# Tips & Tricks: Wood Identification



## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

What are your tips/tricks re: *Wood Identification*?
- charts? descriptions?

(also add links to helpful blogs etc that are related to the topic)

Check out the WOOD LIBRARY discussion.



*Gateway to all Tips & Tricks Topics*


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## Chipncut (Aug 18, 2006)

*I found this site to be my favorite wood ID site. It has a lot of excellent images.*


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## KnickKnack (Aug 20, 2008)

The bestest, most reliablest method is to take some pictures, and post them in a topic on a web site I sometimes visit called LumberJocks
They always come up trumps on this kind of thing.


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## Druid (Sep 30, 2010)

Hi Debbie,
Good topic, and I would suggest having a look at the following site . . . http://forestry.about.com/cs/treeid/a/hard_tree_id.htm
Besides this particular link for methods of identifying wood types, the author Steve Nix, who is a professional forester, has posted a lot of interesting and clearly presented information on forestry. There are also methods of identifying trees in both summer and winter, with clear step by step processes.
He also has a newsletter that readers can sign up for.
As far as my own wood identification goes, I have a frequent problem with pieces that I come across that have been moved from the original tree. So, for these, I simply mark them as "FOG" wood . . . *F*ound *O*n *G*round. They usually still carve well.

Enjoy.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

Get a few different samples of wood and work with them by hand. Once you have, planned, cut, smelled & felt a particular wood, it is very difficult to mistake it from that point forward.

I agree with Knick knack though, that's one of the best ways I have found for one I don't know. I have a book at home that is helpfull too but the name escapes me that this moment.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

I am a Forester and have been studying wood for 3 decades. The key to wood ID is to learn the pore structure of hardwoods. Some are ring porous and some are diffuse porous. This deals with the size and arrangement of the pores throughout the growth ring. Then, they are other features like the presence or absence of visual medullary rays, the arrangement of parenchyma cells, presence or absence of tyloses, etc. These features are observed on a cross section and sometimes requires a 10x hand lens. Sound complicated, but it is fun to learn.

The best bet would be a tutor that can put you through the ropes. I have trained several other people. Another key is to look at many different species over and over again. Things like color, aroma, grain, also come into play.

We could do a tutorial if there is enough interest. We could pick species of interest, then dissect the characteristics that lead to identification. If you had a piece of that species, you could observe your own sample and learn the characteristics.


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## RGtools (Feb 18, 2011)

"The wood handbook for craftsmen" describes how to ident wood pretty well. I like WDHLT15's idea.


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## Chipncut (Aug 18, 2006)

*Hi, WDHLT15!

I think a tutorial would be an excellent thing.

I worked with a wood technologist quite a few years ago, & he always carries a 10X magnifier in his pocket. He would look at the end grain, & would compare it to pictures in a book he had.*

Here's an example of Red Oak.


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

Yes, that is a great site. It prominently shows the open pore structure in the red oaks.


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## Kindlingmaker (Sep 29, 2008)

Sorry, I have to do this…
There are two types of wood, Good Wood and Poor Wood. Good Wood is free wood and Poor Wood is something I have to buy!


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## joeybealis (Jul 16, 2011)

This is all very interesting but after being in the cabinet business for a few years I can usually get it in at least the right family by taste. Eating enough dust for enough years and you just know.


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## leonmcd (Jul 12, 2007)

The following is something we started here several years ago. Still good information. Could use more contributions.

LumberJocks Wood Library


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## leonmcd (Jul 12, 2007)

Just discovered that all the links in the LumberJocks Wood Library were broken.

I've corrected them so if they failed for you before, they should work now. Take another look.


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