# Help me identify this wood please.



## Jorgearaujo (Aug 8, 2013)

Hey all, a friend of mine gave me a few boards of this wood, he didn't know what it was buts its really nice. Its a dense, light colored wood with golden brown stripes see picture… I've looked online but I can't find anything that looks like it except for Zebrawood but not even close in color.. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## TCCcabinetmaker (Dec 14, 2011)

If it is piney, it's gonna most likely be Heart pine, or Loblolly. Which will usually be somewhat denser and definatly heavier than the yellow pine cousin. If it is soft and has a carroty scent it could be old growth cypress, but a few more pictures would be helpful to a lot of the guys that are really good at wood identification.


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

First guess….Quarter sawn Douglas-fir.

The color seems off for yellow pine.
A closer look at the end grain would determine which one….the late wood of yellow pine end grain has tiny white flecks in it, while the Douglas-fir doesn't.

Your location could be somewhat of an indicator as well.

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/fir,%20douglas.htm

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/pine,%20yellow.htm


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

It is a softwood for sure, either a pine or douglas fir. Southern yellow pine would be heavier than douglas fir. If it is dense, then it is southern yellow pine. There are 4 commercial species, shortleaf, loblolly, slash, and longleaf. Loblolly is by far the most common. You cannot tell them apart from the wood characteristics.


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## mporter (May 5, 2011)

How wide is that board? Whatever it is, it wasn't grown on a plantation. It looks to be for of old growth stuff. Good quality wood there.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

+1 quartersawn douglas fir


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

My first impression seeing the pics was Douglas Fir, as well.


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## Jorgearaujo (Aug 8, 2013)

A couple of things, I called my buddy and he is sure it's a hardwood not a softwood, Im pretty sure its not a pine variant because its so hard and dense and very heavy. The boards are 8/4 which also suggests hardwood. I kept looking online and I was thinking it looks like Western Larch, just as a side note I am in California incase location helps with the wood type. I am adding a couple more pictures see if they help…
Thanks you guys for all your suggestions.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Looks like Douglas Fir.


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## CustomMouldingKnives (Aug 1, 2013)

My vote would be vertical grain Fir.


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## Jorgearaujo (Aug 8, 2013)

Cool everybody seams to think its Douglas Fir… thats what I will go with… Its very pretty cant wait to use it! Thanks Everybody for helping this noob!


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

This looks like a bull pine to me. Very heavy, oily and harder than most other pine family. But, it could be Douglas as well.


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## RobsonValley (Jul 28, 2013)

Given the very abrupt finish to each of the growth rings and the lack of visible, multiseriate rays, I'll say Douglas-fir or one of the other Pseudotsuga species (uncommon.) Not a "hardwood" but a conifer for sure.
Not old growth, the rings are far too uneven. The larches (Larix sp) or the pines don't usually display such intense color contrast changes between the early wood and late wood.

I've seen a couple of end-grain cutting boards which really, really took advantage of the end grain pattern.
Much more interesting to me to look at than the usual 6 different hardwoods.


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## mporter (May 5, 2011)

RobsonValley,
I am curious, why can't old growth have uneven growth rings?


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

IMHO It is douglas fir or pirahna pine or oregon pine. Alistair


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## fredj (Jun 4, 2013)

Douglas fir, and if so, when you work it you'll be in splinter city.


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## Jorgearaujo (Aug 8, 2013)

The friend who gave it to me, seems to be sure its a hardwood because he said he got from a Hardwood only provider. After fredj comment I'm hoping its not Doug Fir, Not really into splintters…. LOL!


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## tefinn (Sep 23, 2011)

Maybe western larch?


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## Jorgearaujo (Aug 8, 2013)

Tefinn, that was my thought after looking online.


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## mporter (May 5, 2011)

Well whatever you do and whatever species it is, please use this in a project that will utilize the woods end grain. There must be 30+ rings per inch on that wood. The wood has excellent early wood to late wood contrast. Unfortunately today, you really can't buy wood that dense very easily.


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## Jorgearaujo (Aug 8, 2013)

Yeah mporter its funny most of the time I spend trying to hide the end grain and now I just want to find a project that would show this beautiful end grain… For sure I will be making a few iphone/ipad stands for xmas presents that will show off this end grain.


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

I'm still gonna stick with Douglas-fir.

As for 'old growth', it isn't. Judging from your pictures, the boards are roughly 6" wide….a quick (rough) count came up with about 13-15 rings/inch.
Some of the old growth, vertical grain Doug Ive milled, was in the range of 40-50 rings/inch, average was about 30-35.

Last project(a repeat…the first house burned down) with Doug-fir involved about 2800 bd/ft. for a couple of stairs that went to England(probably in the middle of the Atlantic ocean right about now).
Hell of a job lemme tell ya.

Stringers were 10" thick and 18" deep, and 20' and 23' long each.


















All 4 stringers standing up in position.









Timber framer cutting the stringers and fitting the treads(not me! Hell NO! I try to stay away from chainsaws when I build stairs LOL!)



















Sorry for the hijack….but I have nightmares about Douglass-fir after building 4 of these babies…

btw…each stair weighed in at about 3800 lbs…


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

It is definitely a softwood. I would not argue with douglas fir.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Looks like Dougfir to me I have some that looks the same,Should smell like Christmas when its cut.To me dougfir is both hard ans soft, not a easy wood to work.If its not kiln dried beware of the pitch it will weep out when it get hot.
Nice work tony on the stairs!


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## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

That's a pretty classic piece of vertical grain Douglas fir. "Hardwood" dealers carry just about all kinds of wood, including softwoods. Saying you're a "hardwood" dealer means you carry more than dimensional construction timber.

I've not found Douglas fir to be overly splintery. It's hard to mortise or plane endgrain with hand tools, as the difference in hardness between the soft early wood and the very hard latewood makes consistent cuts with a blade tricky. But it's a joy to hand plane, and smells exactly like working wood should smell like.


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## Jorgearaujo (Aug 8, 2013)

I took the board to HOUSE OF HARDWOODS in Culver City, Ca. and the guy there who is always very helpful confirmed what everybody here said…. VERTICAL GRAIN DOUGLAS FIR. He also explain how its cut differently than the construction grade stuff…

THANK YOU ALL.


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