oak - NOT
ash - NOT

it is gum wood

many old world turned pieces were gum wood.
that is what it looks like.




"Don Wiss" wrote in message
...
|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? A fellow that
I
| once was going to hire to make it said white oak. Then my friend
thought it
| was Douglas fir. But a friend of his that comes from Eastern Canada
says it
| is definitely yellow pine, and pointed out several features that are
| inconsistent with Douglas fir. Now the only pine in my house is the
floors.
| And the wainscoting near the finial is oak. My friend says oak is
easier to
| turn. What do you guys think it is? [Warning, this was not reduced in
size,
| so it is 441MB.]
|
| http://donwiss.com/finial.jpg
|
| Don www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).