# Help Identifying an Old Barn Beam



## smp928s (Apr 26, 2012)

Hello all:

I am new to the forum and new to identifying wood! I will try to keep this brief and answer questions after you have seen the photos. I am trying to determine what type of wood this old barn beam is that I have salvaged from a barn that fell some years ago on my parent's Upstate, NY property. The beam partially rotted (not sure how long it was) but as it sits is a little over 8' and is at least 12"x12" ( I need to take exact measurements). I estimate its weight at 500lbs. I will gladly take more photos that might help in the identification. I cut about a foot of rot off the end with my chainsaw and there is still a little mush there on the end but mostly very solid. I would eventually like to do something with this beam as it has personal significance to me and my parent's property. My father is a pretty adept woodworker (carving is his real standout woodworking skill) and I would like to do something with this beam other than just try to sell it as a mantle piece (would be a big mantle!). Does this beam have any real monetary value? Any ideas as to a project I could undertake with this beam? I appreciate all responses!

- Steve


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## Bearpie (Feb 19, 2010)

You would need to plane part of the length to see what the wood looks like and take a close up photo. The end grain is too coarse for proper identification, perhaps if you smooth it as well?


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## smp928s (Apr 26, 2012)

Thanks for the advice.


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## Durnik150 (Apr 22, 2009)

Like Bearpie said it might be easier if we could see the long grain as well. However, I think it looks like some sort of Pine. They used almost the whole tree back then, shear off the sides to make them flat and into the building they go…


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## MoPower (Feb 6, 2009)

Hemlock was very common for barn building in that area.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

So was red oak, brown oak, white oak and chestnut if the barn was old enough. Having taken down quite a bit of barnwood, and with the 500lb estimation, I'd go red oak. But a clean surface on the side would tell for sure.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

At that kind of weight id certainly guess oak or chestnut. You might be able to take it to a mill and get some very nice boards out of it. At 12" wide you could get 8-10 4/4 boards cut out of it. Hopefully that mill doesnt find any nails.

Welcome to the gang ….


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

When they built those old barns, they used whatever was plentiful and close. 

I'm of the opinion that if this piece of wood is important to you, find a good saw mill and have them slice it for you. Once you know exactly what you have in terms of usable material, you can design a project around that material.

Identifying what species it is, is almost secondary to what you can get out of it if it has sentimental value.


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## blackcherry (Dec 7, 2007)

I hope it chestnut…take a belt sander to the length and this will help to ID


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## toddbeaulieu (Mar 5, 2010)

The weight and density would be an additional clue. If it's super light and soft, it isn't oak.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

It doesn't look like oak or chestnut from the end grain. I'd say hemlock or fir, but a side shot would be easier to tell. I'm about 30 miles NE of Albany NY and have a small bandsaw mill if you want it resawn and are close enough.

Welcome to Lj's


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## stonedlion (Jan 12, 2011)

Looks like Fir to me, I've been working with some lately and the red tint is a close match.


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## smp928s (Apr 26, 2012)

Really appreciate all of the responses. I will get better photos this weekend and attempt to get a better representation of the grain. My friend and I moved the beam by utilizing two tow straps wrapped under the beam and then wrapped around our arms and "carried like a fridge" as he kept saying. He is 6'3" 300 lbs and very strong. I wouldn't consider myself a wimp either and we carried the thing 20 feet to his truck and had to put it down a couple times in the process haha. I don't think that is a technical enough way to describe the weight but we both figured it had to go 450-500lbs easy. As far as the reddish tint goes, I am not sure how much stock can be put into the color cast as this was a quick snap with my cell phone camera.

Don W: Thanks for the offer. Coincidentally my parent's house (where the beam is) is 30 miles NW of Albany (Charlton/Glenville). If you wouldn't mind sending me a PM and letting me know an approximate cost that would be great. I don't have a truck so I would be at the mercy of my friend and I think there is someone that offers milling about two miles from parent's house but I would love to know what I am looking at $$ wise as I decide.

I have salvaged some other smaller beams that I cleaned the rot off, split and planed and it is some neat wormy oak (as I was told by the owner of a chestnut reclamation company). I am going to continue to see what wood I can salvage this weekend. For some background, my parent's house was built in 1842. There was a house on the property before that, that was built in 1785. I don't know the exact age of the barn but my father believes it may have been older than his house. I actually don't recall ever seeing the barn fully standing. I am 33 and that tells you how long it has been down for. Luckily, at some point some prior owner covered over the wood shake roof with metal and when the barn collapsed on itself some of the wood (the above beam included) was covered from the elements by the roof.

I am kind of waiting until I have the site cleaned up and all of the wood that I can salvage accounted for before I decide to cut any of it up or plan anything. I am finding some neat artifacts (old plow, part of an early 20th century tractor I believe, tools, bottles, horseshoes, cut nails etc etc) so it is an enjoyable experience that I wish was done MANY years ago but hindsight is 20/20…


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## BarbaraGill (Feb 12, 2011)

Recently I found out about this website. It might help you.
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/forestry/hough/index.html


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## davidroberts (Nov 8, 2008)

Just another option. Sometimes your ag. extension agent can help, some know more than others. A state university agriculture or forestry department may help. If you saved the cutoff, send a piece to your local authority. They don't charge, at least in Texas. The can do a moisture and spec. gravity test, and most know wood species by the cell structure, or just take a glance and know it's red oak or chestnut.


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## miles125 (Jun 8, 2007)

I don't think any softwood would approach that weight. I vote it's red/white oak or possibly hickory.


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## smp928s (Apr 26, 2012)

I planed a piece of the end that I cut off. I am not sure if this will provided any more of a clue or not. I spent the day looking for more wood to salvage, found a little but not too much. Thanks again for the responses and taking a look. Please excuse the poor photo, I snapped it with my cell phone .


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I'm still thinking hemlock or fir. The weight comes from the water andf moister in the piece.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

Looks like a softwood to me, probably hemlock.


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

If the color is surviving the transfer from your camera to my monitor, it looks more like western cedar than fir. Regardless, I'm strongly in the softwood camp.

Kindl ,

Lee


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## miles125 (Jun 8, 2007)

Looks like douglas fir to me. Must have a moisture content off the charts to be that heavy.


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## cranbrook2 (May 28, 2006)

Hemlock for sure ! Trust me i,m a doctor ;-)


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## smp928s (Apr 26, 2012)

Yeah I am pretty convinced it is hemlock or a like softwood. I really appreciate everyone's input. Barbara: that is a neat link, thanks for sharing!


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

If it is pine or spruce, then the cross-section of the annal rings will show resin canals when viewed with a hand lens or magnifying glass. Resin canals are used by the tree to transport resin from the center of the tree to the outside for protection. They appear as scattered large sized pores that are distinctly circular and much larger than the wood cells. They are easy to recognize. You can Google them to see what they look like on an end-grain surface. You will have to slice the end-grain cleanly with a razor blade to get a smooth enough section to see if they are present or not.

Hemlock and fir do not have visible resin canals. So the presence or absence of these structures will narrow the field considerably.


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