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It's not Ash

Normand Therrien

Normand Therrien

Joined
Mar 24, 2015
Messages
22
Likes
3
Location
Laurentide, Quebec
Hi
I've just turned a nice piece, but I still wonder what wood it is, usually I'm not bad in wood, I that it was Ash, but friend who give it to me thought it was cherry, but I was still sure it was ash, it's still a hard wood like ash.
But after tuning my peace, and I'm in work on another with the same wood, but the wood is really to dark for the colour, but the end grain looks like ash, but too brown and colourful for that. You'll see without any finish and for the turned one, only shellac.
I'm including photos for my big piece, it's 15 in wide, with brass insertions.

Thanks for your help

NormandBol 1.jpgBol 2.jpgbout.jpg2.jpg
 
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Black locust for me too. It starts out greenish, and goes amber as it gets air and sun light. Like Tim said, UV light will make it glow. It is very hard!

robo hippy
 
I think it's Ash, I remember that I've kept in my pound since day one and the colour change that way.
Not sure we got Black Locust in my region, I'm from Quebec (Montreal)
 
Here is where Black Locust is known to grow.
Black Locust growing.jpg
I'm not going by the color, but by the grain and look of the wood, Black Locust does also change color when it is out in the light and air (more red).

Anyway it still looks like Black Locust to me
 
Leo Van Der Loo said:
Here is where Black Locust is known to grow.
View attachment 62620
I'm not going by the color, but by the grain and look of the wood, Black Locust does also change color when it is out in the light and air (more red).

Anyway it still looks like Black Locust to me
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll ask my friend where he got it again, I'm not used with this colour on Ash
And thanks for the link
 
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Try fuming a piece with ammonia - black locust will react by turning a very dark black/green color for rye spring wood and leaving the other unaffected- it can be a striking look. I’ve never seen it on anything but black locust.
 
JeffSmith said:
Try fuming a piece with ammonia - black locust will react by turning a very dark black/green color for rye spring wood and leaving the other unaffected- it can be a striking look. I’ve never seen it on anything but black locust.
Click to expand...
We can't have ammonia here in Canada, it's ban from here, more in my province.
 
That end grain looks like elm or hackberry. They have that end grain pattern. I'm not sure what other woods do (no domestic hardwoods that I know of).

Also, it doesn't look like any locust I have around here.

IMG_20240304_155106 (1).jpg
 
Russell Nugent said:
Pretty sure you can buy 10% ammonia from many cleaning supply places in canada. Maybe quebec is different though.
Click to expand...
I've tried to find some, what they sell with the name Ammonia is a yellow stuff and even if you try to smell it, you won't fall down, look like a fake smell, and I've bought it to try to give a better colour on Oak, even after a week in a close chamber, the wood never changes colour, not even a little bit.
We are loosing a lot of nice products today.
 
If you can’t find ammonia, just use a steel wool and vinegar solution to garner the same type of reaction. All about the tannins.

I don’t believe it is ash though. It has the feather-like grain-pattern I’ve seen most commonly in Black Locust. That’s my guess alongside others.
 
If you want to know for sure, and have some extra, you can send a chunk to the USDA Forest Products Lab, and one of their experts will analyze it and give you a written report. Free to US citizens three times per year

Wood Identification | US Forest Service Research and Development

Wood submissions are ONLY accepted from private US citizens, with an annual limit of three (3) specimens per household.SpecimensSize: 1x3x6 inchesSmaller specimens may limit our ability to provide an identification.Type: Specimens must be wood. We will NOT identify charcoal specimens or...
www.fs.usda.gov www.fs.usda.gov
 
Grain does not look like ash to me. The interlocking grain looks a lot like elm, but overallbdoea not look like either red elm or cedar elm I have turned. Attached pics are cedar elm1000018514.jpg1000018614.jpg
 
Lou Jacobs said:
The OP is in Canada. I wonder, (if he’s not American) if the Canadian government has a similar service. As an alternative, send a sample to Leo Van Der Loo. He’s usually spot on!

Edited to add: By the way, the Forest Products Lab only identifies as far as genus, not species.
Click to expand...
That's true, Lou, but often that's enough. I recently used the service and here is the report. Note the quick turnaround:

1714230833353.png
 
I did find a picture of a smaller dish/plate I turned in 2004 from some Black Locust.
The color of the wood is bit darker, as it has PTO on it, and probably sat for a few days/weeks before I made the picture.

You can compare the piece with what the OP has posted :D.
Black Locust.jpg
 
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