# Can anyone identify this wood?



## StanM (Aug 8, 2010)

Can anyone help me to identify this wood?

This board was passed on to me from my father who received it from my grandfather years before. I am hoping the stain that is on it can be planed off and I can eventually use it in a project. The grain is rather unique and it's a beautiful piece of wood!

Any ideas?

Stan


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

I have a pretty good collection of different woods (primarily exotics). There is nothing in my collection that resembles this and I have never seen anything quite like it.

I've seen a grain similar to this in chechen but chechen is much darker.

I have seen a lot of variation in grain and pattern in maple (birdseye, curly, wavy etc.) This may be a unique piece of maple. It's the right color. Is it dense and heavy? Maple might fit with its history also. I doubt many grandfathers worked much with exotic woods from other parts of the world. I know mine didn't.


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## StanM (Aug 8, 2010)

Yes, it is quite dense and heavy. My father believes it is maple, but isn't quite sure.


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## pvwoodcrafts (Aug 31, 2007)

I have a bunch of sugar maple , hard maple , that looks a lot like that. Mine has some blistering in it also. The trees that it came from were 48 in across and were way over 200 years old. The brown streaks in it were only about 10 inches deep from the bark side in mine.


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

If it is important to you, here is an idea.

Get a piece of sugar maple. Do a cross grain cut and smell the wood at the fresh cut. Do the same with this piece of wood and see if the smell is similar.


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## Timberwerks (Sep 29, 2009)

It looks like Ambrosia Maple.


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## richgreer (Dec 25, 2009)

I would be very surprised if this is ambrosia maple. All the ambrosia that I have ever seen (quite a bit) has wider streaks of stained wood.


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## childress (Sep 14, 2008)

My first thought was some sort of maple. I was thinking silver maple due to the "stain" but I'm pretty sure that's not a stain, it's the color of the wood….


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## StanM (Aug 8, 2010)

You know… I've been wondering if the "stain" is actually a stain, or if it is the wood itself. I haven't yet cut it to see if it carries throughout the wood. I've been resisting the temptation as I don't know what I am going to use it for yet. But, perhaps cutting a bit off one end may be an idea to see if it is indeed a stain or not…


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## zwwizard (Mar 30, 2008)

Your wood looks like hard (sugar) Maple from here. The dark marks is what is called 'bear claw" In some woods. I have some fir and spruce with the same type of marks.


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## Nomad62 (Apr 20, 2010)

I saw some quarter-sawn hemlock that looked a lot like that, very fine grained and sliced off of the weighted side of a leaning tree. Sure can't say for sure tho.


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## Raftermonkey (Jun 5, 2010)

It looks like a maple to me. I don't know about those marks, I've never seen any like them.


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## kolwdwrkr (Jul 27, 2008)

looks like a low grade of karelian (masur) birch.


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## jusfine (May 22, 2010)

looks like an elephant with a really long trunk… 

my guess is maple too


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## MOJOE (Jun 13, 2009)

Maple with a little spalting and maybe a little quitling…...just my thoughts though


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

I agree with Keith (kolwdwrkr)......Karelian Birch would be my best guess.
Pretty sure It's not Maple…..It's got a grain that's more 'typical' of birch than maple and the reflective sheen of birch that you never see in Maple.


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## canadianchips (Mar 12, 2010)

I am leaning towards "Soft Maple"


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

Karelian Birch.


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## kolwdwrkrsgirl (Sep 16, 2009)

yep…..Karelian Birch….check this link out…it looks just like it: http://www.amazonexotichardwoods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TB-MAS


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## RKW (Dec 17, 2008)

some kind of maple


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## woodsmithshop (Sep 10, 2008)

it looks like it could be cherry, can't say for sure without looking at it first hand.


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## Boomr99 (Jul 1, 2009)

Yes my friend, you do indeed have a piece of hard maple. A bit of "ambrosia" to it. Looks very nice. 
Don't forget folks that maple comes in many different shades and "figures". Just cause it doesn't look like your piece of ambrosia maple, doesn't mean it ain't!

Cheers. And make sure to show us what you build with it!

Ryan


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

Sorry Ryan….we'll have to agree to disagree.

Ive had literally hundreds of miles of Hard Maple go through my hands….
That's not even remotely close to a piece of ambrosia maple. Not on my monitor anyways.
Not maple….no pinholes….not ambrosia.

I'm sticking with Karelian Birch.


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## Bigdogs117 (Jun 26, 2008)

It looks like maple to me. I have some that looks pretty similiar in the shop. Just my 2 cents.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

After researching and looking at hundreds of pictures of the Karelian Birch , which is most often a burl size piece of wood , not lumber size , I would say it is not the Birch.
I have smaller pieces of Maple with the fine brown streaks in my collection that resemble this board , especially with the Mineral staining as seen above. They also have the nice shimmer in the wood grain and I believe that the grain pattern is due to the way it was sawn. 
For those that have never seen a "reflective sheen" in Maple , I invite you to do so : )
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/24969
Also , a smaller scale version of the brown markings in the Maple can be seen here : )
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/26958
It certainly is not Ambrosia Maple or Spalted Maple or ^Cherry^ by any means. LOL


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

It is maple.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I thinks it's maple too. 
but check for yourself

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/


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