly definitive written source with end grain photos for ID purposes? I’m mainly interested in midwestern native trees since that’s what I’m likely to find here in Illinois.

[Marshall Harrison]

I have The Essential Wood Book and Good Wood Handbook but they don't show end grain.


I also use The Wood Finder database if I have online access which does show magnified end grain views..

[Tom Wilson66]

If you can find a copy of the "Textbook of Wood Technology", Volume 1, by Brown, Panshin and Forsaith, it is loaded with micro-photographs of end grain sections of most of the commercial hardwoods of North America. The copy I have is dated 1949, so it is probably out of print. It also has a lot of other information useful to users of wood. Be warned, it is not light reading, but it will answer just about any question you may have on wood and its properties.

[John K Jordan]

Since wood turners seem to use the largest variety of found logs, limbs and lumber I thought I’d ask my question here. I’ve been reading Mr Hoadley’s Understanding Wood, I’ve read the FPL publication Wood Handbook a few years ago (ok - skimmed that one but learned a lot about drying lumber.) Reading the Hoadley book in combination with now having a wood fireplace and an interest in making things from firewood has really got me more interested in being able to identify specific species. Based on an old forum recommendation, I’ve ordered Textbook of Wood Technology but don’t know what to expect out of that book yet. Does anyone know of a good, fairly definitive written source with end grain photos for ID purposes? I’m mainly interested in midwestern native trees since that’s what I’m likely to find here in Illinois.

Dan,

I use several books and some on-line resources.

I go first to Hoadley's book "Identifying wood". It has wonderful photos as well as a systematic method to hone in on possible species, building on the introduction in "Understanding Wood".

The Wood Database has photos of end grain plus descriptions of the porosity configuration, for example for white oak end grain description is pretty complete: "Endgrain: Ring-porous; 2-4 rows of large, exclusively solitary earlywood pores, numerous small to very small latewood pores in radial arrangement; tyloses abundant; growth rings distinct; rays large and visible without lens; apotracheal parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates (short lines between rays)." http://www.wood-database.com/white-oak/

BTW, if you haven't seen it, the Wood Database site also has a good article on wood ID: http://www.wood-database.com/wood-ar...ication-guide/

Eric Meier, the guy behind the Wood Database, also has much of it published in book form: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FGP9964

Another useful web site is hobbithouseinc run by amazing hobbyist Paul Hinds has many thousands of photos of boards and end grain. This is the page for white oak: http://hobbithouseinc.com/personal/w...k,%20white.htm

Note what he says at the top of the page! A look at nearly any species listing will show an incredible variety of sometimes vastly different looks for the same wood. I have to smile when I read a post with photo of the planed face of the board and asking for an ID. It seems not many people want to bother cleaning up and looking at the end grain with a magnifier.

Speaking of magnifiers, this is my favorite hand-held: good optics, built-in light, and INEXPENSIVE!
magnifier.jpg
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMDIOBK

I prefer, however, using a low-power stereo microscope. I've had a Swift for decades now, 15x and 30x, stunning view and true stereo. I've even shaved the endgrain with a razor blade while looking through the microscope. (The stereo view gives you good depth perception so people used them for things like dissection.)

I use a 365nm UV light to look at wood too. Some species, like locust, fluoresce strongly making ID easy. This shows a chunk of red heart and some honey locust:
UV_3_redheart_locust.jpg

Something I've been doing for some time is accumulating a small library of samples with prepared end grain. When I have time I cut and prepare a sample of wood of known species, sometimes several samples from different trees for comparison. (Last I counted I had about 125 different known species in my shop and some unknowns that have stumped me.) A great way to get known samples of domestic trees is stop when you see people cutting trees and ask for a small piece and some leaves and take pictures of the bark and ask them what kind of tree. Take the last with a grain of salt, though - I've had people give me oak logs for my sawmill which turned out to be sweetgum!

JKJ

[Marshall Harrison]

Some great info there John. Thanks