Coaster - Mystery wood

Gary, I'd say it came from a pallet--you never know what kind of woods are used for pallets that are imported into the US. Teak, mahogany, or whatever is plentiful in the country of origin.
For now, I'd call it "beetzme" or "dunno" wood ;-)

A local Woodcraft employee who knows his wood Identified this as
either Chinese Elm or Chinese chestnut

Tell the Woodcraft guy that he flunked the wood ID test -- it is SYP (Southern Yellow Pine) which is an extremely heavy and very hard wood. Carpenters hate it because nails will usually bend if it takes more than two whacks with a hammer to drive them home. White pine is lightweight and soft. Fir is feather light and can be harder than white pine, but it loves to splinter.
Bill

The real test : SYP will have a distinctive smell... turpentine -

there's no mistaking it... The elm or chestnut will smell totally different -- I