On Wed, 14 Feb 2007 15:02:39 -0500, Don Wiss
wrote:
I have an 1891 row house in Brooklyn. One of my newel post finials is
missing. But neighbors with identical houses still have theirs. So a friend
of mine that is adept with a lathe has offered to make me a new one. We
have photographed and measured it. But what is the wood?

Hey, fellow Brooklyn row house owner!

It looks like white oak to me, which is pretty ubiquitous in Brooklyn
row houses built around this time. My house was built between 1901
and 1906, depending on what reference source you use, and the two
lumber types used here were white oak and poplar.

White oak isn't easy to come by in the yards around here but
Rosenzweig in the Bronx has it. Because this wood was typically
stained dark you could probably use red oak without anyone being the
wiser.

---
Steve Manes
http://www.brooklynrowhouse.com