Wood I. D.
 

I recently got a log that no one here can identify. The wood is bright
yellow when fresh cut. The tree looks kind of like a willow or elm. As
the wood ages, it turns a very nice amber color. The grain looks a lot
like black locust, but the wood isn't nearly dense enough. It kind of
looks like osage, but it isn't that either (I have turned a fair amount
of both). It also has a sweet scent similar to catalpa. One guy at a
show I just did said that it was China Berry. He was a drum maker, and
tested the resonance by tapping on it, and said that he had used it
before. I looked up China Berry on the net, and it didn't say much
about the wood. Any help?

Also, is there a wood I.D.book that shows the tree, bark, leaves, and
the wood?

robo hippy

In article .com,
"robo hippy" wrote:

Also, is there a wood I.D.book that shows the tree, bark, leaves, and
the wood?

I'm not familiar with a book that does all 4, but you could get 2 books
- OK, you really need 3 - that cover what you're looking for.

* Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern region.
$14ish
* Audubon Society FG to NA Trees, Western region. $14ish

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...id=1115775721/
sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-0478408-2670405?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

You really need both since there is so much cross-planting going on that
what's typically an eastern native, for example, is often found in the
west as a transplant.

* The Wood Book, Klaus Ulrich Leistikow. $65ish
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...02-0478408-267
0405?v=glance

This is a beautifully reprinted book from around 1900, IIRC, that's
about 2.5" thick. Each two-page spread has a detailed tree description
on the left with 3 pics of the wood on the right. The wood shots show
the typical radial, tangential and end grain of the tree.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ima...images_3/002-0
478408-2670405?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books&img=3&childASIN=3 822817422

and

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ima...images_2/002-0
478408-2670405?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books&img=2&childASIN=3 822817422

With these three you'll be very likely able to ID just about any tree in
North America - or at least narrow it down to maybe 2.

Probably China Bery - did it have a long seed pod?




hippy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I recently got a log that no one here can identify. The wood is bright
yellow when fresh cut. The tree looks kind of like a willow or elm. As
the wood ages, it turns a very nice amber color. The grain looks a lot
like black locust, but the wood isn't nearly dense enough. It kind of
looks like osage, but it isn't that either (I have turned a fair amount
of both). It also has a sweet scent similar to catalpa. One guy at a
show I just did said that it was China Berry. He was a drum maker, and
tested the resonance by tapping on it, and said that he had used it
before. I looked up China Berry on the net, and it didn't say much
about the wood. Any help?

Also, is there a wood I.D.book that shows the tree, bark, leaves, and
the wood?

robo hippy

Hi Robo

If it grew over here than I would say Mulberry, it is just as you say
bright yellow, turns darker yellow with a reddish tint , it is not as
hard as Osage or black locust, I don't know china berry it is not cold
hardy enough to grow up here, but I think the wood is hard and whitish
in color, my audubon tree book shows the bark and leaf and also the
flowers, google "china berry tree" and you get some good sites with info.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

robo hippy wrote:
I recently got a log that no one here can identify. The wood is bright
yellow when fresh cut. The tree looks kind of like a willow or elm. As
the wood ages, it turns a very nice amber color. The grain looks a lot
like black locust, but the wood isn't nearly dense enough. It kind of
looks like osage, but it isn't that either (I have turned a fair amount
of both). It also has a sweet scent similar to catalpa. One guy at a
show I just did said that it was China Berry. He was a drum maker, and
tested the resonance by tapping on it, and said that he had used it
before. I looked up China Berry on the net, and it didn't say much
about the wood. Any help?

Also, is there a wood I.D.book that shows the tree, bark, leaves, and
the wood?

robo hippy

Well, I do know that mulberry and osage are related, so if it was
harder, then I would think it could be mulberry. I can barely remember
mulberry trees from when I lived in Missery (Missouri)and the bark
didn't seem right. I need to go back to the tree since it may have
leaves on it now, and that may help. The smell of the wood was so
distinct, that I thought it would be a telling clue.
robo hippy

In article .com, "robo hippy" wrote:
Well, I do know that mulberry and osage are related, so if it was
harder, then I would think it could be mulberry. I can barely remember
mulberry trees from when I lived in Missery (Missouri)and the bark
didn't seem right. I need to go back to the tree since it may have
leaves on it now, and that may help. The smell of the wood was so
distinct, that I thought it would be a telling clue.

