What type of wood is this?

Sure looks like maple to me.

djb

Won't lose it to me. Soft maple is my choice, too. If the color's off,
could be something like alder, though.

What it definitely is not is birch.

"David Zaret" <news@__REMOVE__zaret.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> my guess is white maple. i'd put money on it. if so, it's a very hard,
> durable wood, and with a little refinishing it'll be beautiful.
>
> granted, i might lose my money, but it wouldn't be the first time.
>
> > Anyways, I was just curious if someone could help me figure out what
kind of
> > wood it is? Comparing the grain to some desks I have, it looks like it
might
> > be birch, but I am no expert, so I figure I would open this up to the
> > masses!
> >
> > The pictures are here:
> > http://www.kryogenic.org/wood/wood.htm
> >
> > Let me know if you can identify this.
> >

Maple me thinks....mjh

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> I recently purchased a baby changing table for $20.00 because it looked
> rickety and cheap. My goal was to do a quick refinish job and tighten the
> joints so it would be in better condition. (My plan is not to make something
> that will last forever, just long enough to get our baby out of diapers).
>
> The existing coating was a white pickled looking finish that was peeling
> away and seemed more like melamine than finish. I started sanding the pieces
> today and the wood underneath actually seems to be quite nice. It seems very
> dense and sands very smooth without splintering. (My previous project was an
> oak dresser that splintered if I used any kind of low-grit sandpaper on a
> random-pad sander, so this seemed much easier to work with). In addition to
> this, the grain on the wood is actually quite attractive to me and it seems
> strange it would be nearly covered by the dull white finish. I am not sure
> if that was the original factory finish or if it was added by one of the
> previous owners.
>
> Anyways, I was just curious if someone could help me figure out what kind of
> wood it is? Comparing the grain to some desks I have, it looks like it might
> be birch, but I am no expert, so I figure I would open this up to the
> masses!
>
> The pictures are here:
> http://www.kryogenic.org/wood/wood.htm
>
> Let me know if you can identify this.
>
>
Rubber wood maybe


--
MikeG
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
[email protected]

Good tip. In that case, how does one new to the trade find all these other
sources? I am in Renton, WA.

--
Thanks,
David W. Lovell
( Intrepid )
"Fred the Red Shirt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "David" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > Well, I am not a connoisseur of wood pricing, but I know that paying
$20.00
> > for this selection of nice wood seems to be much cheaper than I could
buy
> > even average pine at Home Depot or Rockler. So its not that this wood is
> > necessarily comparatively expensive, just seems like its nicer than I
would
> > have expected for the price I paid.
> >
>
> A few years back I looked at some $13.99/bf curly maple at a hardwood
> lumber store in Balmore, MD. At the same time Sandy Pond, about 100
> miles North of there, sold curly maple for $2.50/bf, $3.50/bf for
> fiddle back I think. Possible the store bought theirs from Sandy
> Pond.
>
> On the West coast poplar is more expensive than pine, On the East
> coat pine is more expensive than Poplar.
>
> So what you have learned is that if you want a real good price for
> good lumber you don't buy at Home Depot or Rockler. OTOH you may
> find it convenient enough to buy there to be worth paying the higher
> price.
>
> --
>
> FF

"David" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> So the consensus seems to be Maple. I am amazed. Seems like Maple is
> pretty expensive but this thing wasnt well taken care of.
>
> Thanks for all the help!

Could be soft maple, which isn't all that pricey, or all that soft. Small
quantities of 4/4, s2s1e, in the SF Bay Area, $3.10/bf

Patriarch

"David" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Well, I am not a connoisseur of wood pricing, but I know that paying
> $20.00 for this selection of nice wood seems to be much cheaper than I
> could buy even average pine at Home Depot or Rockler. So its not that
> this wood is necessarily comparatively expensive, just seems like its
> nicer than I would have expected for the price I paid.
>

Life's great that way, sometimes, isn't it?

Enjoy the new addition to the family.

