Need some help IDing wood...

[Monte Milanuk]

So... working on a new project (small table with folding drop-leaves) using some 'old' wood that I bought for something else (that never happened) years ago.

Had two 4/4 planks on the shelf, which would be just about right for the frame aprons and the table top. But now that the boards for the top have been rough cut to length, and milled S3S...

At first I thought it just one plank had a lot more sap wood - the light colored sections - than the other, and thought I'd just cut around it. Now I'm starting to wonder if one board was cherry, and the other is poplar? ��

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Any guesses? Any definitive way to tell?

Note to self... take (and keep) better notes on which boards are which! ��

[Andrew Hughes]

My guess is Cherry all of it.

[Lee Schierer]

My guess is Cherry all of it.

Same here, some of the pieces have sap wood.

Whoever did the cross cuts needs to sharpen their blade and/or align their blade to the miter slot based on the burn marks on the ends of the boards. Cherry burns relatively easy and a dull blade or misalignment makes it worse. The same is true of ripping cuts. Use a dedicated rip blade.

[Monte Milanuk]

Been wracking my brain trying to recall if there was *any* part of that old project that I would have needed poplar for - pretty sure *not*, but not 100%.

I've got other boards (definitely cherry) that have similar 'blond' streaks... the part that got me really wondering was that the 'heart' section is noticeably different in tone side by side with the other boards.

Never actually done anything with a 'real' hardwood before... how much is that lighter wood going to affect the looks of the finished project? Will some stains 'conceal' it better than others?

[jerry cousins]

+1 for cherry
jerry

[Lee Schierer]

Been wracking my brain trying to recall if there was *any* part of that old project that I would have needed poplar for - pretty sure *not*, but not 100%.

I've got other boards (definitely cherry) that have similar 'blond' streaks... the part that got me really wondering was that the 'heart' section is noticeably different in tone side by side with the other boards.

Never actually done anything with a 'real' hardwood before... how much is that lighter wood going to affect the looks of the finished project? Will some stains 'conceal' it better than others?

I never stain cherry. I let it darken on its own. The sap wood (lighter colored) will stay lighter than the heart wood forever. Even if stained, as the wood ages it will not darken to the same degree as the heartwood. Some people like the contrasting wood in their projects others don't. I'm in the latter group.

[Monte Milanuk]

Hmm... well, I needed to do some glue-ups anyway to make this work out width-wise; guess I'll be 'trimming' the sap wood off of those pieces to try and keep the appearance somewhat consistent.

Thanks,

Monte

[Jim Becker]

Cherry to my eyes. Sapwood is a subjective thing. I like it; many don't. What you are building also will influence whether or not the sapwood will be visually appealing.

[Dan Hahr]

Definitely cherry. You can see the gum pockets in every piece. The sapwood starts out nice and light but turns into an ugly yellow as the heartwood turns deeper red. Dan