Yes, that is my quandary. I have a stack of pallets, and some
rather nice (for some values of nice) boards in some of them.
Hardwood, I think "oak" - but I do not know. One thing I do know,
when I saw them loose, the wood gives off a pungent smell, similar
to that of strong vinegar. (I hope it is the wood, and not the saw
blade.)

There are at least half a dozen woods I can identify by their smell when
being cut.
Oak, walnut, bubinga, cedar (duh!), hickory, purpleheart, white pine,
probably more if I think about it.



Yeah, I can tell pine from "not pine"
But which one smells like vinegar?


the really bad poisonous one ..
... or maybe not.
it might be the other one ?
.. Who really knows ?
.. when it comes down to it.
.. hope this helps..