Patriarch

my guess is white maple. i'd put money on it. if so, it's a very hard,
durable wood, and with a little refinishing it'll be beautiful.

granted, i might lose my money, but it wouldn't be the first time.

good luck,

-- dz


David wrote:
> I recently purchased a baby changing table for $20.00 because it looked
> rickety and cheap. My goal was to do a quick refinish job and tighten the
> joints so it would be in better condition. (My plan is not to make something
> that will last forever, just long enough to get our baby out of diapers).
>
> The existing coating was a white pickled looking finish that was peeling
> away and seemed more like melamine than finish. I started sanding the pieces
> today and the wood underneath actually seems to be quite nice. It seems very
> dense and sands very smooth without splintering. (My previous project was an
> oak dresser that splintered if I used any kind of low-grit sandpaper on a
> random-pad sander, so this seemed much easier to work with). In addition to
> this, the grain on the wood is actually quite attractive to me and it seems
> strange it would be nearly covered by the dull white finish. I am not sure
> if that was the original factory finish or if it was added by one of the
> previous owners.
>
> Anyways, I was just curious if someone could help me figure out what kind of
> wood it is? Comparing the grain to some desks I have, it looks like it might
> be birch, but I am no expert, so I figure I would open this up to the
> masses!
>
> The pictures are here:
> http://www.kryogenic.org/wood/wood.htm
>
> Let me know if you can identify this.
>

Fred the Red Shirt wrote:

> "David" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
>> So the consensus seems to be Maple. I am amazed. Seems like Maple is
>> pretty expensive but this thing wasnt well taken care of.
>>
>
> Expensive compared to what? In most places Maple is cheaper than
> walnut, cherry, mahogany, or birch, and it is harder and more
> durable than those.

Minor nit--"durable" usually refers to decay resistance--maple is not
particularly good in that regard--walnut, cherry, and mahogany are all mure
durable in that regard than maple.

> Often Oak is cheaper than maple, but not
> by a lot.
>
> I think you'll find that a lot of school furniture was made of
> maple. I think the student deks back when I was in school
> were made from maple ply and sheet steel, and the maple ply
> may have been maple all the way through. It was very tough
> stuff, usually outlasted the steel.
>

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Maple..

"David" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I recently purchased a baby changing table for $20.00 because it looked
> rickety and cheap. My goal was to do a quick refinish job and tighten the
> joints so it would be in better condition. (My plan is not to make
something
> that will last forever, just long enough to get our baby out of diapers).
>
> The existing coating was a white pickled looking finish that was peeling
> away and seemed more like melamine than finish. I started sanding the
pieces
> today and the wood underneath actually seems to be quite nice. It seems
very
> dense and sands very smooth without splintering. (My previous project was
an
> oak dresser that splintered if I used any kind of low-grit sandpaper on a
> random-pad sander, so this seemed much easier to work with). In addition
to
> this, the grain on the wood is actually quite attractive to me and it
seems
> strange it would be nearly covered by the dull white finish. I am not sure
> if that was the original factory finish or if it was added by one of the
> previous owners.
>
> Anyways, I was just curious if someone could help me figure out what kind
of
> wood it is? Comparing the grain to some desks I have, it looks like it
might
> be birch, but I am no expert, so I figure I would open this up to the
> masses!
>
> The pictures are here:
> http://www.kryogenic.org/wood/wood.htm
>
> Let me know if you can identify this.
>
> --
> Thanks,
> David
>
>

"Mike Hide" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<LnlWc.74844$TI1.67537@attbi_s52>...
> Maple me thinks....mjh

Yep, that's maple. The clincher is the tiny ray-flecks (not
pores) in the quarter sawn grain that show up in maple and
cherry only when the grain is very close to perpendicular
to the surface.

--

FF

"David" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> So the consensus seems to be Maple. I am amazed. Seems like Maple is pretty
> expensive but this thing wasnt well taken care of.
>

Expensive compared to what? In most places Maple is cheaper than
walnut, cherry, mahogany, or birch, and it is harder and more
durable than those. Often Oak is cheaper than maple, but not
by a lot.