Leaves would help _a_lot_, particularly if it's mulberry - the leaves are
quite distinctive. Perhaps you could post pictures at abpw?

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

In article , (Chuck) wrote:
On 10 May 2005 17:45:30 -0700, "robo hippy"
wrote:

I recently got a log that no one here can identify. The wood is bright
yellow when fresh cut. The tree looks kind of like a willow or elm. As
the wood ages, it turns a very nice amber color. The grain looks a lot
like black locust, but the wood isn't nearly dense enough. It kind of
looks like osage, but it isn't that either (I have turned a fair amount
of both).

I vote for sumac, which is bright yellow, not all that hard and has a
sweet scent.

But sumac isn't a tree at all, and doesn't look one bit like a willow or elm.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

On 10 May 2005 17:45:30 -0700, "robo hippy"
wrote:

I recently got a log that no one here can identify. The wood is bright
yellow when fresh cut. The tree looks kind of like a willow or elm. As
the wood ages, it turns a very nice amber color. The grain looks a lot
like black locust, but the wood isn't nearly dense enough. It kind of
looks like osage, but it isn't that either (I have turned a fair amount
of both).

I vote for sumac, which is bright yellow, not all that hard and has a
sweet scent.


--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget

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I happened to be in a local hardwood shop a few weeks ago when he received a
small amount of Chinaberry. Very Yellow - almost looked stained. He said
it was a fairly good wood to machine but a bit brittle and splintery -
somewhat like Elm.

Kinda pretty with a pronounced grain pattern , but like I said amost an
artificial looking color.

In article , (Chuck) wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2005 13:59:16 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:

I vote for sumac, which is bright yellow, not all that hard and has a
sweet scent.

But sumac isn't a tree at all, and doesn't look one bit like a willow or elm.

At our last club meeting I held in my hand a piece of sumac "bush"
that was at least 8 or 9" in diameter that had bark as thick and
stringy as willow. Now you can quibble about "tree" or "bush" or
"shrub" if you want, but this was sumac and it was cut from a log.

I was referring to the entire plant, not a segment of it. Sumac isn't a tree,
and its growth habit doesn't much more than remotely resemble one, certainly
not enough that it could be confused with willow or elm. A short segment of a
sumac may well resemble a short segment of a willow, but when you compare the
entire plant, there's not much similarity at all.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

On Wed, 11 May 2005 13:59:16 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:

I vote for sumac, which is bright yellow, not all that hard and has a
sweet scent.

But sumac isn't a tree at all, and doesn't look one bit like a willow or elm.

At our last club meeting I held in my hand a piece of sumac "bush"
that was at least 8 or 9" in diameter that had bark as thick and
stringy as willow. Now you can quibble about "tree" or "bush" or
"shrub" if you want, but this was sumac and it was cut from a log.




--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget

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In article , Doug Miller
wrote:

In article ,
(Chuck) wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2005 13:59:16 GMT, (Doug Miller)
wrote:

I vote for sumac, which is bright yellow, not all that hard and has a
sweet scent.

But sumac isn't a tree at all, and doesn't look one bit like a willow or
elm.

At our last club meeting I held in my hand a piece of sumac "bush"
that was at least 8 or 9" in diameter that had bark as thick and
stringy as willow. Now you can quibble about "tree" or "bush" or
"shrub" if you want, but this was sumac and it was cut from a log.

I was referring to the entire plant, not a segment of it. Sumac isn't a tree,
and its growth habit doesn't much more than remotely resemble one, certainly
not enough that it could be confused with willow or elm. A short segment of a
sumac may well resemble a short segment of a willow, but when you compare the
entire plant, there's not much similarity at all.
snip

Doesn't Sumac glow under ultraviolet? That might help to narrow it
down. Black Locust will glow as well -- at least the heartwood. Any
others?

-j

In article , JoanD'arcRoast wrote:

Doesn't Sumac glow under ultraviolet? That might help to narrow it
down.

I'd heard that somewhere before; don't know if it's true or not, but I'd be
interested in hearing from anyone who does know.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?