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What kind of wood is this...??

D

Devin Howard

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Aug 4, 2008
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A guy from work brought me a couple of logs that I thought were cherry. :cool:... A very nice deep red on the outside ends... but then I went to cut it and the sawdust is bright yellow :eek:... the grain looks like oak or ash... I have tried to google this but can get any pics. It was a local tree cut in Arkansas.....:confused: Dont know where to go from here...
 
Osage Orange

Without seeing any pictures, it sounds like osage orange. Osage Orange will turn a reddish brown when exposed to light. Yet, the wood is yellow.

Sincerely,

Adam Papin
 
Osage is what came to mind when I was reading it as well. It's very yellow when first cut and has grain like Ash. It turns very tan when exposed to UV for any length of time.
 
yellow wood

Devin Howard said:
A guy from work brought me a couple of logs that I thought were cherry. :cool:... A very nice deep red on the outside ends... but then I went to cut it and the sawdust is bright yellow :eek:... the grain looks like oak or ash... I have tried to google this but can get any pics. It was a local tree cut in Arkansas.....:confused: Dont know where to go from here...
Click to expand...

White mulberry is boiled egg yoke yellow, orange on the ends exposed to elements. Has a distinctive bark. Got some on my property line.Grain Reminiscent of oak or ash as well. Cracks are very dark, and crotch figure has brown streaks and some bark. Can get big, Gretch
 
My guess is Mulberry

My current stash of mulberry logs almost resemble cedar red heartwood but put a sharp tool to the oxidized surface and it turns neon yellow.

I adore mulberry; one of my very favorites. It turns wonderfully and takes a glass like finish. It has so much chatoyance that you can get lost it in.

Did you see any of the leaves? Mulberry leaves change as they get bigger, similar to sassafras.

Try this link for samples:
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/mulberry.htm

and you can look at my site for how it looks in finished pieces.

Orange Osage is another one that comes to mind as does Rhododendron. All have the same qualities of exposed dark wood but vivid neon yellow fresh cut. I have a few pieces made from Rhododendron on my site as well.
 
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Mulberry is one wood that comes to mind that is more yellow. Osage is more orange, and VERY hard. Black Locust is a greenish yellow and oxidizes to an orangish color when drying. There is an American yellow wood tree that is very yellow, but I don't think it oxidizes red when cut. I had one species of Elm that was very yellow when cut as well. Pacific yew will be in the orange and yellow spectrum when cut, and get dark orange as it drys. Cascarra, a northwest native, also known as Chittum here, is yellowish and dries a more brown color. Did the wood have any specific smell? What was the bark like? What did the leaves look like? Pictures?
robo hippy
 
Mulberry

Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) is a member of the Mulberry Family (Moraceae).

Osage orange has several common names Hedge, Hedge Apple, Bodark and others.
 
Sam Sherrill's excellent book: Harvesting Urban Timber, mentions the Forrest Product Lab in Wisconsin as a resource for identifying wood samples.

I used this service a couple years ago to ID some otherwise unidentifiable salvaged timbers.

You can submit up to two samples. They will identify your samples (at least the general family, if not the exact species) at no charge.

http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/WoodID/idfact.html

This link describes what is involved.
 
Truffuls said:
My current stash of mulberry logs almost resemble cedar red heartwood but put a sharp tool to the oxidized surface and it turns neon yellow.

I adore mulberry; one of my very favorites. It turns wonderfully and takes a glass like finish. It has so much chatoyance that you can get lost it in.

Did you see any of the leaves? Mulberry leaves change as they get bigger, similar to sassafras.

Try this link for samples:
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/mulberry.htm

and you can look at my site for how it looks in finished pieces.

Orange Osage is another one that comes to mind as does Rhododendron. All have the same qualities of exposed dark wood but vivid neon yellow fresh cut. I have a few pieces made from Rhododendron on my site as well.
Click to expand...



That is interesting. The Red Mulberry I am familiar with starts out legal pad yellow and quickly starts turning brown. The brown is a chocolate brown, not the brown of Walnut. We have used it for thresholds in the house as well as one of the built in window seats. It is one of the few woods I don't turn because of the tenancy to crack and the fact the wood is sort of flat without chatoyance.
 
Barbara Gill said:
That is interesting. The Red Mulberry I am familiar with starts out legal pad yellow and quickly starts turning brown. The brown is a chocolate brown, not the brown of Walnut. We have used it for thresholds in the house as well as one of the built in window seats. It is one of the few woods I don't turn because of the tenancy to crack and the fact the wood is sort of flat without chatoyance.
Click to expand...

Hi Barbara.......

Say.....my dictionary doesn't have "chatoyance" in it......

Can you define that word for me please?

thanks

otis of cologne
 
Chatoyance, having a changeable luster or color with an undulating narrow band of white light. Think Mahogany or Koa, sanded very fine and polished.
robo hippy
 
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