I think you'll find that a lot of school furniture was made of
maple. I think the student deks back when I was in school
were made from maple ply and sheet steel, and the maple ply
may have been maple all the way through. It was very tough
stuff, usually outlasted the steel.

--

FF

"Bjarte Runderheim" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
>
> Could it not be beechwood?
> Especially the sideshot of a plank, (the dotty part)
> seems to indicate to me that beech is a strong possibility.
>

The ray flecks in beech are more prominant, though less so than
in oak. A fair amount of modern 'maple' furniture is made from
beech, just like the oak furniture at K-Mart is made from
rubber wood.

--

FF

"David" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Well, I am not a connoisseur of wood pricing, but I know that paying $20.00
> for this selection of nice wood seems to be much cheaper than I could buy
> even average pine at Home Depot or Rockler. So its not that this wood is
> necessarily comparatively expensive, just seems like its nicer than I would
> have expected for the price I paid.
>

A few years back I looked at some $13.99/bf curly maple at a hardwood
lumber store in Balmore, MD. At the same time Sandy Pond, about 100
miles North of there, sold curly maple for $2.50/bf, $3.50/bf for
fiddle back I think. Possible the store bought theirs from Sandy
Pond.

On the West coast poplar is more expensive than pine, On the East
coat pine is more expensive than Poplar.

So what you have learned is that if you want a real good price for
good lumber you don't buy at Home Depot or Rockler. OTOH you may
find it convenient enough to buy there to be worth paying the higher
price.

--

FF

"David" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Good tip. In that case, how does one new to the trade find all these other
> sources? I am in Renton, WA.
>

Sandy Pond has a webpage, and so do many places. Google and Altavista
are your friends. The Yellow pages are still handy. I learned on this
newsgroup about a mill I had driven by perhaps two dozen times and
never noticed befor.

Generally speaking, you want to look for mills in rural areas close
to where the lumber is cut. That's where the retailers buy theirs.

Probably others in your area will see this and reply, you can also use
Google to search the rec.woodworking archives for terms like
"lumber", "washington", "mill" and so forth in various combinations.

--

FF

So the consensus seems to be Maple. I am amazed. Seems like Maple is pretty
expensive but this thing wasnt well taken care of.

Thanks for all the help!
--
Thanks,
David W. Lovell
( Intrepid )
"Fred the Red Shirt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Mike Hide" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<LnlWc.74844$TI1.67537@attbi_s52>...
> > Maple me thinks....mjh
>
> Yep, that's maple. The clincher is the tiny ray-flecks (not
> pores) in the quarter sawn grain that show up in maple and
> cherry only when the grain is very close to perpendicular
> to the surface.
>
> --
>
> FF

Well, I am not a connoisseur of wood pricing, but I know that paying $20.00
for this selection of nice wood seems to be much cheaper than I could buy
even average pine at Home Depot or Rockler. So its not that this wood is
necessarily comparatively expensive, just seems like its nicer than I would
have expected for the price I paid.

--
Thanks,
David W. Lovell
( Intrepid )
"Fred the Red Shirt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "David" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > So the consensus seems to be Maple. I am amazed. Seems like Maple is
pretty
> > expensive but this thing wasnt well taken care of.
> >
>
> Expensive compared to what? In most places Maple is cheaper than
> walnut, cherry, mahogany, or birch, and it is harder and more
> durable than those. Often Oak is cheaper than maple, but not
> by a lot.
>
> I think you'll find that a lot of school furniture was made of
> maple. I think the student deks back when I was in school
> were made from maple ply and sheet steel, and the maple ply
> may have been maple all the way through. It was very tough
> stuff, usually outlasted the steel.
>
> --
>
> FF

"David Zaret" <news@__REMOVE__zaret.com> skrev i melding
news:[email protected]...

> my guess is white maple. i'd put money on it. if so, it's a very hard,
> durable wood, and with a little refinishing it'll be beautiful.
>
> granted, i might lose my money, but it wouldn't be the first time.


Could it not be beechwood?
Especially the sideshot of a plank, (the dotty part)
seems to indicate to me that beech is a strong possibility.

Bjarte